Make Psychological Safety part of your Integration Plan

An acquisition or merger is one of the most stressful events in an employee’s life.

That stress inevitably leads to worry and distractions that make employees more fearful of change and less productive.

How can you address that during post merger integration?

Make building psychological safety part of your integration plan!

More specifically, create vehicles that demonstrate employees can trust you during and after the transition.

How?

Create a communication loop! Communicate to and listen to employees. It’s a two-way street.

1. Over-communicate news about the transition via blog, newsletter or town hall meetings.

Pro-tip: stressed people have trouble processing information so present news in a variety of formats:visual,audio and in-person.

2. Provide a neutral, informal and confidential space for employees to talk to you about their concerns, expectations and needs.

Pro-tip: Investing in an Ombuds program, where an alternative dispute resolution expert listens to your employees and guides them to solutions while sharing insights (without attribution) to senior leaders, helps you achieve deal value now and supports your workplace in the future.

Ombuds is worth exploring because organizations with high levels of psychological safety enjoy:

76% more engagement
50% more productivity
27% reduction in turnover
74% less stress

That’s why you need an Ombuds to succeed!