55 - Planning to Merge or Acquire? Here's a Step You May be Overlooking

This episode of #PoisedforExit featured J. Forrest, a Principal of Employee Strategies, a firm providing Organizational Leadership services to low-middle market companies. We've talked about Culture development before on the show, but never from the standpoint of a future merger or acquisition. That we learned, is a different animal! To provide a bit of background, J. has always had a love for baseball and had a job out of college with the MN Twins in the ticket office. After the baseball Strike in 1994 he got called back to his old job, but really felt that the Culture was different and it made him realize he had a calling to and a knack for organizational leadership. His experience in working with teams (literally and professionally) has become his strong suit!When a company is acquired or two companies come together in a merger, what can that do to Culture? What if the Cultures don't match? This is an issue J. sees happen often. With the fact that so many boomers will be transitioning in the coming years, we're likely to see more mismatched companies. There needs to be more emphasis placed on matching Cultures to be sure, but most M & A advisers are all about the transaction and making the numbers work. Of course that needs to happen! But, if there's a Culture clash, the numbers will invariably turn to less than favorable and eventually the companies could split or go back on the market. How does Employee Strategies measure Culture? They generally start with examining the turnover rate of the employees and survey the team to see what's working and what's not. From there, they implement a variety of assessments, based upon the needs of the team and the company. J. says the earlier you get this process going the better. There are likely competitors out there who would love to hire your best and brightest, so making sure they love working for you is paramount! For more on how to integrate two cultures in a merger or acquisition, listen here.Find J. here and find Julie here.Watch Employee Strategies | Our Culture Work with SuperClean BrandsThank you to this months sponsors! Baker Tilly, and Sunbelt Business Advisors. Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLCFounder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor