My company was recently acquired, what do I need to learn to adjust to the new culture and seek promotion?

Question

My current company has been acquired by another company.

The new parent company doesn't have any plans to change anything in our operations... but does some new things that we don't currently do.

What do I need to look for and what do I need to learn to efficiently adjust to the change?

What considerations do I need take into account when deciding on steps to take to seek promotion in the new parent company?

Answer 1

This will depend a great deal on what your current qualifications are, where they are physically located and what jobs are available.

If you are located in the same geographic area, you probaly have about as good a chance as anyone else in the company for the types of jobs you are qualified for except you probably don't know the hiring managers yet which puts you at a disadvantage over people they know but not over people from outside the organization.

If you live outside the geographic area, you might be able to get a job if you are willing to move or they are willing to let you telecommute. However, they likely will not pay your moving expenses unless they are closing your office and you have to move to their HQ.

If you like the new parent and want to move to their other business, then start making personal contacts there. That will help more than anything to get you noticed by their hiring managers. If there are projects to integrate the two businesses, getting on the team to this will help you make those contacts. So volunteer.

One thing to be aware of is that business are often bought to get the customers not the employees of the company they bought. So start looking outside the company now even if they told you they had no plans to change anything (this is virtually 100% of the time a lie). If they don't have the same skill set, you may be safe, but.... let's just say I've seen this happen - a lot. Usually in about a year. Or they may outsource the jobs they don't do to another country and get rid of the expensive people who currently do them. The exception to this rule tends to be in the government contracting world where the contract usually included a set of skills required to have and may not allow outsourcing.

Answer 2

Things to ask about in terms of transition - there's no absolute answer, but these are useful things to stay aware of:

• Culture shift - what are the differences in culture? Will work hour flexiblity change? Will the nature and types of meetings change? How does the new organization communicate with employees? Is that feasible for your existing group? This can even include goofy things - like what aspects fo education and experience does the CEO most appreciate?

• Business shift - often a bigger business or a business in different (bigger) domain does things differently due to driving market conditions. As the company's portfolio has grown, you may find that how it does business changes, and thus changes the priorities and expectations of your group.

• Tech shift - chances are some of the tools, processes and procedures will change in the new company - it doesn't make sense to pay for an support two tool sets, and it is utter chaos to have two technical processes for the same thing - so expect some compromise here. Usually companies try to choose a "best of breed" collection, but that can be a matter of opinion.

• Benefits shift - it's not unusual for employee benefits to shift, but on a slower timeline. You may see it in the next benefits election period, or in the following one - it depends on the nature of the acquisition (some have a time delay on benefits changes) and the timing of the acquisiton. Being 1 big company instead of 2 small companies can sometimes get you a better deal, but can sometimes also mean the elminiation of things you held dear.

A big thing to figure out is why did the acquisition happen? Is it the product, the employees or the customers the new company was after? What is the next step for the product or service owned by your company? Listening to the tone of both external and internal communications from top management will help a great deal on this. The two tones will tell you a lot about what they really want to do - there's a lot of reading between the lines here.