Blackburn Investment Management is a private financial services firm that develops and manages value-oriented investment strategies. When undergoing acquisitions, the company prioritizes a strong change communications plan.
During the acquisition of a multi-property boutique resort portfolio in the spring of 2019, Blackburn wanted to make sure that employees and homeowners felt comfortable, and that the external community was well informed. They knew that with such a complex transaction, there were many moving pieces, one of which was ensuring the successful transition of employees and retention of talent. They contacted Craft Impact to create a communications plan and deliverables that would ensure that the right parties were informed in the right ways at the right times.
Change can be intimidating, and without proper communication it can cause teams to lose confidence in their companies. For financial services firms looking to retain top talent at a newly acquired company, this can be a real issue. Knowing that communicating early and often is key to controlling the narrative and earning trust and buy-in from acquired employees, Craft Impact worked with Blackburn to proactively develop a comprehensive communications strategy and timeline, which included items like:
By laying out the various impacted parties, change management initiatives and the communications needed, Craft Impact and Blackburn were able to ensure alignment on messaging, and as much transparency as possible throughout the duration of the transaction.
