Merger Integration Communication Lessons Learned

Principles

1. Communicate the facts as you have them and in coordination with colleagues in Corporate Communications and Legal
2. Give employees a variety of ways to hear from and communicate with leadership
3. Decline to editorialize, speculate, or offer opinions on the integration
4. Resist the urge to treat all new information as important
5. Know your audience and tailor your messages to them accordingly

Tactics

Key Findings: Misses

–Large (e.g., 500+ employee) town halls in Los  Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix

–Recorded phone messages from CEO

–Several days with excessive communications and mixed messages from multiple sources ...