Navigating the Backwards Start: The Importance of Re-Recruiting in Mergers & Acquisitions
Why Re-Recruiting Matters in M&A?
What if I told you every employee acquired through a merger or acquisition is starting their new role backwards?
I’m Klint Kendrick, founder of Master Your Merger. After leading more than 150 M&A deals, I’ve seen that re-recruiting employees after a merger is one of the most overlooked but mission-critical steps in integration success.
When companies skip re-recruiting, they don’t just risk short-term disruption — they create integration debt, which compounds into lost talent, cultural clashes, and a widening value gap.
The Backwards Start: Why Employees Don’t Feel Chosen
When you acquire talent through M&A, you can’t assume they’re automatically committed. The truth is simple:
They didn’t apply for this role.
They didn’t interview for this role.
They didn’t say yes to this role.
One day, employees are part of a team they know and respect. The next, they have a new boss, new systems, and unclear expectations. That’s what I call joining backwards.
Unlike traditional hiring, where employees choose the job and arrive on day one with energy and excitement , employees in a merger wake up inside a company they didn’t pick. Anxiety, skepticism, or even resentment often follow.
The Need for Re-Recruiting in M&A Integration
Re-recruiting isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s mission-critical for:
Employee engagement: Without it, even high performers feel disconnected.
Talent retention: Skipping re-recruiting accelerates attrition.
Cultural integration: Employees need clear signals about belonging in the new organization.
If re-recruiting is ignored, leaders quickly face integration debt , skipped conversations, broken promises, and missed expectations that eventually explode into the value gap.
The Triple Bump: What Happens If You Ignore Re-Recruiting
My colleague Mark Walztoni describes the danger of neglecting re-recruiting as the triple bump:
A players leave first. Top performers always have options.
B players follow. They see their leaders and mentors exit, and they start looking too.
Your reputation suffers. Word spreads that your company is a mess post-merger, making it harder to hire and retain new talent.
The triple bump leaves organizations scrambling, losing not only key talent but also future growth opportunities.
How to Get Ahead of the Triple Bump
The good news? You can prevent the triple bump with a proactive re-recruiting strategy.
Here are three steps:
1. Acknowledge the Reality
Tell employees you know they didn’t choose this transition and that leadership is committed to earning their trust.
2. Map Re-Recruiting Risks
Identify who is most likely to leave and why. Build a plan to address those risks early.
3. Make Re-Recruiting a Core Part of Integration
Re-recruiting isn’t a one-time campaign. It must be baked into your integration strategy from due diligence through year one of the merger.
Conclusion: Re-Recruiting Is a Leadership Imperative
Re-recruiting is not optional. It’s how you ensure that employees not only stay but also believe in the new company’s future.
Next week, we’ll cover the first step in fixing this problem: activating middle managers and culture carriers as re-recruiting allies.
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