Mergers and acquisitions can be exciting and financially rewarding for any company director or CEO, but while the prospect of growth and prosperity is undoubtedly thrilling, one major problem usually appears fairly quickly - how do you retain your current employees? 

Whether it's merging with an existing competitor or external company to diversify product offerings, or being bought out by a much larger company, the prospect of attempting to keep hold of high-performing employees once the deal has gone through has left many an executive scratching their head. Often, existing employees can feel insecure about the future of their employment within the company, particularly if the other company is bringing their own staff members with them. Similarly, the implementation of new policies, hiring practices, benefits and regulations can leave existing team members unsure if they want to remain in the new environment. This often results in an exodus of exiting staff, eager to pursue opportunities elsewhere, or strengthen their bargaining position for improved remuneration packages. 

So how can you take steps to retain your exisiting workforce? Here are 5 tips to help you keep hold of staff after an acquisition or merger: 

1. Open and honest communication

Trust is a crucial element of retaining staff, particularly during a period of instability and unpredictability. Keep the lines of communication with your team as open as possible, and tell them as much as you can about the plans for the future and any details you can share about the upcoming deal. If you team feels like you're being honest with them and isn't scared to ask questions, you can keep the trust between them and the management and ensure they don't feel like they're not being told something. 

2. Allow acquired teams to remain together

If you're purchasing an existing company, regardless of their size, consider allowing the current team of employees to stay together and retain their own culture. This happens a lot when bigger companies buy smaller ones, and it can go a long way to helping the purchased company retain their top talent. A good example of this is the recent acquisition of Olivia Burton by Movado watches - the larger US brand allowed Olivia Burton to retain all of their 33-strong team based in Shoreditch, London, making the existing team feel secure about their job prospects and retain their own culture and office dynamic. 

3. Offer an employee retention agreement

If it's feasible to do so, consider offering an employee retention agreement to all existing team members, regardless of how long they've been with the company. This will not only make your staff feel secure about their future, but allows you to include potential lucrative incentives for key team members to stay on. This might include additional benefits or simple cash bonuses, and will allow both management and team members to feel secure in their positions going forward. 

4. Allow for 1-1 communication

Of course you'll be communicating with your team as a whole, but by giving team members the opportunity to discuss their future on a one-to-one basis with management will go a long way to improving trust and confidence. Regardless of their position within the company, a merger or acquisition will breed insecurity, and a face-to-face discussion allows employees to discuss their concerns and will allow management to understand what might be driving team members to consider external employment. Take the time to listen and empathise with your employees, and it will pay dividends in the long run. 

5. Focus on training

Whether you're taking over another company or being acquired yourself, there's a fair chance that you'll either find yourself with new employees or will require a slightly different approach from your current team members. By placing an emphasis on training you will be able to ensure employees feel comfortable in their new roles or with taking on additional responsibilities. Explain that there will be a learning curve and ensure employees known you're not expecting them to get up to speed immediately. Where skills or knowledge gaps exist, ensure timely and effective training - not only will this ensure a smoother transition into a new way of working, but it will help existing team mebers feel comfortable that they can bridge the gap where they need to and retain their position within the comapny.