A Research Report by Mercer
Despite knowing that corporate culture is important, organizations still struggle with how best to convert an appreciation for cultural differences into a definitive plan of action for successfully executing a transaction.
According to Mercer's research, the most successful transactions engage senior leaders early in the process, which ensures a clear understanding of cultural differences and identifies and prioritizes actions that will inform, influence, and accelerate the integration effort.
We Know Culture Is Important –So Now What?
Conduct early-stage culture due diligence: As organizations navigate the earliest stages of a deal, HR should engage leaders on the topic of corporate culture with the objectives of:
- Specifying the behaviors required for success
- Identifying the non-negotiables (areas where change is not welcome)
- Ensuring corporate alignment on aspirational cultural attributes
Plan for successful integration by:
- Understanding the target company culture from publicly available information
- Analyzing data on culture from both the acquirer and the target (including executive interviews, labor flow data, and online employee surveys)
- Determining the desired "new" culture of the new organization and the associated behaviors that will lead to success
Identify and implement the drivers of behaviors (for example, employee reward/recognition, employee engagement, talent management) that will have the greatest impact on culture change.
Monitor and track culture change by:
- Deploying a series of pulse check surveys to monitor progress; adapt drivers as needed
- Implementing an annual employee engagement survey to gain insights and gather views and experiences
- Recognizing and celebrating achievements
Click Here to read the full research report.
Presented courtesy of: Mercer, People Partner of the M&A Leadership Council, mercer.com