The Questions Acquired Employees Want Answered

“People get nervous when their employer changes because they don’t know what to expect from the company they’ve suddenly joined,” explains Brad Jacobs, author of the book, How To Make A Few Billion Dollars.

Therefore, continues Jacobs, “It’s essential that you don’t say or do anything that prevents you from building strong relationships, because the integration can’t succeed without trust.”

The usual questions on the minds of acquired employees about the company that made the acquisition include:

Are we honest?
Are we for real?
Can they trust us?
Do we care about them?
Are we competent?
Are we winners?
Do we know how to run their kind of business?
Do we want them to succeed?
Do we understand why each person is valuable to our business plan?
What is the new CEO like?

“Based on first impressions, many of the acquired employees will already be deciding whether they want to hitch their wagon to your star or find a new job,” explains Jacobs.

Therefore, he states that it is critically important to get your messaging exactly right and to do your best to answer the above listed questions through dialogue, continual communication, and through your actions.

Jacobs has founded seven companies and completed approximately 500 mergers and acquisitions during his four-decade career.

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