The deal closes. Retention letters are signed. Everyone exhales.
A few months later, the people the deal was built around start resigning.
Usually the money wasn't the problem.
In RGP's 2026 survey of 120 CFOs, 74% reported moderate to high leadership or critical-talent turnover in the first year after an acquisition. When asked what actually helps people stay, more pointed to career path alignment (59%) than to retention bonuses (39%).
A bonus can keep someone in their seat. It doesn't answer the question they are quietly asking: is there a future for me here?
What tends to help in the months after close:
- Know who your critical people are before day one, by skills, not just titles.
- Have a real conversation with each of them about their role in the combined company.
- Give their managers what they need to hold those conversations well.
- Check in again after the first wave of changes, not only at signing.
If you've been through an acquisition, what's the one thing that made you stay, or the one thing that would have?