Top Tips for Getting Teams on Board During an Acquisition

The statistics are sobering. Research from Harvard Business Review and McKinsey consistently shows that around 70% of acquisitions fail to deliver promised value. The reasons vary, but one factor dominates every failed integration I’ve witnessed: people. Specifically, teams that resist change, disengage from the process, or actively work against integration. This isn’t inevitable. I’ve seen acquisitions succeed beautifully because leadership prioritised getting teams genuinely on board from day one.

How can you improve communication is your primary tool in acquisition transitions?

When two organisations combine, people’s primary concern isn’t strategic synergy. It’s whether their job will still exist, whether their skills will still matter, whether they’ll be pushed out by incoming staff. These aren’t small worries—they’re existential. Yet so many acquisitions begin with executives discussing “value creation” and “cost synergies” whilst staff hear job losses and chaos.

Communication must happen early and continue relentlessly. Not propaganda about how wonderful the new entity will be, but honest assessment of what’s changing and why. What will stay the same? What will change? How will roles evolve? What support will people receive through transition? These conversations need to happen face-to-face where possible, directly from leadership, with space for real questions and concerns.

I’ve found that silence breeds catastrophe during acquisitions. When leadership doesn’t communicate clearly, people fill the vacuum with speculation. Rumours spread that are almost always worse than reality. The best antidote is relentless, honest communication. Yes, some people will lose roles. Better to say that clearly than pretend otherwise whilst people dread the worst.

How can you create platforms for genuine team discussion?

Getting teams on board requires creating space where they can voice concerns without fear of repercussion. Too many organisations treat acquisitions as top-down exercises where leadership decides everything and announces it downwards. Teams then receive it passively, in whatever emotional state emerges.

What I’ve done successfully is establish forums where people can ask questions directly, share concerns, and have them addressed. This might be town halls, small team conversations, or written submission channels where concerns can be raised confidentially. The key is that questions don’t disappear into a void—they get answered. When people see their concerns being addressed seriously, even if the answer isn’t what they wanted, they feel like they’re part of the process rather than subject to it.

During one acquisition I managed, we had resistance from a whole department because they believed—incorrectly—that their function would be outsourced. Rather than dismiss their concerns, I set up a series of conversations where they could understand the actual plan. It turned out the acquiring company needed their expertise even more than the previous owner. Once they understood that, resistance evaporated. They’d never believed the communication until they could ask direct questions and hear answers from someone they could question further.

How can you improve reducing failure through team engagement?

That 70% failure rate doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when organisations prioritise systems integration over people integration. When they assume teams will simply adapt because leadership declares adaptation. When they underestimate the resistance that emerges from uncertainty and change fatigue.

Getting teams on board isn’t nice to do—it’s essential. Your frontline people determine whether an acquisition succeeds or fails. They know customers. They understand operations. They spot what breaks when you change the way things work. Exclude them from the process and they’ll sabotage it, either deliberately or through the countless small decisions they make daily that either facilitate or hinder integration.

If you’re facing an acquisition, invest in communication first. Make space for genuine conversation. Answer questions honestly. Show people that their concerns matter and that you’re thinking about their needs alongside shareholder returns. This is how you reduce the acquisition failure rate—not through better deal structures, but through better people engagement.

Related reading: Expert advice on preparing staff for a team merger, Is your team suffering in silence? Four reasons why your colleagues won’t discuss their mental health with you and Train disengaged employees like a pro with these development strategies.

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