Managing Communication During Mergers

18 months ago, we laid off 70 people. Here’s how it went… We were burning too much. Hired too fast. It was our mistake. And we owned it. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done as a founder. But we tried to do it the right way. We spoke to each of the 70 people, personally. Told them what went wrong, why this decision had to be made, and how we’ll support them. We gave them 3 months’ notice. Helped with referrals, intros, job leads - anything that could help. 67 got placed before the notice period ended. For the 3 who didn’t, we gave 2 months’ extra salary. But look at what’s happening now - Over 120,000 people were laid off this year. And many of them didn’t even get a call. Some found out through a blocked email. Some were just removed from Slack in the middle of the day. That’s inhuman. Yes, layoffs happen. But how you handle them says everything about your culture. I know it’s tough to have these conversations, but this is what you signed up for when you became a founder. If you call someone “family” while hiring them, treat them like family when letting them go too. #HarshRealities

A Whatsapp message just cost £248,000. The High Court's ruling in Jaevee Homes v Fincham [2025] serves as a wake-up call for every founder and business leader using WhatsApp for work discussions. What happened? Jaevee Homes approached contractor Steve Fincham for demolition work at a Norwich nightclub. After initial emails discussing scope and pricing, negotiations moved to WhatsApp in May 2023. The "contract-forming" messages? 💬 "Hi Ben How did you get on mate is the job mine mate" 💬 "Can you start on Monday?" 💬 Later: "Ben Are we saying it's my job mate so I can start getting organised mate" 💬 "Yes" After this WhatsApp exchange, Jaevee sent formal subcontract terms via email, assuming they could still negotiate the "real" contract. The Court ruled it was too late - the WhatsApp agreement had already been formed and was binding. Fincham completed the work, invoiced monthly, but Jaevee refused to pay, arguing no formal contract existed. An adjudicator sided with Fincham, and now the High Court has confirmed: those casual messages created a £248,000+ legal obligation. The Court's finding: These informal messages contained all essential elements of a binding contract - offer, acceptance, consideration, and intention to create legal relations. What this means for your business: ✅ Audit your team's messaging practices - Review how sales teams, project managers, and executives use WhatsApp, Slack, Teams for client communications ✅ Implement clear messaging policies - Require disclaimers like "subject to formal written agreement" or "this is just a preliminary discussion" for any commercial conversations ✅ Train your teams on the risks - Help everyone understand that tone and informality don't determine legal consequences - intent and content do ✅ Create safe communication channels - Establish clear protocols for when discussions should move from informal messaging to formal documentation ✅ Be especially careful with confirmations - Phrases like "it's a deal," "you've got the job," or "let's do it" can be legally binding, even in casual contexts The broader implication: This isn't just about WhatsApp. English courts focus on substance over form. Whether it's Slack, email, or even verbal agreements, if you demonstrate intent to be bound, you likely are. Bottom line, in English law, informality won't protect you. A casual "yes" can create the same legal obligations as a 50-page contract. Time to review those chat policies? 📱⚖️

Most change initiatives don't fail because of the change that's happening, they fail because of how the change is communicated. I've watched brilliant restructurings collapse and transformative acquisitions unravel… Not because the plan was flawed, but because leaders were more focused on explaining the "what" and "why" than on how they were addressing the fears and concerns of the people on their team. People don't resist change because they don't understand it. They resist because they haven't been given a compelling story about their role in it. This is where the Venture Scape framework becomes invaluable. The framework maps your team's journey through five distinct stages of change: The Dream - When you envision something better and need to spark belief The Leap - When you commit to action and need to build confidence The Fight - When you face resistance and need to inspire bravery The Climb - When progress feels slow and you need to fuel endurance The Arrival - When you achieve success and need to honor the journey The key is knowing exactly where your team is in this journey and tailoring your communication accordingly. If you're announcing a merger during the Leap stage, don't deliver a message about endurance. Your team needs a moment of commitment–stories and symbols that anchor them in the decision and clarify the values that remain unchanged. You can’t know where your team is on this spectrum without talking to them. Don’t just guess. Have real conversations. Listen to their specific concerns. Then craft messages that speak directly to those fears while calling on their courage. Your job isn't just to announce change, but to walk beside your team and help your team understand what role they play in the story at each stage. #LeadershipCommunication #Illuminate

As an in-house lawyer, how you deliver a message is sometimes as important as the content of the message itself. A "you can't do that" from a member of the legal department is shared among colleagues as "Legal said no." In contrast, a "that approach is likely to get us sued, but here are three other ways we might be able to accomplish the same goal with less risk" is shared among colleagues as "Legal helped us avoid a pitfall we didn't see on the way to our business goal." It's the same message - plus additional actual value added - and the delivery makes a huge difference. That difference matters. A legal department that repeatedly delivers messages like the first one is viewed as a hurdle to overcome. A legal department that delivers messages like the second one is viewed as a partner to the business.

𝐇𝐑 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. So be professional from the start because first impressions matter more than resumes. HR is doing their job: protecting the company, maintaining process, and assessing risk. Expecting informal treatment is where most candidates go wrong. I’ve seen strong candidates lose opportunities before any interview happened. Not because of a lack of skills, but because of how they communicated. 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 “𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧,” “𝐡𝐦𝐦,” “𝐲𝐮𝐩,” “𝐨𝐤,” 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬. Casual tone. Late replies. No greetings. No clarity. What many don’t realize is this: Your first interaction with HR is already an assessment of your professionalism, attitude, and seriousness. That first WhatsApp message. That first email reply. That first LinkedIn response. All of it counts. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦: Candidates assume HR conversations are informal. They think “being friendly” means being casual. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬: • Lack of professionalism • Poor communication skills • Low seriousness for the role 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Treat every HR interaction like a professional workplace conversation. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: – Start with a proper greeting – Respond clearly and politely – Use complete sentences – Avoid slang, shortcuts, or casual fillers like hann, hmm, yup – Be timely and respectful with follow-ups You don’t need fancy English. You just need clear, professional intent. Why this matters: Skills can be trained. Attitude and professionalism are judged instantly. And once a negative first impression is formed, it’s very hard to reverse. If you want better responses from HR, start by communicating better with them. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥; 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞. If this helped, share it with someone actively job-hunting. #hr #firstimpressionmatters #casualreply #communication #resume #emails #hrisnotyourfriend #interaction LinkedIn LinkedIn News India

One of the biggest challenges in organisations: Communication It comes up as a pain point in almost every employee survey. And most organisations desperately want to fix it. So what do we do? We start: 📣 pushing more info updates. 📣 creating more teams channels 📣 holding more “status update” meetings We work so hard to communicate but 12 months later when we run the survey again there’s no improvement, despite all the ‘comms’. And here’s why: Communication isn’t one sided. It’s a dialogue, not a monologue. When teams say they want more communication they don’t want more status updates or teams channels. They want two way dialogue, with equal parts listening, speaking and understanding. Our people want conversation. They want to: 👉 Be heard 👉 Ask questions 👉Contribute to key decisions 👉 Understand the why behind the what. So if your team is struggling with communication, don’t default to pushing more info updates. Look for opportunities to create two way dialogue. Here’s how: 👉 Invite team members into conversation around key decisions and the strategy. 👉 replace info sharing meetings (that’s an email) with ‘Dialogue, Discussion, Debate’ meetings that facilitate two way communication and honest conversations about key issues. 👉Use your team meetings and one on ones to build shared understanding, ask questions like: “What areas are you lacking clarity at the moment? What’s confusing in our strategy right now? “What communication gaps do we have on our team at the moment and how can we solve them?” #leadership #communication #HR

In today’s fast-paced business environment, change is inevitable. Whether it’s implementing new technology, restructuring teams, or shifting company policies, change management is crucial for maintaining productivity and employee morale. However, one common mistake organizations make is trying to surprise employees with changes, hoping to catch them off guard and avoid resistance. Why Surprising Employees Doesn’t Work    1.   Lack of Trust: When employees are not informed about upcoming changes, they may feel that their input is not valued. This can erode trust between management and staff, making future changes even more challenging.    2.   Resistance to Change: People generally resist change when it is imposed without explanation or input. This resistance can manifest as decreased motivation, lower productivity, or even turnover.    3.   Confusion and Misinformation: Without clear communication, rumors and misinformation can spread quickly. This can lead to unnecessary anxiety and stress among employees. The Importance of Effective Communication Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful change management. Here are some reasons why it’s essential to communicate changes clearly and transparently:    1.   Builds Trust: Open communication helps build trust by showing that employees’ perspectives are valued. When employees feel included in the process, they are more likely to support the change.    2.   Reduces Anxiety: Clear explanations of what changes are happening and why can alleviate anxiety and uncertainty. Employees are better prepared to adapt when they understand the reasons behind the changes.    3.   Encourages Participation: Communicating changes early allows employees to provide feedback and suggestions. This not only improves the change process but also fosters a sense of ownership among team members.    4.   Improves Adaptation: When employees are well-informed, they can start preparing for the changes ahead of time. How to Communicate Changes Effectively    •   Early Notification: Inform employees about upcoming changes as soon as possible. This gives them time to process the information and prepare.    •   Clear Explanations: Provide clear reasons for the changes and how they will affect employees. Use simple language to avoid confusion.    •   Open Dialogue: Encourage feedback and questions. This helps address concerns promptly and builds trust.    •   Training and Support: Offer training or support to help employees adapt to new processes or technologies.    •   Follow-Up: Check in regularly to see how the changes are impacting employees and make adjustments as needed. In conclusion, change management should never be a surprise. Effective communication is not just a courtesy; it’s a necessity for successful change management. #effectivecommunication

"Legal is slowing us down."   That’s what the sales lead said, right in front of the GC.   You could feel the tension in the room.   But here’s the truth:   Legal isn’t the problem.   Miscommunication is.   In high-stakes deals, legal often gets labeled as:   - The blocker   - The bottleneck   - The one who “kills momentum”   And it’s not fair.   Because legal isn’t trying to stop the deal.   They’re trying to protect it.   But if you can’t communicate that clearly, you "will" get sidelined.   Here’s what I teach GCs and legal teams who want to stop being seen as blockers:   1. Lead with the risk trade-off, not the clause.   Don’t say: “We can’t agree to this clause.”     Say: “Here’s the risk this exposes us to—and here’s a safer way to structure it.”   2. Don’t argue legalese. Speak in business terms.    Frame the issue around:   - Deal velocity - Long-term cost, and - Future litigation risk.   Speak their language.   3. Position legal as a deal closer, not a deal killer.   Make it clear: “My goal is to help us land this deal WITHOUT creating a legal mess we’ll clean up in 12 months.”   Legal counsel who master this shift?     They stop fighting for a seat at the table;  And start leading the negotiation.   If you’re tired of being labeled the blocker, let’s change that.   I coach legal leaders to become "deal makers", not speed bumps.   DM me.   ------------------- Hi, I’m Scott Harrison and I help executive and leaders master negotiation & communication in high-pressure, high-stakes situations. - ICF Coach and EQ-i Practitioner - 24 yrs | 19 countries | 150+ clients  - Negotiation | Conflict resolution | Closing deals 📩 DM me or book a discovery call (link in the Featured section)

🧱 The Chinese Wall: Investment Banking’s Most Important Barrier 🕵️ You're in the M&A team working on a top-secret deal. Your client is planning to acquire a listed company, and you're deep into: - Building complex valuation models - Prepping 100 slide pitch decks - Hopping between calls with lawyers, tax advisors, and the CEO Your work? Confidential. Highly sensitive. Market-moving. At the same time, just a few floors away... 📈 The Equity Research team is analyzing the exact same company publishing reports, giving Buy/Sell calls, and guiding investors on stock price movement. ⚠️ Now imagine what could happen if these two teams shared notes… 💣 Independence Breach = Big Trouble That’s why investment banks put up what's called a “Chinese Wall” between M&A and Equity Research a strict information barrier to prevent leaks of sensitive data. 🔒 If you're advising a client on an M&A deal, the research team is: - Restricted from covering the stock - Not allowed to invest or recommend the client’s securities - Sometimes even unaware the deal is happening! Independence isn’t optional in finance. It’s non-negotiable.

How can we improve communications about organizational change 🤔 📣 Communications play a pivotal role in people-centric change. High quality communications about what the transformation means for individuals and teams can help to address questions such as: Why is the transformation necessary? Who will the transformation affect? What is going to change and When? How will I be affected by the change? Some of the practical ways to ensure high quality communication about organizational transformations include (but are not limited to): ▶️ Engage in dialogue throughout the transformation process.  Creating a safe space for conversations about change can help people to rasie their concerns, hopes and fears. ▶️ Know your audience Have a firm understanding of the audience’s perspective and what information they already know and what questions or concerns they have.    ▶️ Focus on Visualization Things that people see are more likely to evoke emotions than things they hear or read. Use a variety of communication channels include videos, pictures and images. ▶️ Deliver the message with the appropriate tone and style using: ✴️ Compassion: Show the audience that you care about their perspectives and inform employees as soon as possible about the transformation including: Why, When and How the process will evolve and within what expected time span. ✴️ Clarity: Communicate clearly and repeat key messages. Just because you have communicated the message once does not mean that individuals will have heard it, internalised it or made sense of it. ✴️ Conciseness: Ensure that the message is short enough to internalize. Long, complicated sentences make written ideas hard to understand because they demand more concentration. Keep communications short, clear and concise. ✴️ Connection: Connect emotionally with the audience and provide opportunities for employees to give feedback by: ensuring appropriate channels for employee voice  and that different groups feel able to access them; actively seeking people’s ideas; and take action on feedback. ✴️ Candor. Admit what you don’t know, for instance, if an employee asks you whether there will be redundancies, and you are not sure whether they will happen or not. Your response might be: “I wish I could tell you exactly what is going to happen. We will give you updates as soon as we know them.” ▶️ Avoid overcommunicating A word of caution is required because most organizations overcommunicate about change which can lead to confusion and disengagement. Rather than overloading people with formal communications especially email build in time for conversations. Source: Hodges, J. (2024) People-centric change: engaging employees with business transformations. Kogan Page Publishing, London - Chapter 5 Joe Ferner-Reeves Lucy Carter Emma Dodworth Laura de Ruiter, PhD Lisa Cardow Inga Grigaliunaite Durham University Business School