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Dos and Don'ts of Merger Management

I asked the leaders of these three associations what advice they had for other executives anticipating or engaged in an association merger. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, they offer the following ideas for what to do--and what not to do--when leading a merger.

Do have a valid and compelling reason for bringing the organizations together. Staff and members will have to endure many bumps as they walk down the aisle toward an integrated, postmerger association. Give people an inspiring vision of a new, better organization so they can understand the gain as well as the pain.

Do find ways to involve people and put resources into the process. Whether it is board members from the partner associations establishing guiding principles for the integration or staff members identifying new best practices, the classic axiom that "involvement in decision making leads to support for implementation" holds true. However, take care to ensure that planning teams are productive. A few domineering personalities who won't let go of their way of doing things will depress the energy and morale of the majority who want to make the merger work. Nurture the planning process in ways such as holding training workshops on effective group decision making or by bringing in expert facilitators who can help teams nip dysfunctional dynamics in the bud and build positive cross-organizational relationships.

Do the hard work up front. Be transparent and forthright in your own actions and expect the same from your counterparts in the other association. If you encounter a tough decision--such as postmerger roles for senior staff--work it out prior to the legal merging of the two entities. You pay now or you pay later; any lingering issues will be a distraction to integrating and operating as one team. If you can't resolve a difficult issue before the merger, what makes think you can resolve it afterward?

Don't forget the staffs. They have to make it work. Pay attention to people from the merger partner; they will be concerned about adapting to a new leader and many other changes. But pay attention to people from your own organization as well. People may feel some sibling rivalry if all you say is how good people are from the "other side."

Don't underestimate the communication challenge. You cannot overcommunicate in a merger. Tell people what is going on before they hear news or gossip through other channels. Kill rumors and don't leave things open to interpretation. People tend to see the glass as half empty and assume things will be worse than they really are. And don't assume that no news is good news: Just because people are quiet doesn't mean they are on board. Effective communication is two way, so you need to ask people what is going well and what is not. Actions such as employee-attitude surveys are cost-effective ways to monitor your people during a merger.

Don't personalize things. Mergers threaten people's comfort zones. With a 75 percent failure rate, staff personnel and association members are savvy to the fact that mergers can veer off track. When an inevitable bump in the road occurs, people will be looking for a target to blame. If truly compelling reasons exist for merging, let those be your shield against any personal attacks.

-- Mitchell Lee Marks

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