Many mergers exceed anticipated costs or fail to yield anticipated financial windfalls. Some collapse altogether. Most mergers and acquisitions, in the planning stages, are about dollars, cents and legal issues. But after the lawyers and accountants complete the deal, it becomes very clear that mergers are about people. And, of course, people require communication.

What problems might a mindful communication effort help avoid? According to surveys and post-merger reports, probable (and costly) post-merger issues include:

• Decreased productivity—always within the group of employees of the acquired or non-dominant company, but often throughout the organization as people worry they’ll get laid off or have to quit because the new culture is incompatible. Merger after-effects—not the business at hand—become the topic of conversation.

• Increased turnover and related absenteeism—as employees concerned for their future choose to proactively seek other employment rather than get laid off or find themselves in a job or culture they don’t like. Absenteeism may increase while employees take time to conduct interviews.

• Difficulty recruiting new employees—palpable tensions as recruits talk with or observe current employees. Also, potential recruits may hesitate to join a company that’s being bought for fear of expected layoffs.

With tough competition for top-notch employees, the need for excellent customer service and quick, dependable product rollouts, and the importance of solid financial performance, these are problems companies would do best to minimize or avoid.

How can you communicate to help solve these problems? Here are a few suggestions for adaptation, as appropriate, into your organization's merger program:

• Don’t under-communicate. This phrase is so often repeated it nears jargonhood. Have communication materials ready to launch, so information is available immediately following the announcement.

The mistake some organizational leaders make is assuming that under-communication is an issue of quantity, when in fact an adequate supply of quality information is what's most important, and most neglected. One hundred communication vehicles are a waste of money if they don't contain the information employees, managers and customers need.

• Communicate something, even if it’s, "we don’t have the details yet, but will get the information to you as soon as possible."

• Communicate what you know, even if it might change. "As of now, here’s how we’re thinking this will happen…" is better than a void filled via rumor-mill.

• Empathize. Know that employees—just like investors—are worried about what they might lose. Communicate how the company will approach any job cuts.

• Watch your language. You’d be surprised at how often leaders refer to employees as "costs" or "units" or "back-fill" or some other disrespectful term.

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep (unless you’re trying to insult people, erode trust, deflate morale, lower productivity and increase turnover).

• Don't neglect culture. Which organizational culture will dominate? Provide information about cultural norms and what behaviors the company expects from employees.

• Give depth to jargon by including real-world, real-action specifics that will be meaningful to employees (what does "world class" look and sound like?)

For additional communication resources, visit our Articles & Tips archive, including:

Dealing With Post-Merger Stress

Merger Communication

Vapid Words Fuel Cynicism and Hostility

Good Communication: a Bottom Line Booster

Above all, remember that an effective plan for any organizational communication effort must be tailored, not a boilerplate reproduction of another's program. For customized counsel on your post-merger communication issues, call us at Ivy Sea -- 415/778-3910 -- or tap other qualified counsel.