Chris Tossell, Commercial Director at Access UK
Aligning company policies and creating unified best of breed systems go a long way to successfully merging different cultures. The process of consultation, however, cannot be underestimated when trying to fully understand the ‘personality’ of each business. Access’ own management team was proactive in speaking directly to staff, reassuring them and helping them to integrate with the rest of the team from day one. Just being there to answer questions as openly and honestly as possible can help to break down barriers.
With any M&A or MBO, it is important that the lines of communication are kept open, even after the change has taken place, to monitor employee sentiment and gather and respond to feedback. There are a number of ways this can be achieved; including staff engagement surveys, Q&A sessions and road shows. Incorporating these within the systematic framework for M&A activity will help to ensure that nothing is overlooked.
Poor integration often leads to reduced productivity and low employee morale, which will impact on the business reaching its financial goals. With careful planning, this can be avoided. If reduced productivity and employee morale does happen, it needs to be addressed immediately. It is paramount that companies nurture their human capital, as they are ambassadors for the business.
Every business needs to create its own change management model as one size doesn’t fit all. It is important to map this out before going through any M&A activity, paying close attention to how human capital will be managed throughout the process. By learning from each acquisition or merger, the framework will be improved and fine-tuned as a result.
This ‘living’ document should also be completely scalable and transferable. It means that anyone involved in the M&A process has a framework to abide by; it helps them to understand what is required and to cope with any unexpected issues outside of the plan, which will inevitably occur, especially where a large number of people are involved.
Essentially, the plan provides structure in what can be highly charged times, helping the HR team deal with the conflicting needs of the different stakeholders. This is a time where process can be essential for restoring order and calm to the situation. It ensures everyone remains focused and that the organisation’s most valuable and important resource, it’s people, are not forgotten in the process.