Comms lessons from the Paramount-Skydance merger

A shakeup began in the entertainment industry when earlier this week, after months of posturing and negotiation, Skydance and Paramount agreed to a merger.

According to a report from The New York Times, if the deal closes after a 45-day window in which Paramount can shop for a better deal, David Ellison, the mind behind Skydance’s tech-forward push, will take the reins at Paramount. While the exact ramifications of the changes in store for Paramount’s brand profile remain to be seen, it’s clear that adjustments are coming for the once-robust media empire that’s hit a bit of a lag lately.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) create shockwaves across all sorts of organizational functions, both internal and external, from reputation and customer loyalty on the external side to the very heart and soul of these businesses — their employees.

As with any M&A activity, it’s key for communicators to work with managers and employees to keep everyone properly informed and the culture moving in the right direction, no matter the processes happening behind the scenes.

Keeping culture on the right track

Communicators at these organizations can expect a flood of questions from employees about the implications of the move for their roles and prospects going forward.

According to Ted Birkhahn, managing director at Vested, comms pros need to be proactive in their comms tactics to ensure that culture stays afloat, even when answers remain in limbo. That means talking to your employees early and often and using different touchpoints, including email and in-person meetings about what the process means for them.

“Too many companies retreat throughout the communications process out of fear of disrupting it, but silence is deafening during times of change, fueling rumors, speculations and fear,” Birkhahn said. “Conversely, proactively communicating signals that we still have a business to run as the M&A process unfolds, helping keep employees on track and focused on their core responsibilities.”

The clearer and more comprehensive your employee comms efforts, the more likely you are to have employees who will stick with you through the pain points of an M&A process. In an article for Ragan earlier this year, B.J. Talley, president of Gladius Communications, shared an anecdote about three clients who navigated M&A activity. The two whose leadership relied on their comms team to shape messaging around the change averaged a retention rate of 94%, while the one that didn’t develop a formal communications plan around the M&A activity had a retention rate of just 60%.

Empathy as a primary comms focus

Careers are integral to people’s identity and their sense of financial safety — and M&A processes can leave employees reeling with fear and uncertainty. It’s up to comms to combat these fears by being clear and transparent in its messaging, and providing what certainties they can. Acknowledging and understanding that human element is key.

Birkhahn said that in an M&A process, employees are going to be thinking a lot about their livelihoods, and comms needs to recognize that.

“During an M&A, employees’ most significant concern is how it will affect them — i.e., Is my job safe?” he said. “Will my responsibilities and reporting lines change? Will it affect the company’s culture?”

M&A is a major business move with outsized impact. Challenge yourself and your team to ask the right questions about how the process will impact people beyond pure numbers to inform your strategy, channel choice and wording in your messages.

“Communicators must put themselves in employees’ shoes to construct and execute an effective communications strategy,” Birkhahn added. “Communicators must communicate succinctly, with frequency, and with as much transparency as possible. Anything less will do more harm than good.”

Also, consider what the longer-term impacts of the move will be, and try to get that across to employees as well.

“Communicate about the potential benefits of the M&A and the rationale behind it without hyperbole or hype,” he said. “Honest, straightforward communication about what the post-acquisition world looks like helps gain buy-in and understanding among employees, creating momentum and excitement for the transaction and the opportunities it will likely generate.”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.