Recent acquisitions and merger news in the pharma world included big names and led to large layoffs. According to outplacement consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, since 2009, the pharmaceutical industry announced more than 156,000 job cuts in the U.S. alone.
Although there are always exceptions and layoffs are not always imminent, new talent recruitment generally follows merger layoffs. This type of hiring can be tricky, though, and it is up to HR professionals to ensure consistent communication and recruiting efforts in order to be successful.
When hiring after a merger, you not only have to find the best talent, but also figure out how to effectively communicate the recent merger or acquisition to the public while still attracting the best talent.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Here are some tips to find and attract great talent while navigating the muddy waters after a merger:
Understand the new needs and combined cultures of the company
A company merger means changes both internally and externally. For human resources professionals, it is extremely important to thoroughly understand these changes in order to align recruiting efforts with the needs of the company.
To do this, you can conduct surveys across all levels of the company, and with select customers, to understand perceptions and norms between each company. The survey should be short and simple, but also provide you with enough information to understand what type of candidate will fit well within both company cultures and appeal to the newly expanded customer base.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Additionally, regular meetings and interviews with leadership from both companies can help to determine cultural differences and more clearly define candidate expectations for new hires. It is likely that these expectations will be different between each leadership team, so you should clearly communicate what candidate profile you’ve come up with once it has been defined. When everyone is comfortable with the profile, then you can proceed with recruiting.
Be open, honest and transparent with current and new employees
Constant communication with the entire team will ensure all candidate experiences are similar and that they are being told the same things in interviews. It can reflect very poorly on your company if candidates hear different things from different people, so you need to make sure everyone is on the same page.
To do this, share key points about the merger on a constant basis across different communication channels. With everyone seeing the same messaging and having the same information, it is much more likely that candidates will also hear the same messaging and won’t walk out of their interviews confused about the company’s direction and needs. You should also urge leadership to talk amongst themselves about the candidates so you can gauge their thought process and see where each team may see talent gaps.
Another aspect to open and transparent communication is trust. Trust is based on respect, and without respect and open communication, you could lose your positive reputation as a result of disgruntled employees. This could in turn hurt your efforts; it may even take the possibility of recruiting top talent off the table completely. Ultimately, you want the merger to look like a positive move for both companies, so make sure your employees and leadership are relaying that positive image to increase confidence among candidates.
Don’t underestimate the importance of leadership
Aside from HR, leadership is the main portal of communication between employees, new hires, and new hire candidates when you’re in the middle of a merger. Therefore, they need to make the adjustment and be clear on all the changes before anyone else.
Your immediate focus after a merger or acquisition should be on training leadership within the companies on how to communicate the changes — whether they are talking to their employees or potential new hires in interviews. You also need to regularly evaluate the leaders to make sure they are taking the training seriously. Consider sitting in on a couple interviews if they’re comfortable with it, or schedule regular meetings for a few months following the merger to ensure they have dedicated time to discuss any questions or concerns they have.
You should also make sure to have all leadership available at all times to answer questions. Whether it is for current employees or top talent you’re trying to recruit, they need to be readily available to address questions or concerns.
As an HR professional, your job will likely get much more complex and complicated during a merger or acquisition. Aside from managing all of the internal issues with current employees, you will also likely be tasked with hiring new talent to fit within both company cultures. To be successful, consistent communication and transparent recruiting efforts are key.
