Challenge: An East Coast multinational corporation wanted to ensure a smooth integration with a Midwestern manufacturing company that it purchased. Management needed to reduce uncertainty, minimize loss of productivity and hasten the transition as employees adjusted to changes in reporting and operating procedures, job responsibilities, and benefits plans.  Previously, when the multinational corporation acquired companies, assimilation was difficult, with poor communication resulting in high turnover, which caused long periods of low productivity.

Solution:  DBMI, hired as the two companies were finalizing their negotiations, immediately focused on the need for an extensive internal communication plan before, during, and after the change initiative. The plan needed to "sell" what the current problems were and what needed to change. Effective communication was an essential tool for addressing human resistance.

DBMI understood the acquisition and the benefits to the smaller manufacturer.  So, working with management from both companies, DBMI developed a strategic document that communicated to the manufacturing company employees the need to separate from the past, recognize the sense of urgency, and identify political sponsorship among the managers. DBMI then helped the companies prepare an implementation plan, which the manufacturer communicated honestly and openly to its employees.