Sometimes, the best way to grow a business is to merge with another one or to take on a new business partner. Merging can help both businesses to reach the next level, but in order for it to work well for everyone involved, it must be managed properly. Follow these tips to successfully manage a merger. 

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1. Take some time to get to know the owners of the other business. You’re all going to be working closely together, so it’s important that you can do so effectively. Are your personalities a good match for a productive working relationship? Are they as committed to this merger as you are? 

2. Don’t rush the merger, but don’t let it drag on forever either. Arrange meetings between you, the other owners and both your lawyers to iron out the details, but if things aren’t progressing, just walk away. 

3. Do thorough research into the other company. If you’re going to be tied to them, you will need to know if they have any skeletons in their closet. Visit SmartRoom for advice on finding a broker who can help you to do this properly. At a minimum, you will need to do an in-depth review of their finances. Get a clear idea of how their business operates and what their history is. Ask to see details of employee contracts, customer files, leases for property and most importantly, details of any debts. The other business will probably want to get the same kind of information from you. 

4. Make sure that both sides of the merger will benefit from the agreement. If you or the other party will cause problems later on, then this is a bad start to working properly together. If you do have any worries about an unequal measure, then sort out these concerns as easily as possible in the negotiation process. 

5. Remember that making a merger successful is only started when the agreement is signed. No matter how well you’ve planned the merger, getting these plans to work in practice can be more difficult. All mergers have teething problems in the early days. Staff may struggle to combine workforces, especially if they are worried jobs will be downsized. Changes to staff can bring a shift in company culture which can be a challenge too. To help this process, lead by example. Make sure you are compromising with the new team and working with them well to promote productive ways of working. 

6. Make sure that your staff don’t learn about the merger from anyone other than you. It can happen that the staff finds out mergers through rumors or from reading about them in the trade press. Finding out this way makes staff feel undervalued and can cause panic about potential job losses. Make sure that you are the one who tells your staff. Keep them informed about the merger, and give them an opportunity to ask you any questions that they might have. 

7. Don’t force the two teams to interact at first. This can feel a bit infantilizing, so hold off on the organized fun and the mixed seating plans. Instead, offer natural opportunities for the teams to spend time together. Mix up the teams a bit so people can start to work together. Offer some fun ways to interact, like drinks in the office on a Friday night. 

8. Maintain consistency between similar positions. If you have people in similar roles thanks to the merger, make sure that you keep things fair. This means that expectations, accountability, and compensation needs to be the same in order to keep things fair and stop resentment from setting in between teams. 

9. Make sure that you are being positive and confident about the merger in front of staff, customers and clients. Even if you have concerns and are managing problems, then you need to make sure that you’re aren’t bringing those worries onto the office floor. Instead, work on those problems with the other managers and don’t impact your business. 

When merging a business, there are always going to be problems, so it is important to work with the other owners to find a new way of working, new company culture, and a productive work style that will benefit your new merged companies. Make sure all staff still understand what their role is and that they continue to feel valued. Take the merger slowly and put in the work to maintain proper communication throughout the business.