Setting the Tone for Trust
To lead with trust, transparency is key. Be very transparent in the early stages about why you’re doing the deal, how you plan on onboarding people and what they should be expecting.
Be transparent about what will happen with the people’s pay and their benefits, because if you can’t assure them what’s going to happen, they will become disengaged. Show them how you treat employees, how you care for them and that clams everyone’s nerves.
Don’t Rock the Boat
Show a little empathy. Understand that the people in the target company are undergoing a lot of changes. You don’t want to force your collaboration tools on them on day one. Let them be more effective using their own tools and consolidate your own collaboration tools later on.
Human interaction
Don’t forget the importance of human interaction. Have 1on1 meetings as much as you can. Get to know the person and understand what their challenges are and their perceptions.
Making a connection with an internal leader, you could extend that trust to their entire team because the leader will vouch for you. The leader can share the message that they’re being heard.
A Thoughtful Onboarding Process
To get people connected to the mission of your organization, you need a thoughtful onboarding process.
Be inclusive in your approach and talk about what are the programs and the timelines that are important to your company; whether its HR things, product team or sales team, talk about the purpose of everything.
Don't just force one way of doing it. Give the acquired leadership and team a platform to tell their stories. Let them tell their values and what matters to them.
“You can use the tech for good or for evil.” - Josh Olson
Use technology to help, assist, and better the lives of your employees. Don’t use it to spy on them.