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Join NABR in partnership with Corp! Magazine for our CEO & Executive Thought Leadership Series, where Jennifer Kluge sits down with C-Suite Leaders to get their insight and expertise.
NABR is a service organization igniting greatness in companies and their people.
00:00:00:04 - 00:00:42:09
Jennifer
Hello everyone, I am Jennifer Klug and welcome to today's episode of CEO and Executive Thought Leadership. Today we have a panel of human resource executives that have led their teams through significant change as private equity investors, new leaders, and owners come into play. These experts can share their go to best practices. They have been there and can help others understand how to recruit, retain and engage teams as culture shifts and new stakeholders come into play, I'd like to introduce today's guest experts.
00:00:42:11 - 00:01:17:19
Jennifer
Welcome, ladies. We're going to get started going to introduce each each of you. We have Eve lie. She's joining us from the Bay Area in California. She is vice president of human resources at an independent pharmaceutical company. And with over 20 years of experience in human resources, Eve joined this in 2021, and throughout her career, she has focused on executive partnership, organizational strategy and employee integration during mergers and growth periods.
00:01:17:19 - 00:01:18:19
Jennifer
Welcome, Eve.
00:01:19:00 - 00:01:21:13
Eve
Thank you. It's nice to be here.
00:01:21:15 - 00:01:47:14
Jennifer
Joining us next is Shonna Turner. She is joining us from Atlanta, Georgia. She is vice president of human resources at Risk Connect, a global leader in integrated risk management technology. Throughout her career, Seana has focused on leadership development, diversity and bias training, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness. Welcome to the program, Shauna.
00:01:47:20 - 00:01:49:18
Shonna
Hi. Thanks for having me.
00:01:49:20 - 00:02:12:24
Jennifer
And we have Cristin Constanza joining us from Detroit, Michigan. She is vice president of human resources at one magnify, a digital marketing and data solutions agency. And throughout her career, Cristin has been at the strategic leadership table for HR and workplace development initiatives. Welcome, Cristin. Thank you.
00:02:13:00 - 00:02:14:08
Cristin
Great to be here with all of you.
00:02:14:09 - 00:02:42:12
Jennifer
And last but not least is Tanya Hubbartt joining us from Chicago, Illinois, vice president, human Resources at Blatchford Acoustics Group. They specialize in custom engineered noise, vibration and thermal reduction solutions. Tanya's career has expanded 20 plus years in strategic HR with an emphasis in employee engagement, workplace culture, and team development. Welcome to the program.
00:02:42:15 - 00:02:45:09
Tonya
Thank you. Jennifer, it's a pleasure.
00:02:45:11 - 00:03:12:04
Jennifer
All right, ladies, we invited you all to this program today because you all have something in common. You have experience in change of ownership or corporate funding, whether it's succession plan or implementation or acquisition or private equity. There's been a lot of change in your organizations, and each of you has a story to tell. So we'll start there.
00:03:12:06 - 00:03:30:15
Jennifer
Would love to hear, like, a brief 32nd overview on your story in this area of expertise. What challenges did you face and how did you work through those issues? So we're going to start with Tanya, if you don't mind, and then we're going to go around the room.
00:03:30:20 - 00:04:00:10
Tonya
Great. So but a great topic to start with. Jennifer. My experience is in ownership change in 2020 right in the middle of Covid. The owner of the privately held company that I. I worked for brought three of us under the tent, so to speak, and informed us that he had found a strategic buyer for the business. His request was for us to research other options.
00:04:00:12 - 00:04:26:12
Tonya
So for the majority of that year, I learned the ins and outs of M&A work, which was both a remarkable and challenging experience. Keeping that secret was very difficult, as you can imagine, but not as hard as it was to navigate the significant change management process that resulted after 200 plus employees were informed of the sale.
00:04:26:14 - 00:04:33:14
Jennifer
And you were the hub of the wheel on that, weren't you? You were coordinating all of the details and logistics. So it was a heavy lift.
00:04:33:19 - 00:04:43:19
Tonya
It. It was it was one of the greatest experiences I've had in my career. But it was it was very challenging. Yeah, but a great opportunity.
00:04:43:24 - 00:04:50:15
Jennifer
Thank you. We're going to dive deeper into all of your stories. But let's hear from Cristin next.
00:04:50:17 - 00:05:29:01
Cristin
Yeah. So I've been at one magnify for just over 15 years. And honestly, Jennifer, everything you just described I have been through in some way, shape or form. Whether we CEO transition, we have gotten funding, funding from private equity as well as done a number of acquisitions and all of those things. The the biggest challenge I've always seen is that shift in trust and making sure you're over communicating to the employees so they really understand what's happening, how it's going to impact them.
00:05:29:03 - 00:05:53:00
Cristin
I had a leader I worked with that used to say clarity is kindness. And she was right. And during periods of great and significant change, we have to be clear. We have to provide that clarity because otherwise people, you know, they'll they'll make up the story themselves. Right. And so how do we make sure we keep everyone on the journey together through that process?
00:05:53:01 - 00:05:58:13
Cristin
And that's what I've learned the most through all of this change we've gone through over the last 15 years here.
00:05:58:15 - 00:06:06:22
Jennifer
Wow. Clarity is kindness. I wrote that down, Shauna.
00:06:06:24 - 00:06:36:20
Shonna
So same here. I've been with Risk Connect seven years. We've had in this time of five different acquisitions. And so it's we've grown exponentially over these past seven years. And I've led through multiple transformation events on both sides of acquisitions through several global restructures. And I think what I've learned is that, like the technical side of that change is not the actual hard part.
00:06:36:21 - 00:07:07:05
Shonna
It's the human side of change because you're navigating through a lot of change, right? A lot of leadership shifts, changing expectations and really real employee concerns and questions right around stability. They want to know, like, well, what's what does this mean for me? What does this change me for me? When is the other issue going to drop. And I think I echo what Chris and say like some of the biggest challenges come down to trust, right?
00:07:07:06 - 00:07:30:08
Shonna
Transparency and pace. Like we've all been through the PE environment, we know that things move really, really quickly and it's high results driven and it could create a whole lot of tension in the organization if you're not really intentional, especially with how you're communicating. So what we did, I guess, is a best practice of staying ahead of that change.
00:07:30:08 - 00:07:58:16
Shonna
So we make sure we align our leaders early. We equipped our managers with, you know, scripts and communication pieces that they can so that they can communicate with their teams effectively and just create space as well for employees to ask those questions. Right. To get that clarity. And it just helps to build trust. And just like she said, if you don't if you don't paint the story, then they're going to define the narrative for themselves.
00:07:58:16 - 00:08:14:20
Shonna
And that's when you're going to notice that that culture starts to unravel. So I would say, you know, communicate early earlier than it feels comfortable. And then just make sure that you're being consistent. Right. More consistent than what you feel is necessary.
00:08:14:22 - 00:08:40:18
Jennifer
You brought up a good point, Shauna. That change is a human thing in humans historically have not reacted well to change. It triggers a primal part of your brain. Flee. Fight. Freeze. You know. So it's it's important, as you said, to communicate. Thank you for sharing about you.
00:08:40:22 - 00:08:41:06
Cristin
Well, I.
00:08:41:06 - 00:09:00:24
Eve
Think these ladies have said it all. They're absolutely brilliant. I think my message is going to echo a lot of what they've said. Certainly building that trust, that credibility and doing it early on is very vital to the success of any massive change. Most of my experience has been through mergers and acquisitions, and like Shauna, it's been on both sides of the table.
00:09:01:00 - 00:09:23:19
Eve
I find a little bit easier to be with the acquiring company because you generally have a better roadmap of what's happening. But to that end, to it's not just the technical aspects. I think Shauna mentioned this to, you know, that part's easier. What I found is that when you are looking to integrate the culture and building that trust, you have to identify the employees who are your cultural ambassadors.
00:09:23:19 - 00:09:48:12
Eve
These are the employees that other employees turn to. They look to them to find out what's happening. And so they are vital to the success of the integration. And it's really important to try to keep these cultural ambassadors and retain them, because they can help you successfully merge the two companies. So that's one of the things that I found to have success when going through merging acquisition.
00:09:48:12 - 00:09:50:10
Eve
In a lot of change.
00:09:50:12 - 00:10:00:02
Jennifer
In Eve, the culture ambassadors aren't necessarily the leaders, they're the people that people like and naturally gravitate to.
00:10:00:04 - 00:10:28:17
Eve
Absolutely. There. I find oftentimes not the leaders, there might be 1 or 2 leaders who have that, but oftentimes they're embedded in the organization somewhere, but they are the ones that employees go to to find out what's happening. They are good at having a big network and collecting information, and then they will help you carry that message. So I find that it's important to identify who those people are, bring them in and really help them to carry the message forward.
00:10:28:19 - 00:11:04:20
Jennifer
Well, we've gotten quite a bit of vice already. There's so much to, to, to drill down on. So. So let's do that. You know, in the old days, two things. Private equity would only take 10 million or 20 million and above opportunities. Now private equity is interested in $1 million companies or $5 million companies. So there's a whole world now that has been opened up to acquisition and in growth.
00:11:04:22 - 00:11:57:09
Jennifer
Also in the old days, as HR leaders, we were expected to promote culture, and culture would drive retention and engagement. And it creates this wonderful, happy network that keeps people on the team. And it also keeps people engaged in the old adage of there's no in team. That kind of gets changed when a company is being bought or the leader is retiring, owners retiring or whatever is happening, and there's a disparity there because as HR professionals, our job is to inspire, to engage, to retain and create culture, which is rituals and traditions and treating people with respect.
00:11:57:11 - 00:12:21:24
Jennifer
But then when private equity comes in. Forgive me for this term. It's an old term. Every man for himself kicks in. So how do we navigate that transparent, that disparity in our cultures. And you know, you've got two cultures coming together. It's not always a fit. Kristin, we're going to start with you.
00:12:22:01 - 00:12:46:13
Cristin
All right. Yeah. This it's it's very true. That is, you know, a mindset of every man for himself. And and honestly, I've I've heard it. I've seen it. But the truth of the matter is, if if private equity invests in your company, if you're acquired, that was that happens because as a company, you were winning, right?
00:12:46:15 - 00:13:12:24
Cristin
You were successful. That is why there's investment in that company. And and the hard part for people is that you're taking it from a team aspect where you were winning and and you were winning on your terms, and now you're part of a larger organization. You're part of an organization that's going to want to scale, you know, faster, like has said, right.
00:13:13:00 - 00:13:45:08
Cristin
Your private equity things are going to go ten x faster at minimum. And so all of a sudden, what winning looked like, what success looked like changes a little bit. And so the more we can get ahead of that, I tell leaders all the time and this isn't, you know, anything mind boggling. But even on an integration light, if we're going to acquire a company, please don't tell anyone that nothing's going to change because it does.
00:13:45:10 - 00:14:08:13
Cristin
And so how you can get ahead of that? I think some of the things we've already talked about for, you know, with communication, getting out early as quickly as you can, and even with the the ambassadors really understanding when you're working with a new company and new groups of people who are the people that can make the impact, that's really key.
00:14:08:15 - 00:14:38:22
Cristin
But it is. It's a new pressure. It's a new level. And so the more you can show people the growth opportunities that come from it, the the changes that the positive changes that come from that investment, new tools, you might be able to have bigger teams, new clients, new geographies, all of those types of things help people understand why and that we can achieve the next level of success, whatever that looks like as a team still.
00:14:38:23 - 00:14:52:16
Jennifer
And you mentioned communication. I would imagine in the beginning, there needs to be a style of that communication. Can you drill down a little bit more there? Cristin and Shauna, we're going to go to you.
00:14:52:18 - 00:15:17:04
Cristin
Yeah, I think the style of communication has to be bringing people on the journey. Right. And that means you are communicating in a variety of ways. There are town halls. There are focus groups. They're talking points for leaders that Shauna mentioned. There are groups with one on ones. How we're doing with our high performers, talking to all of them.
00:15:17:06 - 00:15:37:15
Cristin
And so that communication is really important to make sure people understand what's in it for them. So. Right. Your high performers are people you want to absolutely get to. Right. What does this look like for them? What is the what? How does this change their future and how does it help give them more opportunity to continue to perform at a high level.
00:15:37:16 - 00:15:39:18
Cristin
So that's one.
00:15:39:20 - 00:15:49:24
Jennifer
Thank you. Let's let's go to you. We building culture on the left. New owners on the right. How do we navigate that.
00:15:50:01 - 00:16:16:10
Shonna
Yeah I think like you say because culture can absolutely get tested right during this moment. Because there are it's a time of uncertainty. Right. And in time of uncertainty again, remember we're dealing with people, right. They naturally shift to that like self-preservation mode, that self-protection mode. And that's when like engagement and collaboration can seem to just, like, drop, right?
00:16:16:12 - 00:16:43:19
Shonna
Fortunately for Risk Connect, we've seen in our engagement data to data points is, you know, do I feel my team has have my back? Does my team have my back? And do I feel that I'm surrounded by people who share my values. And we've consistently scored pretty high and those two things. And I think that that has helped to build in an awful one mentality versus, you know, a everyone for themselves mentality.
00:16:43:20 - 00:17:12:01
Shonna
Right. But where this can get challenge, as I mentioned before, is when people start to feel uncertain. Right. Because again, we're trickling information down. It doesn't necessarily get across interpretations or different. Right. So people can start to feel and there's change happening. Right. So they can start to feel uncertain, start to feel a little bit cornered. And that's, you know, that that really can start to create a little bit of that self-protection.
00:17:12:01 - 00:17:37:07
Shonna
Right. So we, we, we like to get really intentional about our approach when we're dealing with that. And that comes from grounding the team. Right. And what we believe. Right. We scored really high. And my team has my back. My team shares my values right. Our values are very dear to us. We we we live them. So we we regrown them, the team and those values.
00:17:37:07 - 00:17:58:11
Shonna
And those are the things that will not change, right? And then be honest. Like curses. Cristin said, like things are going to change. Be honest about those changes, right? How is this going to impact you? How is this going to impact the team? Be honest about it. Don't gloss over it and and then create that space for employees to share.
00:17:58:11 - 00:18:17:11
Shonna
And whether that's in their one to ones with their managers, whether it's, you know, in a town hall or an all hands meeting, but that instinct to like, look out for yourself, it usually comes from lack of clarity and lack of trust. So create an environment where an employee can just feel more confident in the changes that are going forward.
00:18:17:13 - 00:18:20:02
Shonna
And I think that's what helps us to sustain our culture.
00:18:20:02 - 00:18:43:21
Jennifer
Yeah. And that being said, that being said, there's so many companies that do it wrong that make it harder for the companies that are doing it correctly. Right. And you know, people talk and oh, everyone's going to lose their job or whatever the rumors are as soon as it happens. And to get in front of that is is really important.
00:18:43:23 - 00:19:17:03
Jennifer
So we're in close. So the deals are being made and we're behind closed doors now. So your HR, you're advocating to the new owners or the new leader, the new CEO, whatever it may be. What are you ever for? And does it does it matter? Are you or do you gain traction as the leader of human resources going into these private discussions?
00:19:17:05 - 00:19:21:01
Jennifer
Take us behind closed doors. We'll start with Tanya and then we'll go to Eve.
00:19:21:05 - 00:19:49:01
Tonya
So and my experience of being on the acquired side of the table, maybe a little bit different and somewhat of a surprise, the strategic company that purchased our company was interested in buying us because they wanted to expand their footprint in our industry and had limited understanding or experience in our industry. So that made us very attractive for one.
00:19:49:02 - 00:20:24:20
Tonya
So when I think about what it was that was talked about behind closed doors were some of the what I would say for employees or non-negotiables, you know, their pay, their benefit package and then to to speak to something Jennifer, you just mentioned was traditions. The company that I work for had very strong, very deep traditions. And one of those that even the employees during this process of change came to me to ask is, will we still have our Thanksgiving?
00:20:24:22 - 00:20:56:18
Tonya
This was our high holiday, and every single employee had the opportunity to produce their list of gratitude and accomplishments that was collected by our corporate communications team and put into a booklet that was then given out during this Thanksgiving luncheon. And it was like a second family. I mean, the organization was so close. So I know that that is one of the traditions that they still do today.
00:20:56:20 - 00:20:57:22
Cristin
Oh that's great.
00:20:57:24 - 00:21:01:13
Jennifer
Yes. I was worried there. We weren't going to help. It's a good.
00:21:01:14 - 00:21:03:03
Tonya
It's a good story.
00:21:03:05 - 00:21:08:22
Jennifer
And you for that, Tanya, you went and that was a Diana sword issue. That was.
00:21:08:22 - 00:21:31:21
Tonya
A that was. Yes. That was one of the the biggest nonstarter for our employees. If they didn't do that and it looks a bit different today, there are more people. It's not in our auditorium anymore. It's it's at a restaurant, a local restaurant, but it's a private, you know, it's a white tablecloth, you know, it's a three. I took it over to me.
00:21:31:22 - 00:21:56:05
Tonya
Yeah. It's it's a very nice. They don't I don't think there used to be gifts and presentation. We had a speaker, but it's all around gratitude and appreciation for each other, for what we have, for abundance in life. And, you know, it's just it's a it's a thing. It's a living thing.
00:21:56:07 - 00:22:23:12
Jennifer
That goes back to the culture and the rituals and the traditions and expectations, and somebody new comes around and the things that we love that kept us engaged might go poof. And that creates fear to Shauna's point. So it's it's tough stuff. Tough stuff. So anyone listening out there pick your die on the sword issues and go to town.
00:22:23:14 - 00:22:43:10
Jennifer
Make sure you're heard, make sure you're and make sure that the new owners know what those these are the must do's if this is going to work and hopefully before the papers are signed. Right. It goes into the addendum of the agreements. Eve.
00:22:43:16 - 00:23:12:22
Eve
Thank you so much. Like Tanya, I've been on both sides of the table. One of the things that I have found in merging cultures and having it be successful is understanding the history of the companies, but really helping impart that knowledge to the leaders, because as leaders, they're likely looking to make a change. But without having that historical knowledge of why something is in place, whether it's a process or a mindset, you're making changes basically blindly.
00:23:12:24 - 00:23:33:13
Eve
And so having that historical knowledge helps the leaders understand why something and do we maybe just modify that, or do we absolutely need to change it? And if so, how do we communicate the rationale for that change. Because you need by and otherwise, it's kind of like an uproar from the employees. So it could be on big or small things.
00:23:33:15 - 00:24:01:09
Eve
So some of the things that I found in one, it was a different company, but we had manufacturing on site and the acquiring company had not had that before. They were distance from previous manufacturing sites. But our employees in the manufacturing center loved seeing senior leaders. And so they had their breakfast on site, and they loved it when leaders would join and they would just sit down and have a casual conversation.
00:24:01:09 - 00:24:24:14
Eve
And so it was getting our new leaders to engage in that, having them come in a little bit early, sit down, have those conversations being accessible, showing that they are there and they're with the employees, not just sitting in some high perch and just telling your their people to do so. That really went a long way to building that camaraderie.
00:24:24:18 - 00:24:33:00
Jennifer
Excellent, excellent. And did you did you personally have to advocate for that to make sure it happened?
00:24:33:02 - 00:25:02:13
Eve
I did, I did. So our new leader of the organization came from a very big organization. And they I mean, there were tens of thousands of employees. We were, I think, about 320 at the time. And we again had manufacturing on site, whereas their manufacturing, we think was located overseas. And so it just was a very different mindset to to have them engage at all levels of the company.
00:25:02:15 - 00:25:21:16
Eve
And it took a few tries. I kept putting it on the calendar and was like, okay, let's go have breakfast, let's go have breakfast. And then once the leader did it, they were like, wow, you know, it was a very Eye-Opening experience for them to have that connection. And they got some really good feedback too. So it was again just a really good connection point for them.
00:25:21:19 - 00:25:50:08
Jennifer
There's so much there's so much to unpack here in advocating for the company. I don't think HR teams get enough credit for what's done behind closed doors, but just know your HR leaders, at least the good ones, like the folks on this panel, are doing what's necessary to protect the important things of what makes you you as a company in your brand.
00:25:50:12 - 00:26:28:19
Jennifer
You know, the last six years, human resources has been the epicenter. So many things have been happening, and I hate to go back and say Covid, but I'm going to say it. Human resources was the hub of the wheel during the pandemic. Then we had different things happening for different industries tariff, inflations, you name it. And then add in this private equity and succession planning and owners getting older and wanting to retire because they're tired before they thought they were going to be tired because of the pandemic.
00:26:28:20 - 00:26:56:21
Jennifer
Right. It all kind of mixed into this perfect work. As many hours as you can storm and complex decisions and quick decisions needed to be made. And there were a multitude of stressors. Most people that I talked to in Human Resource as of late, forgive me, they're tired. They still have the want to. They still have to want to.
00:26:56:22 - 00:27:26:14
Jennifer
They still have the ability, still amazing leaders. But usually an executive has 1 or 2 major things a year. It's been one to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 major things a year for six years straight. So let's talk about the grind for those that are going through an acquisition, a merger, change in leadership, what advice do you give them to take care of themselves?
00:27:26:14 - 00:27:32:02
Jennifer
Because it can be quite demanding. We're going to go to Kristin, then we're going to go to Shauna.
00:27:32:03 - 00:27:32:19
Eve
Okay.
00:27:32:24 - 00:27:54:17
Cristin
The first thing I would say, and I agree with you wholeheartedly, a lot of things. I think our roles shifted a lot during Covid. I think all of us can agree that how we were looked at in the organization, that really just set this wheel in motion, the first thing I will say is, and I've been working on this myself, is give yourself some grace, right?
00:27:54:18 - 00:28:17:11
Cristin
There is a lot coming at us. There's a lot that is changing in what we do and how we do it, and what our teams look like, on top of all of the changes that are happening in our organization. So first, give yourself some grace. Second, and I think what has helped me the most is leaning on on your peers.
00:28:17:12 - 00:28:44:17
Cristin
Right? I like to think now I have three more people that I would email and call on and say, oh, we have this going on. You know, have you ever run across this as the things that we're dealing with become more complex, having a peer group that you can reach out to when you're just frustrated, when you don't know which which avenue take just to bounce some ideas off of or even just honestly, sometimes the best part is you don't feel like you're alone.
00:28:44:22 - 00:29:04:08
Cristin
You're not on an island, you're not the only person trying to figure this out. And and all those things are continuing to change, right? Like we're talking in one of my networking groups, performance reviews for AI agents. It's not going to happen tomorrow, but it's going to happen. And so how do we get ahead of some of those things?
00:29:04:08 - 00:29:05:24
Cristin
How do we talk about those?
00:29:06:01 - 00:29:09:11
Jennifer
Who is giving the performance review and who's receiving it.
00:29:09:13 - 00:29:15:08
Cristin
So you have to be determined. Jennifer, that's so great.
00:29:15:10 - 00:29:16:13
Jennifer
Okay. Here we go.
00:29:16:16 - 00:29:17:05
Eve
There's so.
00:29:17:05 - 00:29:38:09
Cristin
Much change. You know, kind of just even just talking about what the future could look like with other people in a similar situation that, you know, are going to have to, you know, come up with the solutions and, and deliver those for the organization. It helps you feel not so alone. And again, you can get some great ideas from each other.
00:29:38:09 - 00:29:43:12
Cristin
I've, I've jotted down a few here today, even just listening to these ladies. So definitely.
00:29:43:12 - 00:29:45:05
Eve
Just. Helping each.
00:29:45:05 - 00:29:46:05
Jennifer
Other, leaning on others.
00:29:46:06 - 00:29:46:14
Cristin
Being on.
00:29:46:14 - 00:29:47:18
Eve
Each other. Yes.
00:29:47:20 - 00:29:55:23
Jennifer
In a in a confidential way. People you can trust and they trust you. Shauna.
00:29:56:00 - 00:30:22:01
Shonna
Yeah. So like you say you do, you are. I think you like you said, you're the hub of everything. The center of everything, right? You're. As HR, you can quickly become strategy, execution, emotional support. You know, all of those things. And so I would say that there are three things or, you know, three pieces of advice that I would give is don't try to carry it alone.
00:30:22:04 - 00:30:46:18
Shonna
Right. So when things are, you know, all that's going on within the organization, especially during, you know, an M&A activity and addition to your day to day, you have to just make sure that you are aligning on decisions, messages and support before anything even reaches the employee. Right. So this is going to prevent prevent any last minute scrambling.
00:30:46:18 - 00:31:18:24
Shonna
It keeps leaders confident. And for yourself as a as an HR leader, it makes things a little bit easier on you to make sure that you're sharing that load and getting others involved. And then I would say prioritize what matters, right? Because life doesn't stop just because there's an acquisition, right? So addition to the restructuring you're doing merit cycle, you're doing urine reviews, you're doing integration work and all that normal day to day of supporting the business.
00:31:19:01 - 00:31:54:02
Shonna
We have to stay focused on what directly impacts trust, right? Because we know that that's what's going to cause things to break down. So making sure that we have clear communication that managers are prepared and that we have consistent execution, for example, when we have these actions and we're making sure that we're preparing managers for those difficult conversations so that those moments are happening, you know, they they're handled with clarity and empathy rather than inconsistently, right, or with hesitation.
00:31:54:04 - 00:32:23:15
Shonna
And then the third thing I would say is, and I don't think people talk about this enough, but you have to protect your own capacity. I'm managing the decision load, right. You don't have to make all the decisions. Right. We in HR, you have a way of just thinking through things, right? But in this in this environment, you have to empower your leaders to be able to do some of these things themselves.
00:32:23:16 - 00:32:49:14
Shonna
Right. But, you know, you standardize some key moments so that they know exactly what to do and how to handle those things. Also, you're sharing the responsibility amongst your team, I would say in these past few years is when our team has become closest because I'm delegating like no other, right? So I'm making sure that my team is equipped, their empowered, they're able to manage some of those decisions themselves.
00:32:49:16 - 00:33:08:19
Shonna
The only escalating what they really need to escalate to me. Right. And again, equipping managers to handle conversations themselves and not just like during an action, but as time goes on, right. And questions arise. So anyway, I know there's probably a long answer. I'll stop right there, but that would be.
00:33:08:21 - 00:33:12:10
Jennifer
I was taking copious notes.
00:33:12:12 - 00:33:13:11
Eve
So what?
00:33:13:11 - 00:33:27:21
Jennifer
I haven't heard what you mentioned. There was so much there. And I'm glad we're we're broadcasting and recording is prioritize the projects that builds trust in the team.
00:33:27:23 - 00:33:29:07
Eve
Yeah.
00:33:29:09 - 00:33:42:08
Jennifer
That's excellent advice. It's all excellent. But you know, oh, we don't need to do performance reviews because we're going through an acquisition. You know you naturally go there.
00:33:42:10 - 00:33:42:21
Cristin
Yeah.
00:33:42:22 - 00:33:46:22
Jennifer
But it's the most important time to do performance reviews right.
00:33:46:23 - 00:33:47:12
Eve
Yeah.
00:33:47:13 - 00:34:07:01
Jennifer
Yeah. You know I, I'm saying that anybody that knows me, we, we advise not to do performance reviews. We advise to do development plans and dreaming and and whatnot. But but that was a very, very good point. Excellent, excellent. If.
00:34:07:04 - 00:34:08:14
Cristin
You start to think the reason.
00:34:08:14 - 00:34:31:17
Eve
We are all on this panel is great, minds think alike. So, you know, one of the things I would advise someone going through change, especially during May's, you know, you're doing two jobs, you've got your day job execution flawlessly of all your HR functions, but then you've got this change management piece. So don't forget to take care of yourself.
00:34:31:17 - 00:34:55:21
Eve
So you need to block some time on your calendar, you know, once or twice a week and find the activities that recharge you so that you can continue this work. Because without recharging yourself, I mean, you're just you're just slogging through and you are carrying this banner. You you are the face of it oftentimes. And so you have to feel recharged and ready to engage on all fronts.
00:34:55:21 - 00:35:17:10
Eve
So finding that time for yourself, I think Cristin mentioned this, and I feel like maybe I like sitting behind her in class and I copied her notes. But finding an industry HR group, you know, there's I'm part of one here in the Bay area. There's a lot of information and resource sharing. So whenever I've got a topic that I don't know a lot about, I can go out to this group, see if anything's been posted.
00:35:17:10 - 00:35:39:06
Eve
If not, I start a new thread and there's a lot of information sharing so you don't have to start from scratch. There's going to be somebody in that group that knows about this and they can help you out. And then lastly, I think Cristin started with this. But give yourself some grace. You're doing it for your employees. Don't forget to do it for yourself because it's very, very important.
00:35:39:08 - 00:35:40:02
Cristin
Right?
00:35:40:03 - 00:36:06:12
Jennifer
And advocate for yourself while you're doing it to say, okay, I need I need a day. I'm going to not have any digital thing in front of me, and then you come back recharge. You mentioned we have two jobs. There's there's more than two jobs. You know, you're going through the the implementation of the new ownership or directive or what have you have your regular day job.
00:36:06:15 - 00:36:21:12
Jennifer
But also many of us have family. Many of us are caregivers, many of us have other people were responsible for. So that's something I would say a third job.
00:36:21:14 - 00:36:23:11
Eve
Absolutely, absolutely.
00:36:23:12 - 00:36:33:20
Jennifer
But if you take care of yourself, you can handle it all. And then you show up as your best person for all three. Thank you for that reminder, Tanya. What about you?
00:36:34:00 - 00:37:03:19
Tonya
All the above. But I think when I, when I hear that question, what I think of is giving yourself permission because no one can make you stop. Step away. Just take five. Go listen to your favorite song. Just take a walk around the block. You know, just take five minutes so that you can show up at your best self when you need to, or a meeting for the next project.
00:37:03:23 - 00:37:25:09
Tonya
And this is probably what I tell those who I mentor. Nature is make sure that you have something you look forward to doing. Plan the weekend with your girlfriends. Have just something that you're looking forward to that kind of helps me. Yeah. A concert. Yeah.
00:37:25:11 - 00:37:28:17
Jennifer
Meal. Your favorite restaurant. It can be little stuff to.
00:37:28:19 - 00:37:38:22
Tonya
Little stuff. Yes. Yeah. And I would advocate for a network, an HR peer group. Absolutely. Non-negotiable.
00:37:38:24 - 00:37:47:12
Jennifer
Non-negotiable. Excellent, excellent. So let's stick with you for a second, Tanya, if you can go back in time.
00:37:47:14 - 00:37:49:04
Tonya
Yeah, you're.
00:37:49:07 - 00:38:08:10
Jennifer
It's day one. You've been just told that we're interested in selling. I have a buyer ready. Go find alternatives. What would you tell yourself or what would you do differently if you could all do it? What mistakes would you overcome? You could do it again.
00:38:08:11 - 00:38:38:12
Tonya
I know this is more of a time question for me. When I think about going back in time, I wish I knew more. I was like flying the plane and fixing it at the same time, so to speak. Getting up into speed with the merger, acquisition area, that space I didn't have a lot of experience with. So I was learning as I was, you know, finding these new partners.
00:38:38:12 - 00:38:56:04
Tonya
And I can't say that the outcome would have been different. In fact, I think the outcome was probably the best outcome that that could have happened. But I do wish and that's just my own, you know, getting myself up. But I do wish I could have done that differently.
00:38:56:06 - 00:39:17:19
Jennifer
Yeah. You don't know what you don't know until you're in the situation. Right. And and you know, now with AI, I'm sure we can plug into AI. Give me a checklist for a human resource executive going through a merger and acquisition. What are the pros and cons? Yeah. And then there's folks like the folks in this room, digital room.
00:39:17:19 - 00:39:31:22
Jennifer
Right now, we're lean on each other. Right. So what about you? You're going back in time. It's day one for any of the transitions that you are a part of. What would you do different?
00:39:32:02 - 00:39:55:14
Eve
A few things, I think start early. Things never go as planned in these situations. They're very dynamic, very fluid. As conversations evolve, everything changes or many things change. So start early. And I think one thing I definitely tell myself also be flexible and adaptable. Don't be so committed to 1 or 2 possible courses of action because there are many.
00:39:55:14 - 00:40:15:23
Eve
And so be open to that. Be ready and able to adapt your thinking. And part of that is creating contingency plan, thinking about the things that could happen even if they're not going to happen. But having given some thought, I think helps you if that situation should arise or something very close to it. And then lastly, I tell myself, be bold.
00:40:15:24 - 00:40:36:07
Eve
Don't be afraid to ask tough questions. There were times, especially earlier on, before I gained more M&A experience, where I would sit a little quietly and just wait for information to come. But if you're wondering, your employees are wondering, and it's good to get that information so you can incorporate it into the messaging and share that with your employees.
00:40:36:09 - 00:40:57:23
Jennifer
That's fantastic. It is dynamic. It is fluid. And for those of us that are planners and say we said we were going to do this, but we're not doing it. I think that's really, really good advice because for those folks that like a plan and want to stick to a plan, they could be very frustrated in this process.
00:40:57:24 - 00:41:22:10
Jennifer
And when we were talking about communication to our employees and to communicate very effectively in the beginning, I think that's part of the communication. This is the plan for now. It's going to change. Absolutely. Ready or is this fluid? It's moving. We're on a we're on a river and it's going to flow. And we're going to go with the flow and make the best decisions we can.
00:41:22:12 - 00:41:54:21
Jennifer
That's excellent. Excellent. So we've been kind of talking about the negative things naturally. Right. Because anyone that's been through an acquisition or merger or change of ownership or implementing a succession plan, you know, you naturally go to the hard parts first, but there's a lot of positive. In fact, some companies couldn't sustain themselves without private equity coming in and helping, for lack of a better words, bail them out.
00:41:54:22 - 00:42:23:21
Jennifer
Not any not any of your situation. I'm not inferring that. But it forces us to learn, forces us to expand our skill set. What hidden gems did you find? And let's start with Shauna, because you've been through several, as many of you have, but I think you've had the most. What are the positives of these types of transitions in ownership?
00:42:23:23 - 00:42:49:04
Shonna
I think there are there are a couple of positives that I can think of. I think one of the biggest positives are hidden positives is like forced clarity. And like what I mean by that is that like private equity environment, they eliminate ambiguity quickly, right. So what matters, what doesn't, where the business is going, all the stuff in between.
00:42:49:04 - 00:43:17:03
Shonna
Maybe a little vague, but those things are clear. Right. So that forced clarity and that could actually be pretty energizing for some teams because it helps to align those teams around a joint action or a joint priority. Right. And then the other thing that I've noticed, especially having been an HR for so long, right, is that performance manager, a talent management piece of it, they're accelerating now.
00:43:17:04 - 00:43:49:01
Shonna
Talent decisions. Right. We're growing. As someone mentioned earlier, there's new opportunities, right. So we're having really direct conversations now with our employees about performance, about potential right, and leadership capability. And those things really help keep the teams engaged. Right. And and ultimately, you know, strengthens the organization as a whole. So and for HR, I think it forces us to evolve for our team, like the use of AI.
00:43:49:01 - 00:44:17:19
Shonna
And, you know, just trying to understand some of the companies that we've acquired and how to properly integrate them. It's forced us to be more data driven, right? It's forced us to be more business aligned and more decisive about the way that we do HR. So those skills have been very beneficial to myself, to my team, and I think it's going to benefit the organization many years after this transition is over.
00:44:17:20 - 00:44:33:17
Shonna
Are the transitions are over anyway. So while the disruption is real and it's real, there is a lot of great opportunity that comes out of, you know, our hidden gems, as you mentioned, that comes out of these Ma activity.
00:44:33:19 - 00:44:58:19
Jennifer
In Shauna. It's it's for the HR team and for the team members. There's opportunity for them to use their skills in a higher level or in a different area. There's a lot of opportunity for them. You never know the the acquiring company might have some job openings that someone's dream job is there. And, and there's there's a lot of really good success stories there.
00:44:58:20 - 00:45:01:24
Jennifer
Cristin. What about you? Hidden gems?
00:45:02:01 - 00:45:31:19
Cristin
I mean, similar to what I was saying, I, I actually think and I'm thinking of one, one specific person on my team. One of the best gems I've seen is how her coming out of her comfort zone. Right? You know, growth and comfort don't exist at the same time. How is expanded her perspective on her job, the company, how she makes an impact?
00:45:31:21 - 00:45:54:02
Cristin
When you can see that the people that are open to the change, that are that are ready for it and want and want to take it on you really see who your drivers are, right? Who is going to help you drive this new organization forward? Right? And they're ready to figure it out. And they want to bounce ideas off, you know, with you.
00:45:54:02 - 00:46:38:12
Cristin
And they become a part of that network, whether it's inside your own team or outside of your team, there are people that you see blossom and flourish in this environment when they're given a bigger opportunity. Right. They have now large organization to work with, more data to work with, to make better decisions. And and watching them, you know, kind of bloom out of it and really take control of their career has been one of the the coolest things for me to watch, having someone come up in my organization that has, has just every time we've acquired a company and every time things have changed, she's taken a little bit more of a step forward and
00:46:38:12 - 00:46:58:02
Cristin
a little itself closer to. And she's seen as a leader in the HR organization, and she truly is. And so seeing that, you know, that's that's the gem. That's that's what it's all about, right, is how people can grow. And being able for other people to see that there are opportunities when you want to take them and.
00:46:58:03 - 00:47:01:02
Jennifer
When people. See her thrive.
00:47:01:05 - 00:47:02:06
Cristin
Yes.
00:47:02:08 - 00:47:04:03
Jennifer
They get motivated.
00:47:04:05 - 00:47:04:18
Cristin
Yeah.
00:47:04:20 - 00:47:05:16
Jennifer
They get excited.
00:47:05:17 - 00:47:06:03
Cristin
Oh.
00:47:06:06 - 00:47:41:18
Jennifer
She's having fun. I think I'm going to have fun, too. It doesn't have to be a chore. It can be fun. So that's that's excellent. That's exciting. So let's let's wrap up with, with one final advice. We're going to go around the room here. One game changing best practice that you have implemented that solved a problem or was something instrumental in the success related to these endeavors.
00:47:41:18 - 00:47:48:12
Jennifer
So we're going to one game changing best practice. We're going to go around the room. Eve, let's start with you.
00:47:48:15 - 00:48:11:09
Eve
So in my last M&A experience, I set up regular company wide meetings to facilitate two way and transparent communication. I know this sounds simple, but sometimes it's the routine things that get overlooked when you're in the midst of massive change. And so when you're immersed in these changes, because you're sitting at the table, you're having these conversations, you are privy to all the bits and pieces with all the moving parts.
00:48:11:11 - 00:48:37:16
Eve
However, your employees are on the outside trying to look in to see what's happening. And so creating that communication schedule, make sure that you are communicating what's happening, and you're laying out a storyline so that people can see what's happening. It's a routine communication as well as the changes that are coming. And this helps your employees feel connected to what's happening and what they're part of, rather than feeling that it's something happening to them.
00:48:37:16 - 00:48:45:00
Eve
And so I think this is something that's helped have success in my last couple of M&A experiences.
00:48:45:02 - 00:48:48:02
Jennifer
And those were two a week that you do.
00:48:48:06 - 00:49:09:07
Eve
And not necessarily, but, you know, on a regular schedule, I believe it was about once every other week. They were more frequent in the beginning, as we wanted to make sure that people knew what the organization was, who the leaders were, and having them communicate. And then I think Sean and Cristin mentioned this to making sure that there's talking points for all of your leaders.
00:49:09:07 - 00:49:15:21
Eve
So as they go out and host their more intimate department or team meetings that they're staying on message.
00:49:15:23 - 00:49:27:08
Jennifer
That's important. That's important. If anybody doesn't take anything else away, HR making sure that the leaders stay on point and consistent in the messaging.
00:49:27:12 - 00:49:28:09
Eve
Absolutely.
00:49:28:10 - 00:49:35:05
Jennifer
You know, there's there's a purpose to the communication, not just to ramble. Excellent. Shauna.
00:49:35:06 - 00:50:10:14
Shonna
I think that I've mentioned this earlier before, and it's very similar to what you said. Just making sure that you have true alignment at the leadership level, because if you say you'll be surprised that even the strongest leader may miss here or misinterpret the message, right and therefore there miss communicating that message to just making sure that we have alignment amongst our leadership on the leadership level before we leave, and touching on those things that I mentioned earlier, that you will ensure that your team knows, right?
00:50:10:14 - 00:50:33:11
Shonna
What's changing, what's not changing, and exactly how we're going to communicate those things. Right. And then we pair that with clear management and right, giving them those talking points. We've gone through exercises where we've created FAQs right for them. Like this could come up. This is how you respond. And then guidance on how to deliver that message and being consistent.
00:50:33:11 - 00:51:02:01
Shonna
So if it all had the boil down or had to boil it all down, I would say, you know, creating a cadence and to where our leaders are equipped and empowered and aligned at the top and ensure that they are delivering that message to their teams as it should be delivered, just to make sure that because it can really impact the organization at all levels when you don't have that alignment.
00:51:02:01 - 00:51:06:01
Shonna
So I would say that that would be at the management.
00:51:06:03 - 00:51:08:21
Cristin
Is critical. Because because.
00:51:08:23 - 00:51:21:01
Jennifer
The CEO might say A and they don't want to ask questions, and then they go and ask their manager. And if the manager doesn't know, it could be a big problem.
00:51:21:05 - 00:51:22:07
Shonna
Yes.
00:51:22:09 - 00:51:25:12
Jennifer
Excellent. Cristin.
00:51:25:14 - 00:51:50:12
Cristin
Yeah, I will echo what everyone said when I was thinking about this. I was like, well, game changing sounds so like it has to be big and and different. But really, you know, you feel a lot of things have to change and all of these things are changing and you feel you have to keep up. But really some of it is about, you know, the basics and making sure the communication is really strong, just like even China was saying.
00:51:50:16 - 00:52:16:03
Cristin
One of the things that we did with our last two acquisitions actually was come up with basically not an elevator pitch of why we did the acquisition or what it looks like for us, but like, like a one liner in very simple terms, you know, that anyone, anyone in our organization, if you know somebody say, oh, I heard X happened, right?
00:52:16:04 - 00:52:41:24
Cristin
I saw this on LinkedIn that everyone has the language in very plain English. One line, what it means and what it means for us as a company. And so that everyone is saying the same thing and understands it and put it in terms of why it's important to the organization, how it helps, you know, both the company being acquired and us grow.
00:52:42:01 - 00:52:59:09
Cristin
So I think that's really important is to to give people the language of how how it it's going to look different. But why, why what are we gaining from this acquisition or this merger of two companies? How does that how does that help all of us?
00:52:59:11 - 00:53:28:19
Jennifer
So thank you, Chris. And for those listening, when we're talking communications and messaging, I don't want them to to get it wrong. It's basically sharing the strap plan in a consistent way. It's not fibbing. It's not manipulating. It's here's our strategy. It's going to change because we're going to have some unexpected things. But here's the why and here's the how for now.
00:53:28:21 - 00:53:41:19
Jennifer
And we'll keep you in the loop as we figure it all out. And we want your input. Those committees, then the cheerleaders and pulling them in. Very important Tanya.
00:53:41:24 - 00:53:42:14
Tonya
Yes.
00:53:42:18 - 00:53:45:23
Jennifer
Then changing best practice.
00:53:46:00 - 00:54:15:15
Tonya
I would say, on top of all of the communication pieces, which are very important from a cadence perspective, from a transparency perspective, what really made a big difference in the acquisition I was a part of was having in hand what my new total compensation statement is, what is my pay? What is my benefits, what is staying the same, and what is changing that impacts each and every single employing.
00:54:15:17 - 00:54:23:11
Tonya
And it was almost like a relief when when we were able to provide that information to employees. Yeah.
00:54:23:13 - 00:54:27:06
Jennifer
Paying benefits. Paying benefits.
00:54:27:10 - 00:54:28:00
Eve
Yes.
00:54:28:04 - 00:54:51:01
Jennifer
Well thank you. I didn't want to to downplay that though, Tanya. I want to spend a minute with it. Paying benefits is what's most important to people when they come in, and if there's new owners is going to be the most important thing for. So making sure people know that sooner than later is excellent advice. And that is game changing.
00:54:51:01 - 00:55:18:11
Jennifer
And as simple as that. All this advice is simple advice is not simple in the moment. All the moving parts and everything changing so, so quickly. But I want to thank everyone today. Eve, Shauna, Cristin, Tanya, thank you so much for being part of this and sharing your wisdom. And I know we helped people today. Thank you so much for being on the program.
00:55:18:11 - 00:55:30:10
Jennifer
It was wonderful having you all. That wraps today's session and my advice, as always is just keep shining bright. Everyone have a good day. Thank you everybody.
00:55:30:16 - 00:55:32:18
Eve
Thanks, Jennifer. Thank you everyone.
00:55:32:23 - 00:55:33:17
Cristin
Thanks for.