The term “acqui-hire” is a nifty neologism that enjoys the virtue of being well-defined in M&A circles while suffering the vice of being misunderstood. Ostensibly, young companies are “acqui-hired” more for their best people than for any real interest in their products, services, or ongoing operations. Talent acquisition is acqui-hiring’s main purpose, say innovation pundits — everything else matters less.
How to Help the Employees You Gain in a Merger Succeed
Given the plethora of startups worldwide, the opportunity for game-changing “acqui-hires” has expanded enormously. Successful acqui-hiring is harder than either acquisition or hiring — but, when it’s done well, its impact can produce win/wins, if a few best practices are followed. First, don’t acqui-hire to solve a problem or manage a pain point. You can’t treat an acqui-hire as a solution to a technical capability gap or a way to quickly combat an intensifying competitive threat. Second, understand that acqui-hires desire and expect some measure of autonomy. After all, if they had wanted to be employees, they would have gotten a job at a more traditional company rather than joining a startup. Finally, consider whether the acqui-hires, as individuals, are the sort of people who should be leading the enterprise in the long run?