How to Survive a Corporate Merger
2. Embrace change.
Don't believe those assurances from above that your job and chain of command will remain as before the merger. "If a merger is well done, it will probably affect everyone in the company," says Denver-based management consultant Gary Cook. "It is a wrenching experience. All of your reference points will be under attack." But the assault need not defeat you, especially if you demonstrate that you are enthusiastic about change.
Some managers and workers conclude that the way to survive a merger is to keep their heads down, avoid being noticed, and therefore be spared. That's a bad strategy. "They think that as long as they are not objecting to new conditions, they are being cooperative," says Neuhauser. During a merger, though, everyone becomes somewhat paranoid, Neuhauser observes--the executives of the subordinate company for obvious reasons, the executives of the dominant company for more subtle ones. The executives of the acquiring company are concerned that at least some executives of the subordinate company will try to sabotage the new organization. As a result, passivity may be interpreted not as quiet compliance but as sullen resistance.
"Position yourself as a champion of change," advises Neil Lebovits, president of Ajilon, which provides temporary professional staff for international companies. "Let the new management know that you are excited about change and that your people are excited about it as well. Don't complain to anyone, including your old colleagues, about how bad the changes are." Train yourself never to utter the words 'This is not the way we used to do things,' a phrase that seems superficially neutral in attitude but is sure to be interpreted as subversive. "If there's ever a time in your career for being a good sport and accepting turmoil, a merger is it," says Neuhauser.
Roy Howe found his openness to change essential when the West Coast supermarket chain he worked for, Lucky Stores, was taken over by a national chain, Albertson's, six years ago. "About 10 percent of the workforce was not going to accept change, no matter what; another 80 percent was not sure what to do," says Howe. "The other 10 percent accepted change immediately." He places himself firmly and comfortably in that final 10 percent. "In my career, all I've ever seen is change," says Howe, who started out as a truck driver and rose to become general manager of a Lucky distribution center, "so I've learned how to stay afloat and keep everyone happy."
The fusion of Albertson's and American Stores, Lucky's parent company, was not easy, says Howe. "People were irritable, and they managed differently as a result," he says. "I ran into a top executive of Lucky, and I said in passing that I was having a great day. He gave me a grim look that suggested I didn't understand how bad things were. When leaders give signals like that, the attitude goes down through the ranks." Counter employees in the stores began to tell customers how bad the changes were. Howe made an effort to stay relaxed and philosophical, recognizing that everyone in both companies was going through the painful trials of adjustment. Although he eventually departed, he did so without bitterness, feeling that he had been treated very well. (Albertson's declined to comment.)
advertisement
