Pest Management Professional, September 2013

2 Develop a 90 day plan The first 90 days are critical after a merger Employees are looking for clues as to what will change and what will remain post merger and theyre deciding whether they are committed to the new organization Many successful acquirers bring key management team members together from both sides to explicitly discuss the values and cultures of each business and to develop new mission vision and values statements for the combined entity If positions will be eliminated its smart to deal with those impacted directly as soon as possible so people who arent affected by the job reductions dont have to worry about their job security and dont start looking for alternative jobs because they havent been told their positions are safe Its also important to communicate other material changes that will affect the employees health plans retirement plans work hours etc and what expectations the company has for each team member 3 Develop a communications program to explain and reinforce the new organizations culture Repetition and reinforcement are needed to make sure all employees understand the companys values and culture Company meetings employee newsletters and one onone REWARD INTEGRATION COMPATABILITY SUCCESS SERVICE CULTURES PLANNING TEAMS REINFORCEMENT CHANGE VALUES CONFLICT meetings with employees can all be part of a communications plan but to ensure people understand and believe the values its important to go beyond general statements and provide examples and stories Award programs can also be an effective tool to reinforce the values of the merged businesses For example its fine to say We are committed to customer satisfaction But its better if the company also celebrates examples of employees who have gone the extra mile for customers Its better yet if the company offers recognition and or rewards that demonstrate this behavior 4 Reinforce with employee feedback and rewards It is critical management provide Sponsored by regular feedback to employees about what theyre doing well and areas of improvement to make sure they know how theyre doing and any gaps in expectations For the first 90 days weekly or daily feedback is better than monthly or lessfrequent feedback even if its very brief a few minutes of discussion of what that employee did well or could do better next time If an employee isnt on track or embodying the values of the company its important he or she knows it as soon as possible so the individual can either try and get on track or find another job thats a better fit In addition the bonus recognition rewards program should provide incentives to those employees COMMUNICATION who demonstrate the values and achieve or exceed expected performance levels PMP Cooper is a pest management industry mergers and acquisition expert who has consulted on more than 50 pest management acquisitions over the past several years You can reach Cooper a PMP Hall of Famer and former president of the National Pest Management Association NPMA at normcooper@ verizon net 914 698 8659 MANAGEMENT TRAINING HIRING SYSTEMS OPERATIONS FINANCIALS Marketing Clout YES 61 Can merging with a larger company help you improve marketing with the power of a bigger brand and budget NO 20 UNSURE 19 Source PMP 2013 Merger Survey with 200 respondents www mypmp net Pest Management Professional September 2013 M5