And then there were 600!

Today was a big day where I work.

A big day that the HR team, and many others, had been working towards swiftly but silently for many weeks.

And a day that I am so glad to have experienced.

Today, we acquired a company! The deal was actually signed yesterday, but it was announced to both the new team members & the the current ones today during a round of meetings, emails and phone calls.

For the aquirees, I can imagine today was a little shocking. They showed up for what they thought was their annual company meeting only to find out SURPRISE - your company is now part of another. Careful steps have been taken so that things important to employee happiness and productivity, ie. office setting and benefits, don’t change instantaneously. It will honestly be business as usual for around the first 90 days. Steps have also been taken to merge them into the culture, including a planned happy hour.

Our director told us two weeks ago, after a vague email came out from the CEO about moving forward with strategy, that on July 1st the deal would be signed to add a company that works in the ‘human capital sphere,’ for whom we are currently a client, to the business units. For our company, this means an expansion of offerings and a stronger positioning when it comes to ‘why choose us.’

My fingers have never flown as fast on the keyboard as they have in the last two weeks. On-boarding 60 people without anyone noticing is a James-Bond worthy task. If anyone had been paying attention they would have seen our director frantically speed walking multiple times back into the HR den to stop some mild disaster & that the door to the HR cave of solitude was closed a lot more than usual. (We’re back by the CEO and people in the know anyhow, so no one cared). While fighting with spreadsheets, name discrepancies and ‘what in the world is going on with these benefits’ thoughts, we also had to carry on business as usual. I played a big part in launching the annual appraisal process - ironically on the platform created by the acquired company - which was plenty of mind bending work in itself.

I think I was the most excited one in the office today. Why? I’m not really sure, but I recognize what amazing exposure I am getting to the real world of business. Mother dearest said today “you are learning things that you do not even realize.” I am so thankful.

sn 1: And yes, I’ve started using we - it feels nice to be part of a team.

sn 2: You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t told you who I work for or who we acquired. It’s not a secret, there were press releases involved, but I will more than likely never mention the company name in a post, out of a respect for work-life separation, and in case I ever say something that the company as a whole might not agree with. The point still comes across loud and clear without that one detail.