[Frederik Maeng]

I think it is dependent on the industry and employee values how to approach it. Younger organisations will likely be more focused about career path and development opportunities, rather than short term monetary gain – which makes talent management important

[Olena Kosobutska]

People are the key asset to realize the value of the acquired business, thus talent retention should be on top of the agenda. Of course, monetary reward is the base to keep people satisfied / rather that offering bonus it should be something more long-term, e.g. increase to fixed remuneration, additional benefits. It is also very important to identify so called “key employees” who contributing the most to the success of the business and have deep dive discussions with them about their expectations, incl. monetary, career progression.

[Dan]

Having a retention package in place also works sometimes

[David C]

Talent retention during periods of organizational change can definitely seem like an ‘uphill battle’! However, there are several effective approaches you can take:

1. You could offer monetary ‘retention bonuses’ for folks who stay throughout a specified timeframe of the integration (e.g., 6 months) – regardless of whether or not their role will be made redundant.
2. You could launch career development options/courses to help ‘upskill’ staff to prepare for post-integration demands.
3. For any staff who are made to be redundant, you could consider offering ‘early exit packages’ for them.

[Steve]

I agree with many of the responses on talent retention and the deployed incentives. Careful attention to the target company’s culture and what the “small things” within that culture are is important to show interest in and develop ways to reserve that culture. It’s difficult not to disrupt a target company’s culture, but genuinely showing respect for the employees and their ways of working should influence your integration plans.

[Steve]

I don’t directly manage the “people strategy”/”talent retention”, but as a member of out integration management office, I’ve seen when this has been executed well. Here are some of the best practices:

1. Having early of frequent senior leadership (CEO and CSO) “sponsorship” of the key talent you need to retain
2. Accommodating the bonus and salary bands of the target company
3. Retaining the target company real estate and working conditions (whether working remotely or hybrid)
4. Measuring and acting upon culture assessments of the target company to sustain as much of the current culture as possible
5. Providing clear career paths for target company employees

[Author]

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