One of the most critical factors to deal with during an acquisition is employee turnover. To minimize the amount of employee turnover during an acquisition the manager needs to review; the conditions that lead to turnover, how to research and track turnover, evaluating measures to prevent turnover, exit interviews to capture data on employees who choose to leave as a result of the acquisition and recommendations for strategies on how to deal with turnover. As a result of the acquisition there will be substantial organizational changes that will impact the employees. These changes if not properly managed could result in a decline in employee morale that leads to turnover. .
Challenges.
The primary objective of the manager must be to provide understandable, frequent, truthful and well-timed communication to the employees about any changes that will result from the acquisition. Maintaining communication will eliminate situations that are not clear or seem disorganized. When employees are faced with a substantial change such as an acquisition, they are likely to turn inward and become preoccupied with their own needs. This anxiety can have a significant impact on the productivity of the department, for example:.
*An individual's normal productivity level in an eight-hour day can drop by up to 3.6 .
hours during a major transition (U. S. Department of Labor);.
*One-quarter of top performers leave within 90 days of a major change even being.
announced (American Management Association);.
*The cost of employee turnover is typically one year's salary (HRM Benchmarking.
Report). (La Mere, 2002). .
Some of the challenges facing managers during an acquisition are employee commitment, productivity and retention. Peoples' anxieties escalate as they try to anticipate how the outcome of the acquisition may affect them individually. As the acquisition unfolds employees become concerned with how the new policies and procedures will impact their work/life balance, career development, performance evaluation criteria and dealing with new management.
