Post M & A Workforce Integration

Cultural Integration Can be Your
Best Friend or your Worst Enemy.
The Choice is Yours.

On its own right, culture is a stabilizing force within an organization. And when proactively managed, cultural integration can be the glue that binds organizations together and a key component to a successful merger.

However, the very same qualities that give culture its stabilizing abilities also makes culture extremely difficult to change – and allows any cultural differences between the companies to wreak havoc.

Managing post-acquisition cultural integration is the best insurance plan for maintaining workforce morale, minimizing turnover, ensuring productivity and reaching the deal’s financial objectives.

Here are just a few of the workforce challenges that arise from an merger or acquisition event:

'How Things Get Done' is About to Change in a Big Way

While some long-held beliefs and “ways of doing business” may remain intact related to specific product lines, go-to-market initiatives, innovation “know-how”, an acquisition typically means that the acquired company will need to adopt a substantial amount of the acquirer’s operational procedures, planning, reporting, methods, processes and other operating matters as their own.

Heed All Existing Sub-Cultures

There may be several sub-cultures at play in the acquired company that need to be addressed. Such sub-cultures are found in tight association with a specific functional group, demographic and/or physical location, and are often quite pronounced in organizations that have an acquisition history. The challenge in these situations is to separately address sub-culture integration while keeping in alignment with the broader organization priorities.

It’s Only an Imposition For Those Who Choose to Resist

The more foreign, unfamiliar and greater the departure from even the simplest of routines and organizational behavior, the more likely it is that some employees will feel overly burdened by the acquirer’s corporate culture. Proactively managing these cultural differences is your best insurance for a successful merger.

The New Culture Isn’t the Enemy

The acquired workforce often believes that its own procedures have been modified over time to be highly tuned to specific business needs, and are now best practices. As such, adapting to new operating methods can be challenging and require special training and offsite workshops to insure smooth migration.