When changes happen, it can really throw things off kilter. We get used to a routine, a pace or a way of doing things, and while change can be good, changes forced on us can be completely different. People don’t always understand why changes are made, and therefore, can have an adverse reaction to any change, whether it’s ultimately a good or bad thing.

That’s the tricky part about mergers and acquisitions – though the change is probably a good thing for both companies, each company’s employees can have a hard time adjusting.  And who wouldn’t – the company you’ve been working for, whether for a year or 20 years, is now merging with or being acquired by a competitor. What does that mean for the company? What does that mean for  its agents? Every company has its own culture of business and day-to-day operation, so after the merger/acquisition goes through, which one will prevail? The shake-up can cause mixed emotions, namely confusion, anger and, gradually, acceptance, in the form of either accepting the change and staying with the “new” company or jumping ship to start over somewhere else.

With mergers and acquisitions on the rise in the real estate industry, for this Managing Brokers issue, we talked to three managing brokers who have dealt firsthand with a merger/acquisition and how they not only transitioned themselves, but also helped their agents transition, as well. How do they keep their agents from jumping ship? What if they themselves lose their title as managing broker? Read our cover story to find out the details of what can happen  during a merger/acquisition. It’s best to be prepared, and if the past 18 months have told us anything, it’s that the industry will probably see many more mergers/acquisitions in the future. Learn how to deal with the changes now.