Post-Merger Culture Integration
Mergers and acquisitions threaten us on multiple levels by piling uncertainty on top of anxieties about old and new, winning and losing, status and respect.
What
When organisations combine, anxieties arise about our place in the new organisation: who is the winner and who is the loser; who is the leader and who are the followers; whose ideas are valuable and whose are not. These anxieties hit us at the level of our core human needs for knowing our place (status), fairness and agency.
When faced with uncertainty about these things during an integration, colleagues invest huge resources trying to keep themselves safe through the changes rather than contributing their productive potential towards the organisation’s objectives.
After an integration is complete, if groups or teams feel they are the ‘vanquished’ the losers – who feel their culture, values and ways of working have been discarded – will either leave or become passive passengers or active saboteurs
Why
The driver for acquisitions is often human capital. The legal and contractual constraints around M&A processes can create enormous uncertainty for that human capital for months on end. We all need to feel safe, seen and respected, but by the time a deal is completed, the team can feel exhausted by the process and unsure about their future. Paranoia and fear thrives; ‘teamship’ is abandoned.
Sensitive handling of communications with key people on both sides, balancing confidentiality with the reality of the active ‘grapevine’ present in every organisation, means the agony of this waiting period can be ameliorated for everyone. Colleagues are then better equipped to maintain their focus on their day jobs, and the combined businesses hit the ground running after completion.
At the point when organisations come together, if cultures and behaviours change too quickly, or without involvement or consensus, our values and our identity feel challenged, which results in crisis for the individual. Evolving a new joint culture, representing the best of both predecessor organisations, where everyone feels involved in its creation is key to people feeling they belong to and are invested in the success of the new organisation.
How
Our Culture and Behaviour Diagnostic brings clarity about latent behaviours and beliefs in the target team/organisation and how these might be amplified by the culture and ways of working of the acquirer. We interview selected stakeholders across both organisations, creating a clearer picture around compatibility and potential roadblocks than can be gained from reviewing documents alone.
We analyse the underlying interests and emotional states of the parties involved in the deal to help you structure the most effective, least disruptive messaging strategy which maximises influence (in an environment of reduced control) and recognises and defuses difficult emotions (uncertainty, humiliation, fear) to allow people to feel supported through the transition.
Post-completion, we can continue to assist with messaging to reduce anxiety and uncertainty. We also activate our Culture Alignment Process, which is designed to move colleagues’ identification and alignment from the old organisation’s identity and ways of doing things to that of the new organisation. In human terms, we provide your people with the time and space to reflect on and mourn what has been lost with the disappearance of their old, but treasured organisation, and to accept a new way of being and functioning, which they are bought into because they have had a say in its creation.
Essentially, we deliver an experience of building teamship which creates the space for old ways of being to be acknowledged and new ways of being to be forged in a spirit of togetherness and co-creation.
Recent Engagement
Building a sense of togetherness after an inter-continental merger
Helping those who have different perspectives on the opportunity set and what matters find common purpose
We helped partners of a formerly London-based global law firm come to terms with their new role as the minor partner ‘international division’ of a now much larger transatlantic organisation, after a merger with a dominant US firm. The UK partners felt under threat, perceiving execution mistakes to be happening and opportunities being squandered because they simply couldn’t attract or sustain the interest or engagement of their US partners. Disillusionment was on the rise.
In this case a broader cultural alignment piece was not possible as that would have required US engagement. Instead we helped the UK side come to an awareness of the distinct cultural drivers of differing perspectives and preferences in ways of working in their US counterparts, so they could move forward feeling less 'triggered’ or ‘disrespected’ by their American partners.
Knowing the disconnect was rarely ‘personal’ enabled the UK partners to reframe the relationship, and take back their sense of power and control over their own businesses by recognising that their changed status came with advantages and not just disadvantages, so they were again able to see and exploit the opportunities presented by being part of a much more powerful global organisation.