Post Merger or Acquisition
People Skills Post Merger or Acquisition
Developing the appropriate leadership style and people skills before, during and after merger and acquisition is essential for greater efficiency on the journey from integration to business as usual. This integration will touch all areas within an organisation and it is essential that the underlying theme is engagement through organic change.
A communication strategy to support the journey between integration into business as usual for the organisation is essential. In situations where the acquisition and manager is over very different organisations or across different countries the use of a cultural alignment process will help ensure the projection of a consistent brand across the organisation.
Generally during these transitions people are most likely to be under pressure and stress and most susceptible to submissive or aggressive behaviours. Managers need to be able to emotionally engage with the people and the teams particularly in a matrix management structure.
OnTrack has been working with companies involved in mergers and acquisitions for the last 15 years. We have been involved with a number of well known multinational organisations that have gone through this challenge. We have developed skills and expertise to work with organisations to help ensure their people are kept engaged and motivated throughout the process.
This product area is led by Warren Wright. Warren brings a deep level of expertise from his work and consulting career. He has worked with many leading organisations particularly in the pharmaceutical, telecoms and banking industries. Warren is a thought leader in transformational change that is pivotal to organisations that need to bring their people through merger and acquisition.
Our approach helps:
- Build an 8 step approach to transformational change to ensure people remain engaged in the process
- Maintain supplier and partnership commitment and contribution
- Foster departmental alignment and integration not only of skills and competencies but also of processes
- Culture Alignment Model – a framework for merging cultures successfully and ensuring people are aligned with the underpinning values and behaviours
- Communication Analysis – tools to ensure sensitive communication and handling of difficult situations affecting people
- Management Competence – skills for managers to ensure the on-going success of the integration
Pharmaceutical
Following a merger to form one of the top five global pharmaceutical organisations we supported the cultural integration of these teams post merger with the specific objective of swift integration of drug development projects. We hosted a number of international workshops and team development forums to support this value adding integration. The resulting drug development projects generated the fastest ever return on investment the client had experienced.
Banking
Due to an existing relationship we had with this, top five bank, we were asked to support, post acquisition, the whole IT department from integration into business as usual. This project was 18 months in duration and supported the leadership population in successfully achieving the largest IT integration in banking history. 467 managers embarked on the programme which consisted of a 2 day workshop a 3 day workshop and then a separate departmental team building initiative. Key to this project was the embedding of new corporate values and behaviours.
Insurance
This project was pre acquisition, we were engaged by a banking organisation to support the acquisition of an insurance business to help extend their product portfolio. We worked extensively with the senior management stakeholders of both organisations and supported the integration of a new management infrastructure and helped to develop a three year strategy leading to them being a top three web based insurance business. With this particular project there were lots of team development facilitations and individual coaching and mentoring sessions to help the senior leaders in unifying the teams post a fairly hostile acquisition.
Insurance Pan European
With this organisation we supported the Pan European integration post both acquisitioned and merger across 13 different countries. This project integrated new behavioural competencies and organisational values, systems and the establishment of a pan European brand. This project had greater complexity because it was not only organisational integration but the alignment to an integration of a unified organisational brand.
PPMA MasterClass, People skills Post Merger or Acquisition; workshops and seminars.
Testimonial
We look forward to further interaction with OnTrack International. You provide a first class service with an immediate and long lasting effect.
Senior Vice President, Global Project & Portfolio Management
Ferring Pharmaceuticals
