Everything’s gone south since our company was acquired. Now what?

Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions about workplace, career and leadership in her advice column Got a Minute? This week: a failing acquisition, missing commission and long service leave logistics.

I work in a successful family-run company of about 60 people that has recently been acquired by a large corporation. The new owners don’t value how we used to operate, despite having been competitors who always trailed behind us. Experienced staff are slowly being replaced with less skilled people, efficiency is dropping and morale is low. Management insists everything will work out. What can employees do when a takeover seems to be heading in the wrong direction?

What you’re describing is unfortunately a familiar pattern after acquisitions.

Research consistently finds between 70 and 90 per cent fail to deliver the value executives promised when the deal was announced. One of the most common reasons is precisely what you’re seeing: the larger company assumes its systems and processes will work everywhere and slowly dismantles the practices that made the smaller business successful.

Employees often spot the warning signs early – declining morale, experienced staff leaving, slower decisions and rising costs. But by that point the strategic decisions have usually already been made at a level well above the local management team.

That doesn’t mean you’re powerless, but it does mean expectations need to be realistic. If you and your colleagues have constructive feedback about what is affecting performance, it’s worth raising it calmly and with evidence. Sometimes acquiring companies do adjust course once the operational consequences become clear.

At the same time, protect your own position. Periods after acquisitions often bring significant change and uncertainty. Sometimes the new owners eventually recognise what made the company strong. Sometimes they don’t. My advice would be to contribute where you can while keeping your options open.

I work in sales for a global company and exceeded my sales quota after years of hard work. The targets were accurately forecast, and account plans regularly shared with my management. However, my company has not paid the commission I am due yet – it is six months overdue. I have been paid a capped amount, with the remainder being subjected to an “internal review”. This has been wearing me down badly as the amount is significant and will help my family on many fronts. What options do I have?

Sales commission arrangements vary widely, but once a commission structure is set out in an employment contract or incentive plan, employers are generally expected to honour it unless there is a clear contractual reason not to. As you are feeling, sales incentives only work once they are actually received.

The first step is to review your written commission plan carefully. Look for clauses about caps, discretionary payments or circumstances where commissions may be withheld or delayed. If the payment is genuinely overdue under the terms of the agreement, it’s reasonable to request a formal explanation in writing – including a clear timeline for when the review will be completed.

If the matter continues to stall, external advice may help. The Fair Work Ombudsman can provide guidance about unpaid wages or entitlements, and in some cases employment lawyers assist with commission disputes.

I’m planning to take four months of long service leave next year. When I proposed January to April to my boss, they asked if I could shorten it by two weeks because they wanted to take annual leave at the same time and didn’t want two people out of the department at the same time. I’m not sure how to respond, as it felt like their personal circumstances were driving the request, and they were putting their needs first.

You have an entitlement to long service leave and the timing of that leave is usually agreed between employee and employer so that the organisation can continue operating.

You will be away for four months and there are bound to be other occasions where people will be absent from the team. What happens then? I think the best approach is to try to keep the conversation away from your manager’s own leave dates and look at the bigger picture of how the team will operate generally over that period for unexpected absences, sick leave, short notice annual leave.

If the department genuinely can’t manage two extended absences at once, some adjustment might be reasonable on your part. But it should be based on business needs, not your bosses individual preferences. You also shouldn’t be asked to reduce your long service leave period but perhaps start two weeks earlier than planned.

Long service leave exists precisely so people can step away properly. The goal should be finding dates that work for both you and the organisation – not solving someone else’s holiday logistics.

To submit a question about work, careers or leadership, visit kirstinferguson.com/ask. You will not be asked to provide your name or any identifying information. Letters may be edited.