In 2017, I worked at a software startup that was acquired by a public company after I had worked there for several years. In my experience, the enterprise wide communication around the acquisition was very well-done, in that we had a clear understanding of the strategic goals and assurance that business would continue as usual. That generally held true, but communication broke down once we got into some of the integration processes. For example, IT rollout of re-imaged equipment and new email addresses, VPN, etc, was poorly managed and confusing. Our middle management was often uninformed, which bred uncertainty within departments. So while the initial communication was well planned, the actual integration plan did not set clear expectations, causing irritation, confusion and a drop in morale.
