Ask employees about the company. You want to know about [employees’] expectations from the deal on the human side. We might ask them, ‘How would you react in this kind of situation?’ and, ‘How does your company treat this?’ And then depending on what they say, it also gives us an idea the kind of people we’re going to be dealing with. And sometimes they might tell you, ‘This is how the company treats people, but I never liked that.’
We did an acquisition one time that they didn’t allow us to talk to the employees until a week or two before closing, and we nearly backed out of the acquisition because we found out some other things, and it actually delayed the closing. So take your time to talk to the employees and make sure they buy in to it.
They need to see where you’re going with them and what you need from [them]. Be honest. I’m always very honest with them: ‘This is where I’m going with this company. This is what I’m going to do with your company.’
Welcome new employees. We talk to every employee so they tell you their aspirations. We have the same issue even in-house; it’s continuous learning to find out what their aspirations are.
You have to spend a lot of time making sure people feel welcome and wanted. We quickly identify the informal leaders amongst them. The manager is just a technical manager, but there’s Bob who is the informal leader. He’s the one that everybody follows. From talking to [all the employees], you’ll find out. Their name will keep coming up.
And we spend a lot of time with those people. Even though they may not be functional managers, to us they are leaders in their own right. It’s a matter of making sure they are involved. You ask for their opinion, ‘What do you think of this?’ By talking to them, that means you’ve talked to at least 20 people there.
How to reach: Chester Engineers Inc., (412) 809-6600 or www.chester-engineers.com
