The mergers and acquisitions process can be a stressful experience for all participants, especially company employees. It often negatively impacts employees’ perception of decision-making, alignment, and motivation.
This can lead to issues such as cultural clashes or loss of talent, which is often a key reason for merger failure. However, these risks can be mitigated if you collect employees’ feedback quickly and take relevant steps as a result.
In this article, we discuss the post-acquisition survey as a method of evaluating employee engagement and satisfaction with the integration process.
The importance of employee feedback collection during post-acquisition
Knowing how employees feel about an acquisition is essential. It significantly influences workplace metrics such as talent retention, cultural integration, overall employee morale, and productivity.
Talent retention
More than a third (34%) of acquired employees will leave a company during the first year after an acquisition. A poor retention rate shows that employees often might feel frustrated post-acquisition and uncertain of their future in the new organization. Thus, they switch to a new company.
However, retaining employees, especially top talent, is crucial for maintaining operational continuity. It preserves institutional knowledge and minimizes recruitment and training costs.
Cultural integration
Poor cultural fit is often the reason for M&A failure. When two companies merge, their different organizational cultures might be difficult to integrate, leading to conflicts and cultural clashes. This is one of the main factors behind the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merger failure in 1998.
It highlights the importance of cultural alignment, which can be maintained with a transparent communication strategy applied at all stages of the integration process.
Learn about other post-merger problems in our dedicated article.
Morale and productivity
In an environment of change and constant new challenges, employees might not feel secure in their positions, lose motivation, and be less productive.
This typically happens if a merger is poorly executed and new responsibilities or career opportunities are not communicated clearly. This results in employees not knowing whether their part in the company’s mission is valuable or even noticed. What’s more, it makes them doubt whether they have a future there.
Learn more about what happens to employees when companies merge in our dedicated article.
Post-merger questions to ask your employees
One of the best ways to find out how your employees feel about the acquisition is to conduct an employee feedback survey, which can also be called an employee pulse survey.
A post-acquisition employee survey is short and focused, designed to quickly identify employee sentiment, engagement, and concerns following an acquisition. Unlike comprehensive surveys, a pulse survey aims to capture immediate feedback on key aspects of the acquisition process and its impact on employees.
They can be framed as post-acquisition integration survey questions, including yes/no questions, agree/disagree statements, or open-ended questions.
However, one option we would recommend is basing your survey on the five-point Likert scale, with responses presented as:
This gives a better understanding of employee satisfaction yet doesn’t complicate the survey process.
Below are some examples of five-point Likert scale statements in different categories that you could add to your post-acquisition pulse survey.
1. Cultural alignment
The responses to the following statements aim to find out how employees feel about the new organizational culture and highlight areas that require management’s attention. Remember that each statement offers one of five choices, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree:
- I feel that the cultures of the acquiring company and the acquired company have integrated well.
- I understand the new company’s culture, mission, and values.
- I am aligned with the new company’s vision and goals.
- I feel great about the communication style in the new organization.
- I have experienced certain cultural clashes or challenges since the acquisition.
- There is mutual respect between employees from both companies.
2. Communication and transparency
The purpose of these statements is to understand whether the company’s senior management communicates the acquisition clearly to employees.
Some statements to include might be:
- The leadership’s communication has been transparent throughout the acquisition process.
- I am informed about the changes happening due to the acquisition.
- I am informed about what’s expected of me in the near future.
- My questions and concerns about the acquisition are addressed on time.
- Company communication channels have been effective and active since the acquisition.
3. Job security
This category explores how secure employees feel in their roles and whether they’re aware of potential changes in responsibilities or opportunities in the future.
You can add statements like:
- I feel confident in my current role after the acquisition.
- My responsibilities and workload have changed significantly since acquisition.
- I have received clear information about organizational changes affecting your position.
- I am concerned about potential layoffs or restructuring as a result of the acquisition.
4. Career development
This aims to get a sense of how employees feel about their future development in the new company.
Include statements such as:
- The acquisition has opened new career development opportunities for me.
- I am satisfied with the learning and development options available post-acquisition.
- I see more opportunities for internal mobility after the acquisition.
- I am confident in the new company’s commitment to employee growth.
5. Engagement and job satisfaction
Since employee morale has a significant influence on the overall company performance, it’s essential to identify their level of engagement and job satisfaction throughout acquisition.
Some examples of survey statements include:
- I am highly engaged in my current work and company processes.
- Since the acquisition, I feel more motivated to perform my job.
- I feel that my work is meaningful and contributes to making the transition successful.
- I am satisfied with my current job after the acquisition.
- I am satisfied with the balance between my work responsibilities and personal life since the acquisition.
6. Team dynamics and collaboration
These questions aim to find out how employees feel in new teams (if applicable) and whether the cooperation inside the teams is efficient.
Some examples of statements to include in your survey are:
- I feel comfortable when collaborating with colleagues from the other company.
- I feel that my team is working together effectively after the acquisition.
- Changes in team structures or leadership have negatively affected my work.
- I feel supported by my manager since the acquisition.
7. Change management
Since change management during mergers and acquisitions can be stressful for employees, leadership needs to give it special attention. At the same time, it’s important to ensure that the process is effective and that the newly formed company is moving towards its objectives at the expected speed.
These are some examples of statements to add to your survey to find out what employees think about the post-change management process:
- I feel positive about the speed of change since the acquisition.
- I feel that the organization is managing the transition well.
- I have faced certain challenges during the transition process.
- I think that additional support is needed to make this transition smoother.
8. Future outlook
Knowing how employees feel about the company’s future performance is as important as finding out what they think about their career future inside the company. It helps understand whether employees are satisfied with the company’s plans, objectives, and actual performance and see themselves as part of it in a year or two.
These are the statements to add to your post-merger feedback survey:
- I am optimistic about the future of the company post-acquisition.
- I believe the acquisition will lead to long-term growth and success for the organization.
- I feel confident about the company’s ability to navigate future challenges.
- I have certain concerns about the future of the company.
Post-acquisition survey roll-out and what happens after employees provide feedback
The post-acquisition pulse survey is typically the responsibility of the acquiring company’s human resources team, in cooperation with senior management.
HR specialists are responsible for preparing the questionnaires, conducting the survey, and analyzing the survey results. Based on the findings, senior management can then develop action plans and implement new approaches.
These are the main stages of the survey roll-out process:
- Feedback collection
The first survey is often conducted soon after the acquisition to measure employee sentiment, gather concerns, and assess cultural integration
- Data analysis
Once feedback is collected, HR typically analyzes the data to identify trends and key themes.
- Issues prioritization
Based on the analysis, the management team prioritizes the most critical issues that need immediate attention.
- Action plan development
The leadership then creates an action plan to address the key concerns and respond to feedback. This can include a clarification of organizational goals and employee roles, adjustments to culture integration activities or communication strategies, and even changes in leadership practices.
- Follow-up
Management should help employees understand that their feedback is heard. It needs to communicate initial findings and action plans and provide regular updates. Without proper follow-up communication, employees may feel their feedback is ignored, leading to loss of morale, disengagement, and even higher staff turnover.
Key takeaways
- Use a post-acquisition pulse survey as a method of evaluating employee engagement and satisfaction with the integration process.
- Post-acquisition employee survey questions typically involve exploring employees’ opinions about the new company’s culture, communication, and collaboration and investigating how they feel about their job security, career development, change management, and the company’s overall future outlook.
- Post-acquisition employee surveys help to mitigate risks of cultural clashes, key talent turnover, and loss of morale and productivity.
