Acquire to Inspire - an example how to make an acquisition

Congratulations!!! The company you worked for has just been bought.

What would be the first thoughts on your mind?

You would feel: optimistic, worried for your job security or the upcoming changes?

No matter what you feel there would be changes for sure.

As an IT professional recently the company I worked for Gemalto which is a medium size company was bought by Thales which is a huge company.

We had a gathering in a very nice hotel, where the new company vision was presented.

I would like to share a couple things I really liked in their presentation and why do I think they got it right.

They presented the message right

The presentation was not focused on how many opportunities we will have as part of the bigger company. Instead, the message was focused on unity, being one. Thales acknowledge that Gemalto is an expert in their field and as such it will be treated equally.

Many companies missed this part. A common issue for established companies is to be focused on the revenue gains and not in encouraging different business units to work together.

Example of that is Sony’s mobile business, you can read more about the issue and rivalry inside Sony from this link: https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-smartphone-cameras-quality-962358/

They did the Communication right

All the employees knew in advance what will happen.

Gemalto shared in advance what is the plan for the acquisition. There were a lot of communications, town hall and internal video messages.

All the employees questions were answered and the answers for the frequent questions were made public.

This approach is very beneficial to reduce any tension or fear of employees regarding their job security.

They had prepared a timeline

Before the acquisition, a timeline on what would happen was presented and is followed as you read those words.

This means that all unknown variables are out of the picture and for ex-Gemalto employees is known what and how will process with the transformation from a company to a business unit as part of Thales.

Summary

Going through a big change can be difficult for many people. It is up to the senior managers to find the right formula and transition smoothly.

Choosing the right message, communicating the changes in advance and have a well-thought timeline is the key for a smooth transition.

Would you like to read more about how to become a good project manager?

Then this article will help you: The 4 steps to be an excellent Project Management

Aleks Vladimriov is a Senior Software Developer, recognized Project Manager and Soft-skilled trainer and a coach.

Aleks Vladimirov

Solution Engineering Manager at Thales | Senior IT Professional | Startup Mentor and Product Manager

Bio

Aleks is experienced Product Manager with an engineer background and over 10 years of experience as a software developer. He works with different governments and is responsible for negotiation features and requirements, understanding the customers’ needs and supporting the senior management with regular reports and analysis. He held various positions starting as a software developer, moving to a team leader and software architect.

He strives in waterfall and agile environment alike. He is certified Scrum Master and Prince2 Practitioner and he knows how to design business processes and help teams optimize their work.
During his tenure, he had to wear many hats, prioritizing business requirements, delegating work and mentoring team members, creating mockups with Balsamiq, providing MS Project plan to the senior management.

He had worked in many international teams, located in the same city or distributed in different countries and continents. He had been a team leader of cross functional international team of 8 people.

In his current position, he is very much client focused. He has excellent presentation skills.
He delivers training sessions on presentation skills and leadership and he had helped hundred of people to improve their presentation skills.

He is also interested in creating more positive changes in the workplace by using entrepreneurship skills.
He had won startup competition where his team had validated and develop a business idea from scratch.

In his free time, he writes in his blog about effective product development.