Key Takeaways

  • Jennifer Lipshultz, Senior Director of M&A Integration at ECI Software Solutions, prioritizes engaging acquired company leaders first, running "change engagement sessions" because, as she puts it, “most people take their cues from their managers.”
  • These sessions require acquired leaders to rate proposed integration changes (green for better, yellow for status quo, red for worse), compelling ECI to then explain the strategic "why" behind the changes, especially for "red" items.
  • ECI establishes bi-weekly, all-employee calls post-acquisition to transparently share the integration roadmap, answer questions, and clarify internal corporate communications, addressing potential employee anxiety.
  • Even well-intentioned gestures can backfire across cultures; Lipshultz recounts how her attempts to be a "friendly person" by approaching desks in a Netherlands acquisition were culturally misinterpreted as "threatening."
  • This structured, people-centric approach to integration is formalized in "Jennifer Lipshultz's Change Engagement and Communication Strategy for Acquired Employees" framework.

The Jennifer Lipshultz's Change Engagement and Communication Strategy for Acquired Employees

Jennifer Lipshultz's strategy for integrating acquired employees centers on transparency and empathy, particularly for those who did not actively choose to join the new company. The approach is laid out in five specific steps:

  • Step 1: Conduct Change Engagement Sessions with Acquired Leaders: I take those leaders through what I call a change engagement session. And I walk them through all of the changes that they're going They and their teams are going to see at ECI... so that they can have those conversations with those employees.
  • Step 2: Rate Changes (Green, Yellow, Red) and Address "Why": Then, I asked those managers to rate each of these changes as I described them as green, yellow, red. Green meaning what we have to offer is better, yellow meaning it's status quo, red meaning it's worse. Now, let's talk about the reds. I can't do anything about the reds, generally speaking, but I can explain the why. So, that's I think the second important thing to um when you're really trying to get employees who didn't choose to be a part of your company on board with the changes, explaining the why behind it.
  • Step 3: Hold Bi-Weekly All-Employee Calls: after that initial change engagement session with the managers, I kick off bi-weekly bi- you know, every two-week calls with all of the employees from the acquisition. And I invite uh an HR leader or two... to join those calls with me.
  • Step 4: Provide Integration Roadmap & Q&A: The purpose of those calls is to give them the road map of what we're doing from an integration process. I give them an opportunity to ask questions, and I've gotten a lot of fantastic questions out of those uh sessions.
  • Step 5: Review Corporate Communications: Then, I also because it's when you're a new employee, you can start to get emails from individuals. In this day and age, you don't know if it's a phishing attack. You don't You don't know who these people are. So, I go through all of the corporate communications in the past two weeks and explain, yes, that these you should be paying attention to.

When This Works (and When It Doesn't)

This strategy is most effective when integrating employees who did not choose to join the acquiring company, building rapport and trust by providing transparency, explaining rationale, and offering a platform for two-way communication. It likely thrives where the acquired company is not highly distressed, allowing time and resources for this depth of communication and cultural bridging. However, this method might face challenges in rapid-fire divestitures or carve-outs focused solely on immediate cost synergies, where the pace of change and short-term financial targets could override the investment in detailed people-centric integration. It also requires an integration leader with significant political capital and cultural intelligence to effectively address "red" issues and navigate unforeseen misinterpretations, like Lipshultz's experience in the Netherlands.

Why It Matters

This structured, empathy-driven approach signals a maturing perspective on value creation in M&A. As deal multiples stay elevated, sophisticated buyers understand that post-deal returns depend less on financial engineering and more on operational excellence and retaining critical human capital. Deals that neglect integration beyond the balance sheet risk eroding projected synergies and damaging long-term value. For LPs, it suggests that GPs who implement such detailed, people-centric playbooks are not just ticking an HR box, but actively protecting and growing the operational assets essential for outsized returns in today's knowledge economy.