How to Merge Cultures After Business Acquisitions

When two businesses merge together, it can create a lot of tension within your workplace. Employees are creatures of habit and any dramatic changes to routine can easily create a stir. To make acquisitions as easy as possible, focus on how to merge the cultures of the different businesses together. This is not a simple task, of course. You’ll want to develop an effective strategy that makes old and new employees feel comfortable, welcomed, and ready to forge new bond. Look over these tips and discover the best tactics for approaching this scenario.

Communication Is Essential

Almost all companies suffer from some type of communication issue. If you want this merger to be easy on everyone, use this as an opportunity to tweak your existing communication processes. Take time to talk to your existing employees and discuss areas where you can make improvements. By working with the input given to you from your staff, you will be able to develop a plan for communicating with the entire company that makes everyone feel heard and successfully integrates all departments so that there are efficient ways of connecting between teams.

Blend What Works

There are bound to be a number of similarities between the existing company culture and the culture of the company being merged in. To see success during acquisitions, you want to understand the similarities and differences in the workplace environments. Similar habits are easy to blend together, such the common office protocol of celebrating all birthdays in a given month on a single day. Other aspects, like workplace amenities, can be more difficult to work with and will require careful consideration when deciding what to cut and what to bring into the fold.

Calm Fears

There will likely be a lot of murmurs around the office in regard to what the merger will bring. The best way to bring two company cultures together is by calming any fears that people might have. You need to celebrate change as a group and welcome the exciting new chapter in the story of the company. By directly addressing the concerns of your staff, as well as the new members who will be joining the team, you can do wonders for boosting morale and getting the acquisition off to a very successful start.

While it is true that mergers and acquisitions can create a lot of tension in the workplace, there are ways to make the transition easier. Learn how to blend company cultures together and create a positive work environment for all.

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