The internal comms pro’s guide to the M&A process

By nature, the M&A process is a disruptive one, which emphasizes the need for strategic and well-timed internal communications to keep things steady internally.

According to Ted Birkhahn, managing director at Vested, internal communicators need to start with empathy.

“You have to put yourself in that employee’s shoes,” Birkhahn said. “You have to look at employees not as one monolithic audience, but based on function, role and seniority. A merger or acquisition impacts all of those different types of employees differently. Are they working in the office? Are they working on a factory floor? All of that impacts how they think, feel and react.”

Here are a few other strategic tips to keep in mind as an internal communicator during a merger or acquisition.

Get the rollout right

Birkhahn said that communicators can’t just drop a leader in once and expect success — they need to create channels for feedback as the process rolls along to adjust their communication about it accordingly. This also helps humanize the figures at the top of the company responsible for the move.

“Solicit feedback from middle management regularly,” he said. “Set up mechanisms where employees can submit questions anonymously, and make sure leadership is visible throughout the process. Having a CEO come in once or twice in a six-month process is not enough. They have to be seen and heard regularly.”