5 Ways Employees Benefit From Mergers

Just the term “merger” can send shivers through your employees – what will happen after two companies combine, and how will it affect you? Adversarial mergers form interesting themes in modern fiction, however, they can be an enormous benefit to both credit union members and employees in real life. Consider these five employee merger benefits and look forward what your own employees may experience.

Wider Pool of Opportunities

Typically, mergers join two smaller organizations of credit unions into one larger group. Your employees within a small organization, with few branches, may have extremely limited opportunities. There may only be so far someone can rise within a particular branch and there may not be access to positions in a wider geographical area. After two credit unions merge, however, the pool of opportunities doubles. Have an employee who wants to transfer to a branch closer to home? They might be able to. Someone interested in training for higher level jobs? There’s now a better chance to do so.

Increased Salary

Salary remains the most important variable in any employee’s benefits package. This salary may be limited, however, by the ability of a smaller credit union to effectively grow, reach more members and increase revenue. Because of a merger, however, a wider pool of potential members can be reached and as the newly-merged credit union attracts new accounts, that enhanced revenue makes it possible for employees to be offered increased salary ranges. This can ensure that valuable talent isn’t lost to the competition.

Greater Geographical Range

Many credit unions have limited geographical footprints – they were formed to support a very specific audience, often bound by location. After a merger, however, that footprint can increased exponentially. This provides several benefits. First, it allows for flexibility in moving around within the organization to better suit personal need. And second, it gives credit union management a wider pool of talent to recruit from when looking for new employees.

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Training and Education

How many times have you heard the saying that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it? Just because one credit union has been operating in a particular fashion over time doesn’t make that methodology the most efficient or effective. The world of mergers opens credit unions up to how other organizations conduct their business. This means that best practices can be shared and improved upon. By doing so, employees have the opportunity to take part in valuable training and education activities, enhancing themselves and how they do their job.

Better Benefit Access

It’s no small secret that larger organizations have better negotiating power than smaller ones – there is power in numbers. And with the rising cost of benefits industry wide, better coverage and access becomes an important recruiting and retention tool. Employee merger benefits may include lower premiums, smaller deductibles, access to important tools like an Employee Assistance Program, and even discounts on many products and services. While smaller credit unions may enjoy some of these areas, a merged organization has the ability to bring together an even better offering.

Mergers and acquisitions don’t have to be scary – in fact, they can be advantageous to all who are involved: management, employees and members. Employee merger benefits especially can be seen as one of the most positives aspects of financial reorganizations. How can your organization best benefit?