Companies today face an increasingly challenging regulatory environment, with merger and antitrust reviews being transformed by political agendas and increased third party interventions. As these hurdles threaten to slow or halt more mergers, internal communication is more important than ever to ensure that colleagues stay informed, focus on their jobs and maintain trust in leadership. Traditionally, many internal communications leaders have not had to concern themselves with the details of mergers and acquisitions, but this is rapidly changing. To do their jobs well, modern internal communicators need to understand the regulatory side of M&A, and to work in lockstep with public affairs and legal teams to help guide deals to success.
In the modern M&A landscape, it is important to prepare for elongated timelines as well as novel theories of harm, as political and commercial interests attempt to secure their own strategic advantages. Established rules and traditional tools are no longer enough to ensure success — hard-edged campaigns and sophisticated, substantive public affairs interventions are a must-have when navigating these challenges.
Simple narratives can quickly pick up political momentum and drive legal assessments in ways not previously seen in our modern, evidence-based era. A broader range of stakeholders —including internal stakeholders — now have the potential to impact the outcome of deals. Scenario planning and the building of key relationships ahead of time with all these groups are now requirements, and employees are a critical group to reach. Legal scrutiny and media narratives run the risk of bleeding into the employee experience, sparking internal debate and driving internal disruption. Internal chatter also runs the risk of spiraling outward, affecting external stakeholder perceptions. A broad range of stakeholders matter for closing a deal, and they demand that leaders from legal, public affairs and employee communications wings of companies break siloes and work together.
Of course, all this is just the beginning for leaders of employee communications; their role only becomes more vital after deals close and the work of truly integrating two companies begins. Post-merger integration is a complex and critical task in and of itself, and Gagen MacDonald has deep experience helping companies successfully navigate it. Make no mistake, however: in the future, the best communications leaders will be deeply involved long before PMI work begins.
