Anyone been through a merger?

[ohfor]

The firm I work for is about to merge with a bigger firm. It's all confidential at the moment and nothing has been communicated but the rumour mill has started.

I'm in fairly senior position but not senior enough to be in the know. The other firm has multiple offices although not an office where we are based so I assume that is one of the reasons for their interest in us and our customers. I hope we will be absorbed and left alone although it may be that our teams will be amalgamated across other offices. I am trying to work out if there are any opportunities in this or whether I should try and jump ship now ! Has anyone been through this
Thanks

There may well be opportunities, but not always with the new, larger company.

I went through one, and they reviewed all the roles, worked out where there were duplications and mostly adopted what was deemed to be the better version.

I would expect most mergers not to be quite that organised. In my current job, I still have to deal with some systems that predate a merger about 15 years ago. There have been efforts to consolidate and get rid of a lot of legacy systems since, but that's more down to how the industry's changed over the years.

Basically, it can be anywhere along the spectrum from being well-organised and well-communicated and a right shambles, and you're unlikely to be able to tell which until you're in the middle of it.

I would take it as a time to review my career aspirations and my CV & LinkedIn. Even if the opportunities are all internal rather than by leaving, it will still be a useful exercise, and means you'll be ready for whatever happens. I'd probably sit and wait rather than go now, unless I'd already been planning to move, but I think that's probably personal preference.

Yes twice . It resulted in redundancies on every level right up to the M.D. Many of the roles had to re - apply for our own jobs .

Don't 'jump ship' and resign, why would you do that.

A merger can take a year to finalise, then they can take some time to decide where the "synergy saving" come from, then redundancies may be offered. That could be 2-3 years of work, plus pension contributions and extra years for the redundancy calculation. Stay put.

Even look for internal job opportunities as they will continue to emerge just as a consequence of ongoing business activity. Business doesn't stop, the world keeps turning.

Another vote for not panicking at this point, but also updating CV etc and keeping an eye out in case you see something else amazing around.

Yes, several times. The company was a joint venture when I joined on secondment from one of the parent companies, it then transferred wholly to that parent company as a merger with one of their other businesses, the combined business was then sold on to another company who merged it with another of their subsidiaries. All were American parents, we were UK based. Each change resulted in some degree of reorganisation and redundancy at our site (which had 100-150 employees over the years I worked there). Plus a certain amount of administrative effort changing the company name and logo everywhere and getting used to being part of a different company. Changing performance measures, pensions and benefits. It was a good place to work, but as time went on more and more people were staying to maintain their length of service with a view to redundancy payouts so the normal turnover of employees more or less stopped, it became insular and stale with no real career development opportunities. In the end I decided I was wasting my life waiting for a refundancy payment that might never happen and jumped ship. The UK business did close a year later so I did miss my redundancy payout (8 years service by then) but no regrets. I would say stay put, but you may need to reconsider longer term and do start considering your CV, keeping an active eye on the job market in your industry etc.

Sorry to jump in here - my company was recently acquired by another. Can they change our existing contract e.g. Working hours, annual leave, other policies? I'm confused.

Peachy, have a read of the TUPE regulations www.tssa.org.uk/en/Your-union/your-workplace/employment-rights/tupe--a-guide-to-the-regulations.cfm

I do a lot of mergers via my work. Unless there's a crisis situation, changes usually take some time to filter through - generally you see a fairly fast top team change then a couple of months while the new leaders understand and absorb their new teams. There are usually at least a few redundancies at that point - if it is 20 or more, this will need to include a 45 day consultation period with some specific rules including employee reps, impacted people getting first choice of any jobs going. In any case, anyone affected should qualify for a redundancy package, the first £30,000 of which is is tax free, and would usually include outplacement services also.

If you're good at your job and in a service type company with a growth based merger I'd make sure your linkedin is up to date (and expect a few fishing calls from headhunters) but not actively look to jump unless there's a good role elsewhere. If they're trying to grow Vs make efficiencies there's every chance you'll be kept on, and if not, that you might have a decent retention package (if you are needed to manage in the short term before leaving) or redundancy package.

For the person who asked about policies - yes, they can change some policies very easily (eg travel) and some reasonable changes to working hours if allowed by your contract - eg many contracts have a wide range of working hours or specify potential relocation within a short distance - however if they are making significant changes to your job contract (e.g. requiring part timers to go full time, changing annual leave from what is specified in your contract) then that would usually make you eligible for redundancy. Always though the devil is in the detail for these things, so if it happens to you, call your union if you have one or ACAS.

Hmm, I worked for a company that took over another. There were really good short term opportunities to get involved in the changes and projects but it soon because clear there were too many people for the jobs. I don't know if they put many at risk in the end because so many people left over the couple of years it took to settle down, I got a much higher paying job elsewhere so it wouldn't have been worth sticking around for redundancy.

Yes.

It was a good thing overall. No redundancies in my case, but far more opportunities available once we were part of a bigger firm.

I left after a few years, because I didn't feel quite as appreciated in the new set up (I had previously been a big fish in a little pond), but that we due to me, not the merger.

Thanks, this has been helpful. Things seem okay...for now!