How to manage internal comms during an acquisition

When selling a company, talent is often the biggest chip on the table: if the team leaves, the sale is likely to fail. So you want them to be on board, motivated and excited.

Dag-Inge Aas was co-founder and CTO of Oslo-based telehealth platform Confrere before it was acquired by US video and audio platform Daily this summer. He has been active in the acquisition efforts with his primary responsibility being internal communications. In ourStartup Life Newsletter, Aas gave us his top tips for keeping the team updated:

Let the team know you’re chatting

Be honest from the start – tell them you’re having acquisition calls when you start organizing. Discuss what acquisition means, what you as a manager don’t know and what you need the support of the team for. Be clear about the future role of the founders – are they stepping down, taking on new roles, or leaving? Daily’s motivation for buying us was the talent – the knowledge and skills of the team – so there was no question the founders would stay.

Telling other people about it can create uncertainty, especially if there’s a long delay between updates – it can take months to sign a contract – or if non-disclosure agreements prevent you from sharing information. This can lead to a lack of trust in the process or in the company you are dealing with. Chat with the team regularly, even if it’s just “we don’t know yet”.

But don’t tell them too much

Follow the strict rules that apply when dealing with public companies. Early news of a takeover could potentially move stock prices and be viewed as illegal insider trading.

Don’t give room to rumours

We broke it to middle management at our weekly Friday meeting – they had time to ask questions and digest the news before supporting us, the founders, in briefing the wider team at our all-hands meeting on Monday.

Be prepared for people to leave

Cultural changes and company size changes are not for everyone. If people aren’t motivated to stay, it’s better for them to leave. Don’t encourage them to stay. Expensive retention bonuses and uncomfortable and unfulfilling colleagues are bad for both companies. Set money aside to provide an economic safety net for those who don’t receive a job offer upon acquisition or decide to leave. You want to support them as they find their next thing – happy graduates make excellent brand ambassadors. Tell them you want to take them with you for the trip, explain to them what their new perks would be and what bonuses they might claim. Explain to them that if it doesn’t feel like the right move for them, they’re entitled to a well-rewarded offboarding package as a thank you for their commitment to the company – that’s what you got tarnishing initially ready for an acquisition.

Make time and space for discussion

Place Time on the calendar to allow the team to chat without management involvement. Also, set aside time for the team to speak openly with management—you want to hear the team’s top questions and unfiltered opinions. Parabol.co is a useful tool for collecting and sorting information anonymously.

Let people ask stupid questions

Organize quick chats on topics that the team at the new company need to be familiar with – you don’t want the team to feel uncomfortable or stupid in their new roles. Encourage questions they don’t ask Yes, really want to ask out loud. Daily is a more technical company than Confrere, so we focused on talks like “What is an API?” These discussions were so successful that we have continued them within the Daily Post acquisition.

On the topic… management of internal communications

📝 Have a communication plan. It will help you communicate the right messages to minimize employee anxiety, boost morale and retain talent. hereMcKinsey sets out what should be communicated and when.

🙋🏾‍♀️ Be ready to answer questions. There will be many of them from employees about their position, wages and how the company culture will change.

🤝🏽 Make communication personal. Instead of sending a generic email to employees, ask the CEOs of both the acquirer and acquirer to do so announce the deal in a real meeting.

📣 The role of HR employees. They are the ones who will be manage communication with employees, answering questions and preparing for the merger of departments after the announcement. Leaders must remain visible. It’s tempting for managers to close their doors to avoid being hit with bad news. But they should remember that they have one responsibility Keep employees motivated and informed.

👀 Managers must remain visible. It’s tempting for managers to close their doors to avoid being hit with bad news. But they should remember that they have one responsibility Keep employees motivated and informed.

Anisah Osman Britton is co-author of Sifted’s Startup Life newsletter, which is published weekly on Wednesdays. Sign up here.