Not too long ago, I was a part of a leadership team that successfully sold our company to a multinational corporation. Our company was comprised of high performance Knowledge Workers and our business model was primarily project driven at the time. The sale was for a substantial amount of cash, with no earn outs to speak of. The sale went well, and the resulting transition was stable.
That’s not always the case. Any time an acquiring company considers buying a business driven by Knowledge Workers, there’s considerable risk.
The first thing that comes to mind is employee retention. Flight risk is real, and your most talented associates are typically the most in demand. The loss of key leaders, or even implicit leaders from the organization can demoralize and trigger others to explore their own options. This can create a cascade effect, with your High Potentials heading for the door.
Another critical risk factor is how knowledge is shared and institutionalized. Can you quickly and efficiently execute a successful knowledge transfer? Much of the value of Knowledge Worker-driven companies lies in tacit knowledge, which can be difficult to identify, never mind document. This can be further exacerbated by a resistance to share, especially if associates feel their future is uncertain.
And of course the grand-daddy issue of them all…cultural fit. If this is a merger, how do the cultures come together? Will this create value or erode it?
These are only a handful of risk factors acquirers encounter. It’s safe to say, success in these scenarios lies in getting one’s arms around these risk factors. Risk factors that, heretofore, were difficult to see, never mind measure…or mitigate!
One of the reasons we’re so excited to be working with the Talent-OS platform is it gives us the ability to both see and measure culture risk factors. This must be how molecular biologist felt when they were given their first electron microscope!
Joking aside, more than 50% of organizations misidentify their High Potentials, too. These often include your implicit leaders, your critical, go-to people you definitely want to keep. These people are often key repositories of tacit knowledge, too.
The platform also enables pro-active communication from leadership to be regularly disseminated throughout the organization, further stabilizing the value base of the company throughout the process.
Post-acquisition, individual Professional Development Plans, anchored in real-world objectives, can be instituted, illustrating a clear career path for your leaders and High Potentials, enhancing retention of your critical associates. In addition, the Talent-OS platform automatically tailors leadership development modules, based on our previous assessments, to further develop collaboration, productivity and profitable growth throughout your acquisition.
If you’d like to learn more, you’re welcome to visit https://www.performtransform.com/mergersandacquisitions.
© 2024, Performance Transformation, Inc.
Commentaires