IN EMPLOYMENT LIMBO
Under Acquisition
Samantha (Sam) is focusing at the moment on taking deep breaths to stay calm. This anxiety is prompted by the announcement that morning to senior staff only that their engineering firm is about to be acquired. This news unexpectedly places her in a position she thought is only experienced by questionable performers on probation: Unsure whether she will still be employed in 3 months. And not confident whether any actions she now takes will improve that probability. Perhaps worst, the non-disclosure agreement Sam signs does not allow her to speak to anyone outside the firm who might resource her from panic to a better frame of mind.
There are so many ironies to this situation. Sam breezes through engineering college while one-third of her classmates drops out before graduation, most of those in their freshman year. She completes all her licensure requirements and exams in the minimum period of time possible. Within five years Sam is a project engineer. When the firm’s director of administration takes a sudden medical leave, she is asked to take on the position temporarily. The company CEO believes her performance on projects promises that she “can manage anything.” Sam finds she loves overseeing all those back-of-office support services, which includes everything but human resources, finance and accounting. And she is very good at it, especially the part of dealing with people and the sudden opportunities and challenges. Even better than undertaking designs and calculations and employing innovative systems.
When the director of administration is unable to return, Sam is offered the post full time at a significant jump in salary. Her job scope increases as the firm spreads to multiple facilities and locations, as well as acquires vehicles and special equipment. Her staff and compensation also increase, exceeding the salary of her former engineering department head. She is promoted to vice president. Her boss identifies her as the “glue that holds the firm together, who allows us all to achieve excellence” whenever he introduces her.
Great career path until the company that is acquiring the firm signals their intent to fold all back-of-office functions into their corporate headquarters group 200 miles away. That overhead cost savings will offset the high revenue multiple their offering to buy the firm. She is a little perturbed that she is not one of those executives that are offered a “golden parachute” to commit to working 1 year with the firm after acquisition. Sam at first does not understand why the head of administration is not viewed by outsiders as a critical player in the competitive advantage of the firm. When her boss, the firm’s CEO, confides to her that the buyer is a bit bewildered that administration is being managed by an engineer rather than an MBA, she finally appreciates that she is not a “talent asset” being acquired. Perhaps had she returned to engineering, her prosects actually would be better in a larger company.
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Gaining Perspective
Out to dinner with another couple that weekend offers another perspective. Sam sympathetically nods without sharing her own work disruption as the husband, a talented high school science teacher who happily brags that his students have won even more awards than he has, drops the bombshell. He is suddenly on indefinite paid leave based on an accusation of inappropriate touching from one of his female students. A twenty year exemplary record in the school system does not shield him from a policy that must accept the accusation of the student with the same seriousness as his complete denial. He anticipates the investigation and resolution could easily require a year to complete. In Sam’s situation, the sale thankfully is expected to close in 90 days at which time she will be told if there is a place for her in the new entity.
The next week her boss stops by to find out how she is handling all this uncertainty. She knows that’s his empathetic style, yet defers an answer by returning the question to him. He confesses that he is fine with the situation. He knew from their first inquiry that there was no interest in his becoming a senior executive or a future CEO of the new firm. He is being paid well for his shares and has a 6 month consulting contract with the entity. Pivoting back to Sam’s reactions, he reminds her of several situations in the past few years when she was part of senior management facing similar precarious circumstances:
Resilience Opportunity
His advice is to make the most of these three months. There are to be no new initiatives at the firm that require her nights and weekends. There will be a roll out of the news about the acquisition, but he expects the buyer will control every detail of that process, having made similar acquisitions to become a dominant regional player. She is right to believe nothing she does will affect their decision to keep her on board or let her go with a nice severance package. She should be in touch with mentors, leaders in their industry and even pursue job opportunities. She can comfortably do all that without revealing the pending acquisition.
As he walks out of her office, he suddenly turns back to her, again confiding in Sam that, aside from supporting the buyer’s due diligence efforts, he plans to use the time to focus on a business startup idea he has been considering for a few years. Hopefully he is ready to launch soon after his non-compete agreement expires. Sam is unsure whether he is suggesting she also contemplate a startup, or that there might be a place for her in his startup. With guaranteed employment for three months plus the severance package, Sam now realizes that this is perhaps a once-in-a-career opportunity to explore new avenues to grow her capacity without fear of being fired or under financial stress.