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INDUSTRY NEWS SMPS ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF 2015 NATIONAL MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS The So- ciety for Marketing Professional Services (Alex- andria, VA), an A/E/C marketing and business development association, announced the re- cipients of its 2015 National Marketing Com- munications Awards. The Best of Show Award was awarded to Harris & Associates (Concord, CA) for its Internal Communications entry, Ownership Campaign + The Game of ESOP. Industry edi- tors selected this entry as Best of Show be- cause it was unique, memorable, and made a

„ „ Brochure: JE Dunn Construction „ „ Corporate Identity: Somerville Architects & Engineers „ „ Direct‐Mail Campaign: Harris & Associates „ „ Feature Writing: DES Architects + Engineers „ „ Holiday Piece: orcutt | winslow „ „ Holiday Piece Digital: Bain Medina Bain Inc. „ „ Internal Communications: Harris & Associates „ „ Magazine: Skanska „ „ Magazine Digital: Urban Engineers Inc. „ „ Media Relations Campaign: Reilly Communications

„ „ Newsletter-External: Sellen Construction „ „ Newsletter-Internal: Psomas „ „ Promotional Campaign: HNTB Corporation „ „ Recruitment and Retention Communications: Garver „ „ Social Media: Stellar and Reputation Ink „ „ Special Event: Hickok Cole Architects „ „ Special Event Digital: Perkins+Will „ „ Specific Project Marketing: Perkins+Will „ „ Tradeshow Marketing: Hinedak Bobo Group „ „ Video: Perkins+Will „ „ Web Site: DesignGroup A full list of award winners is available at smps.org/MCA.

dry topic relatable to employees. First‐place winners by category:

„ „ Advertising: DES Architects + Engineers „ „ Annual Report: JE Dunn Construction „ „ Book/Monograph: Lake|Flato Architects

is step back from your daily role and talk about your firm’s culture. Who are you as a company? What makes you great? What do you need to work on? “We encourage firms to do a joint strategic planning session with leaders of both firms as soon as they can after a trans- action closes,” Kiser says. “The message it sends to everyone within the firm is that the union is strong and the leaders are committed to making it succeed. Culture is a top-down creature. If the leadership gets along and respects each oth- er, by talking through challenges that each firm faces, the leaders will have a better sense of what specifics are needed to make the ‘sum of parts’ better than each firm was before the transaction.” HOW CAN HR HELP? Mallory Bryant-Harris, a project manager in Zweig Group’s executive search department, says that the greatest challenge, post M&A, is to avoid culture-clash. “This can be extremely difficult because both companies bring their own ideologies,” she says. “And, companies are at risk of not retaining top talent because they are unsure where they fit into the newly-merged company or they are not open to embracing change.” Don’t fear. There are ways to make the process go smoothly. Here are a few to consider: „ „ Appoint a task force or an outside consultant to manage culture and ensure positive growth and develop strategies to help translate culture to employees. „ „ Work hard to develop a sense of inclusion among the employ- ees and incorporate leadership from both companies. „ „ Trickle the new culture from the top COO level to the entry- level employees, which helps employees get on board after the merger and fully understand the process of the merger. „ „ Survey employees to determine what they liked and disliked about each firm and incorporate some of the best of both worlds. „ „ Communicate during the merger. Employees want to feel like they are a part of the team and they are your best asset.

MERGING, from page 9

“Lack of clear, consistent communication is a death sen- tence for cultural integration,” Kiser says. “Acquirers need to realize that this process is absolutely terrifying for firm employees. Nothing is a given and no one feels secure – whispers and rumors will be rampant until you’ve addressed concerns directly and honestly.” Presenting the advantages that an acquisition offers to the target firm’s employees is a great way to get people to buy into your culture. “You don’t have to walk into the room and be a hero, but in this industry, so much of what you’re buying is the people within the firm. Make sure these people know that they are the most valuable piece of the firm,” she advises. Kiser adds that she has seen many effective approaches to breaking the “us” versus “them” communication barrier when integrating an acquired firm. Some firms have a “bud- dy system,” where members from each firm are paired to- gether. This makes asking questions about everything from administrative tasks (i.e., How do we submit expense re- ports?) to big picture questions (i.e., What is the firm’s five- year plan?) less intimidating. It also builds rapport among new teammates. WHEN DOES CULTURAL INTEGRATION BEGIN? You can’t truly start in- tegrating a firm until the deal closes, but what you can do

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THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 12, 2015, ISSUE 1123

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