A Merger and Acquisition Employee Survey is one of the best ways to gauge the concerns that naturally arise during merger transitions. It is crucial to know and understand the voice of your employees to help develop a plan for synergy and success.

When companies merge, their structures, processes, and cultures change. Disbelief, uncertainty, and a feeling of pending disaster often creating anxiety among executives whom have built careers within one organization only to see them upset by a merger. The same feeling pervades both the acquiring and acquired company. Employees in the acquiring company may have a concern that the company is changing its focus and their job will be eliminated. Office workers in the acquired company learn that their jobs may depend on how they fit into the new company rather than on past performance. Rumors of pay freezes and benefit losses weigh heavily upon the hourly workers. In general, employees may become frozen in the path that they are pursuing.

Three tips to effectively leverage Merger and Acquisition Surveys

Survey Employees Frequently
Communicate the message that what your employees think continues to matter as the new company begins to grow. Employee surveys provide strategic planners additional data to guide further integration and to identify areas for particular attention.

Inform Employees ablut the Merger
Informed employees are better able to understand why decisions are made and exactly what impact these changes will have on them personally. It is easier for them to take a more favorable view than those kept uninformed. They are also much more likely to help make the merger successful.

Measure Management Communications
Reach out to employees in both companies, share and understand corporate cultures that drive outcomes, develop common or complimentary goals and devise a transition structure to reduce the ill effects of expected anxiety.

The result of these efforts will be a merged company with a new hybrid culture supported by all employees. This approach is the best way for both companies in transition to achieve the operating and financial performance they hope to attain from the merger.