Successful M&A communication is achieved through strategy, storytelling, and staying human in the face of complexity.
On a quiet Friday afternoon in January 2022, a “Quick Connect” meeting landed unexpectedly on my calendar for the following Monday. The meeting title was brief and unspecific, which led me to spend the weekend speculating about its purpose. When Monday morning arrived, I learned something that would shape the next six months of my professional life: our firm was entering into a merger with an equal-sized professional services firm, and I was being brought into the inner circle to help lead the communications strategy.
But long before the merger was finalized, the real work had already begun, crafting a communication strategy that could preserve our culture, build trust, and help achieve the business goals of the merger. The stakes were high – not just for revenue or market positioning, but for the people who had built these firms into what they were.
That first meeting with my supervisor set the tone for what was to come next. I wasn’t just being informed – I was being invited to help make it successful, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to contribute to such a strategic milestone in our firm’s history. But as the famous saying goes, “With great opportunity comes great responsibility.” I knew I had an obligation not only to the executives leading the merger, but also to honor our people throughout the process – a win-win for both business and our employees.
What’s the double-win?
Mergers are known for triggering a mass of conflicting emotions – excitement, uncertainty, hope, fear. And for good reason: according to a Harvard Business Review article cited in Forbes, nearly 70 percent of mergers fail to meet their strategic goals, often due to poor cultural integration and communication missteps.
The “double win” we aimed for was ambitious:
- Retain our top talent
- Build trust with our people
- Keep our culture intact through high change
- Support executives in achieving strategic growth through the merger
To pull this off, we needed a communication plan that wasn’t just about disseminating information – it had to engage hearts and minds around a strong purpose and a solid “why.”
Begin with the end in mind.
Stephen Covey’s famous principle applies powerfully to mergers: start with the end in mind. If we knew what success looked like – people staying, culture thriving, business goals achieved – we could reverse-engineer the communications process. So that’s what we did.
That meant shifting from the typical “announce and defend” model of corporate change to a more empathetic and strategic framework. As Inc. notes, successful merger communication begins by aligning people to the future vision while addressing their real-time emotional and informational needs. That’s how trust is built.
Here’s how we did it – and how you can too:
1. Get the announcement right. The first official communication sets the tone for everything that follows. It must strike a balance between transparency and hope, acknowledging what is changing, emphasizing what will remain, and building excitement for a bright future.
We prioritized clarity, calm, and credibility. Vague or overly optimistic announcements tend to backfire, creating more anxiety than excitement. Instead, we focused on plain language, real timelines, and visible executive presence across internal channels.
2. Create a continuous forum for Q&A. People don’t just want to be told – they want to be heard. We built recurring opportunities for employees to ask questions directly to leaders through town halls, digital forums, and internal messaging platforms.
These moments didn’t just provide answers. They gave people space to process, vent, and find community. The act of asking and being answered reinforced psychological safety, a vital ingredient in retaining talent during change.
3. Develop a resource center. Information overload is a risk in every merger. We built a centralized resource hub – a living library of FAQs, key dates, integration updates, organizational charts, and cultural onboarding materials.
People want to explore answers on their own time. A reliable, single searchable source of truth kept rumors at bay and gave teams autonomy in the change journey.
4. Avoid these seven trust-busting phrases. Even well-meaning leaders can say things that unintentionally damage credibility. Throughout the communications process, there were several phrases I advised against at one point or another. I call them “trust-busting” phrases:
- “No one will lose their job.” Unless it’s a legal guarantee, don’t say it. Be honest about the process and timelines, and set realistic expectations for your people.
- “We’re doing this for efficiency.” Employees hear this as “we’re eliminating roles” or “layoffs are coming.” Speak in terms of growth, innovation, and vision.
- “We’re not planning on doing another one of these.” Avoid this phrase altogether – future M&A is always on the table in competitive markets.
- “The merger will be complete in X-to-X months.” Integrations evolve. Communicate in milestones, not hard-stop dates. Pro tip: Using a “Now, Next, Later” approach helps reframe timelines in terms people can absorb.
- “We’re not changing our brand.” Whether you’re in a merger or not, brands shift in subtle ways even when names don’t. Be transparent about the possibilities.
- “We’ll announce X news by X date.” This sets up expectations that you may not be able to control. “Our promise to you is that when a decision is made, we’ll communicate clearly and with transparency,” is an example of a better approach.
- “We won’t be adopting the other firm’s practices or policies.” Mergers are a two-way street. Commit to collaboration and make best-fit decisions, rather than preemptive denials.
Each of these phrases may seem reassuring in the moment, but can erode trust when proven inaccurate or oversimplified.
5. Hit the values hard. In the swirl of change, values ground people. Throughout the integration process, we continually tied back updates to our core values – stewardship, transparency, integrity, respect, and excellence.
Whether it was celebrating team wins or addressing challenging transitions, every message pointed back to who we are and what we stand for. Culture isn’t preserved by accident. It must be actively reinforced at every stage of a merger.
6. Balance people and business needs. Finally, we reminded ourselves – and our leaders – that our people needed to know they were valued. Even well-run mergers fail if they neglect the human dimension.
Yes, we had metrics to meet, synergies to achieve, and growth goals to pursue. But we also had people who needed to feel safe, valued, and seen. When communications strike that balance between business logic and human empathy, they drive the organization forward.
The takeaway.
Six months after that Monday morning meeting, the merger became official. But for those of us in communications, the work didn’t start or end there. It was an ongoing effort to lead with clarity, consistency, and compassion.
If you’re guiding your firm through a merger or acquisition, a double-win is possible. But it’s not a result of press releases or buzzwords – it’s built through strategy, storytelling, and staying human in the face of complexity.
And it starts, perhaps, with a quiet meeting on a Monday morning, where someone brings you in not just to inform, but to lead.
Dan Schwartz is the internal communications manager at SCS Engineers. He can be contacted at dschwartz@scsengineers.com.