A successful consolidation is all about melding cultures . You need to do your best to understand each organization ’ s culture and find alignment between the two .
Keeping People During the Transition
During times of uncertainty , like an acquisition or combining two separate companies into one , it is natural for team members from both companies to think about leaving the companies . Dinneen again turns to the role of communication in preventing people from thinking about going in the face of change . “ Communication is key to avoid losing people you want to stay in place ,” he says . “ Have conversations with the folks you don ’ t want putting their resume together . Communication must be undertaken quickly to make the investment in the new entity work . That work must be done early , preferably before the consolidation is announced to the organization . Make it a point to have private conversations with the folks you need to stay . It might go like this : ‘ You are the future for what we ’ re building . We ’ re counting on you to be a part of this exciting development . Here ’ s the role you ’ re going to play and what that means for you long term .’”
He acknowledges that the timing of this conversation can be tricky . “ You don ’ t want the details of the deal out there before you ’ re ready to announce them ,” he says , acknowledging this often happens , despite all precautions . “ It ’ s important that you plan for that if it happens .”
Leadership , Communications , and Accountability
Of course , not everyone can or wants to adapt to change . Inevitably there will be those who can ’ t make the change . How do you cope with those who say , “ We were fine before ? Who needs this ?”
The answer is leadership . “ I think that helping folks deal with change comes from the organization ’ s leaders ,” Dinneen says . “ It ’ s their job to set the vision for where they ’ re going , to set clear expectations , and to hold people accountable .”
He learned those lessons the hard way through several smaller acquisitions . “ We have acquired companies before . And what we ’ ve found is that leaders must hold their people accountable . If they don ’ t , they burn double the time they spend on everything . To avoid that , leaders must be clear about holding their people accountable . The word ‘ accountability ’ has taken on a negative connotation . We ’ ve been discussing this over the last year in our organization and see that term as perfect . Holding your team and yourself accountable drives the results that you want . For example , say you want to lose weight but only eat ice cream . You ’ re not being accountable to yourself . You ’ re making a poor short-term decision and not getting the longer-term results . It ’ s the same thing when you ’ re leading a team . It ’ s all about vision , expectations , and accountability . And then communicating where you ’ re going and what you expect from every team member .”
Dinneen points out that as the pace of change accelerates , communications become even more critical . After every strategy session , Dineen says they continue to make communicating the outcomes a priority . “ We would ask ourselves , ‘ What do we need to communicate from this meeting ?’ ‘ What decisions do we need to cascade to the rest of the company ?’ Because if you ’ re not purposeful about that , you will end up in a tough situation . Folks will be doing the wrong things because they don ’ t know
18 customized logistics & delivery Magazine I summer 2023