2DAYSMOOD

As a director, investor or shareholder, what could you learn from the vision on employee satisfaction of 2DAYSMOOD? Joost van Klink will explain it to you in this blog. Since 2019, Joost has been giving 2DAYSMOOD weekly growth advice as a strategic and enthusiastic sparring partner.

The collaboration between Joost and 2DAYSMOOD has flourished through the corporate partnership between Dotslash Utrecht (where 2DAYSMOOD is located) and SHV (former employer of Joost). The connection between both parties was so strong, that Joost decided to round up his career with the corporate and to further develop himself by going back to the basics of doing business: helping start-ups and scale-ups grow!

With his freshly acquired knowledge at 2DAYSMOOD and years of experience, he now has a message for the larger players in the business market.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A): a logical part of the growth strategy, which unfortunately often fails

Joost: “After 30 years in Dutch business, I have seen many business takeovers up close. In addition to organic growth through the opening of new branches, attracting new customers or increasing the “share of wallet” with existing customers, mergers or acquisitions are a logical part of companies’ growth strategy.

Growth through acquisitions has advantages: in one step a company can add many extra customers, enter a new market or increase its market share, while the existing “back office” can be used more efficiently. A leverage effect for the financial results. On paper at least ……

Unfortunately, in reality many of the acquisitions do not achieve the intended result. Approximately 70% of the acquisitions do not meet expectations or even have a negative impact on the financial results. Companies with experience in making acquisitions achieve better percentages. They know how important a good preliminary investigation (or “due diligence”) is. “

A good preliminary investigation and integration plan helps

“In a good investigation, not only the financial, legal and commercial matters of the “target” must be properly analyzed, there must also be attention for the corporate culture and management. With knowledge-intensive companies, it is important to identify so-called key employees: employees who are often just below the highest management level, who know the organization inside out, and who have committed many customers to themselves. If this “backbone” walks out the door unsatisfied, you are buying an empty case!

In addition to good research, an integration plan is important. Who will take which action to properly connect the acquired company and to ensure that the customers and employees stay? Monitoring and adjusting the integration plan is also important. What really happens in the first 100 days after the acquisition? How much impact does the acquisition have on stress and dissatisfaction in the organization, at specific locations, departments and teams? ”

The 2DAYSMOOD tool leads to a better preliminary investigation and integration process

“Now that I have come into contact with the real-time measurement of employee satisfaction and the eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) developed by 2DAYSMOOD, I am convinced that this strategic tool can play an important role in takeover processes.

Before closing a takeover deal, the level of employee satisfaction and the eNPS can provide important input for decision-making: do we indeed take over the company and, if so, at what value? During the integration, the tool provides good insight into how the integration plan works and where adjustments need to be made.

Since a measurement of employee satisfaction and the eNPS can be arranged easily and quickly, I say: take over company? Measure employee satisfaction before you sign! “