M&A (Role of HR) - 1. Touchpoints

Fortunately or Un-Fortunately M&A time for HR is always a tough challenge & brings on table lot of tough learning & inputs. I was fortunate to work on this during few of my past tenures.
As per requests made by few friends & others I am sharing my learnings in a series of posts.

1. Touch points that companies need to maintain during M&As.

Specifically the touch points during any M&A can be the most ignored pieces of the whole pie. While the Companies involved generally would focus mainly on the ROI factors along with the BUSINESS GROWTH story for the MERGED or ACQUIRED entities. However avoiding these touch points is really tricky & can be the most risky in long run if avoided being addressed appropriately.

a) BUSINESS VISION of the MERGED/ ACQUIRED Co. – This can be the most commonly available piece of document on the web-sites or the Corporate Office walls. However, it is seldom seen that two Companies can have a similarity in this aspect of business. Funny as it may sound but alignment of the VISION can be like ARRANGED MARRIAGES. It might work from day one or might not work ever.
b) Alignment of ETHICS, VALUE SYSTEMS & PHILOSPHIES of STAKE HOLDERS or MANAGEMENT at both ends.
c) Clarity of CULTURAL Synergies or differences at both ends.
d) Clarity in Business Performance Planning or Measurement at both ends.

The ability to succeed in a merger & acquisiton depends entirely on the people who are driving the business - whether they have creativity, capacity to innovate and ability to execute, and more importantly, whether they can do these things collaboratively. To ease the merger & acquisition transition and make sure the pieces fit together as seamlessly as possible, HR should take the initiatives in management, recruitment, structure, retention, and managing cultural change.

In a merger & acquisition, the employees should be put in a position to see easily that there was value in their daily work lives. It is more important for the employees to be able to say that they understand why this is happening. M&As are strategic alliances. In a merger, two companies join together and create new entity. In an acquisition, one company acquires sufficient shares to gain control of the other organization.