Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are tools businesses use to achieve organizational
objectives—tools that have profound impacts on the employees of the organizations at
every level as two organizations attempt to integrate into one. A merger is generally
defined as the joining of two or more different organizations under one common owner
and management structure. An acquisition is the process of one corporate entity
acquiring control of another corporate entity by purchase, stock swap or some other
method.
This article discusses the importance of managing "people issues" in the context of
M&As, with an emphasis on the role of HR professionals, who must be adept at
recognizing potential problems, identifying solutions and persuading management to
adopt them. The article offers an overview of the five phases of the merger or
acquisition transaction and discusses the business case for M&As. It addresses the key
issues that must be managed in an effort to assist HR practitioners in preparing for the
challenges and practical realities of M&A transactions, including:
The consideration of a merger or acquisition usually comes packed with mixed feelings,
including excitement, fear, uncertainty, enthusiasm and resistance. These emotional
reactions can occur at every level of the organization. How an organization deals with
its employees before, during and after the transaction can have a determinative impact
on the success of the transaction.
Both mergers and acquisitions present significant challenges to HR professionals. The
M&A process requires management of both organizations to consider all implications of
a proposed merger or acquisition before agreeing to one—which necessarily involves
consideration of the "people issues" created by a proposed merger or acquisition. HR
professionals are often involved in the process by advising management on human
resource matters, including using surveys and other metrics to gather relevant data,
identifying potential conflicts or HR challenges between the two companies, integrating
HR practices and company cultures after an M&A, and managing talent decisions such
as layoffs, to name a few.
Phase 2 involves the legal, accounting, regulatory and technical aspects of completing
the transaction. It is during this phase that third-party professional services are secured
(e.g., lawyers, accountants, investment bankers and M&A advisors). These individuals
or groups are critical to the success of the transaction and will be involved in the
development of the structure and content of the legal agreement. An HR professional
might be involved in interviewing the third-party professional and negotiating an
independent contractor agreement.
Parties make sure their teams are briefed, ready and on the same page, and sign a
letter of intent before they begin the due diligence process. It is important for parties to
ensure that their legal documents (e.g., option plans, board of director notes, NDAs,
partnership agreements, benefits plans) are organized and in good shape. Also crucial
is for parties to ensure that they have completed the proper government filings, that they
have adequate product and marketing documentation, and that their financial records
are sound and have been audited by a legitimate third party. HR professionals are likely
to be heavily involved in the collection and organization of such records.
The parties sign a letter of intent if they tentatively can agree on the priority issues
involved in the transaction. A letter of intent is a document that seeks to provide some
initial points of understanding and that binds the parties to keep the information
discussed confidential. This document is signed prior to the start of the due diligence
process and prior to formal board of directors' approval of the deal.
During the due diligence process, it is critical to read documents carefully to eliminate
any surprises that could jeopardize the deal. Parties should decide up front how much
information they will share during due diligence; they should expect to have to share a
significant amount of detail. Parties must have the required documentation organized
and prepare multiple copies so they will not be slowed down by copy requests. In
addition, parties should be aware that due diligence almost always takes longer than
expected.
Regarding negotiations themselves, many tactics are employed, and the right ones
often depend on the types of organizations involved. Different industry sectors use
different valuation metrics (e.g., multiples of revenue, discounted cash flow or EBITDA,
which is "earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization"). The parties'
financial advisors, both internal and external, generally control this aspect of the
transaction.
Assuming the due diligence process has not uncovered any material issues that cause
a reconsideration of the transaction, and assuming the price seems right, both parties
draft, negotiate and approve the legal agreement. Regulatory and filing issues must be
considered at this time. Despite the prior approval of the parties and their respective
boards of directors, organizations must often take additional steps (e.g. filings with the
relevant secretary of state, taxing authorities and other government agencies with
regulatory authority over either company, such as the federal Securities and Exchange
Commission).
Phase 5: Implementation
In this phase, the two organizations are combined into one. New workgroups are
established, and redundant employees are laid off. The corporate culture for the
combined organization is established and communicated to all employees. HR
professionals may be involved in formulating a new mission statement, vision statement
and possibly a values statement. Organizational policies and procedures will be revised
and coordinated with significant input from HR professionals.
Business Case
As shown above, the business case for involvement of HR professionals at every step
in the M&A process is overwhelming. Studies consistently show that most mergers and
acquisitions fail, mainly because of people and culture issues. In the period leading up
to and immediately following a significant transaction, a tendency exists for employees
to begin considering their own personal situation. Questions usually contemplated
include "Where am I going?"; "What do I want out of both my personal and business
life?"; and "Will I like the new company and its management group?"
The longer the period of uncertainty lasts, the more attractive alternative employment
becomes. To make things more difficult, the best and brightest managers are the ones
immediately targeted by recruiters attempting to lure them to other organizations. The
loss of key employees can seriously erode the potential value of a transaction for the
acquiring firm. Perhaps equally damaging, and just as costly, are those people who stay
on the payroll but who emotionally "check out" and do not perform at their previous
levels of productivity. If the process is not managed well, a company may end up with
the employees who simply had the fewest alternatives.
A thorough review of the acquired organization's legal position generally takes place
during the due diligence phase of the transactions. This is a time when all people-
related policies, plans, practices and programs should be scrutinized to ensure
compliance with applicable employment laws and regulations.
In the HR arena, one area that has significant potential for creating issues is that of
retirement benefits. The questions concerning defined benefit plans, defined
contribution plans, vesting, valuation of liabilities and overfunding or underfunding of
plans are complex issues that can create real challenges for members of the HR team.
In addition to a review of retirement-related issues, HR should also conduct a full
analysis of the target company's health care benefits and costs, as well as its worker's
compensation liabilities.
Companies can inadvertently assume significant liability if they do not conduct careful
due diligence before finalizing the transaction. The target company can have pending
charges or litigation from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or face unfair
labor practice claims from the National Labor Relations Board. Each of these potential
legal problems needs to be addressed specifically in the acquisition agreement, and the
purchasing company or surviving company may want to secure an indemnification in the
agreement as well. Such an indemnification provision keeps a company from assuming
unreasonable risks, especially if litigation currently is pending. Because the two entities
will be combining into one, to be meaningful, the indemnification provisions are likely to
extend to key officers, directors and shareholders—which again raises "people issues"
that may require the involvement of HR professionals.
Having the necessary skill sets to effectively manage the integration (e.g., knowledge in
employee relations, communications, change management and legal requirements)
should gain the confidence of senior management in HR. Competency in these areas
also should enable HR professionals to handle the complicated process of managing
human resources during mergers and acquisitions.
To shape the culture of the newly merged organization, the employer must develop and
communicate to employees a cogent people-related strategy. Such a strategy should
include the development of key policies, rules and guidelines to govern employee
behavior and related workplace expectations (e.g., attendance, time off, harassment,
drug testing, privacy).
To retain the key talent that will help make the new organization successful,
management should communicate its intentions to the "star performers" as early in the
process as is legally possible. This means requesting access to conduct confidential
interviews with key employees in advance of the actual closing date. Most importantly,
management should be very careful not to undercommit to these key people, or they will
consider other employment options. Star performers know who they are and understand
their personal and professional marketability.
Ideally, the HR and management teams will have been able to assess the skills,
capabilities, potential and motivations of key employees involved in the merger or
acquisition. Typical methods include interviewing and testing techniques and the use of
outside consultants. Once these tasks are completed, the HR team should take
immediate steps to "re-recruit" and place these employees into key positions of the new
entity.
Most M&A deals count on both the organizational and financial efficiencies that will
result from a reduction in the number of employees needed to run the new organization.
This outcome means that HR will spend a large amount of time assessing employee
knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to decide who will stay and who will go. The
strategy may include terminations, early retirements and a longer-term plan to simply
not fill certain positions as they are vacated. The ways in which these decisions are
made will—in the long run—be as important as the actual decisions themselves.
Moreover, the manner in which talent management decisions are made will
communicate a great deal about what the organization values.
In addition, members of the senior management team will be anxious to see what types
of special arrangements (e.g., stock options, special retirement provisions, severance
agreements) will be offered to them given the high-profile nature of the new positions.
The development of an executive compensation strategy will require an additional set of
complex decision-making, as well as board approvals.
Communications
Once decisions are made about functions and people, the organization must treat those
employees who will be negatively affected by the transaction with dignity, respect and
support. Not only is this approach the humane thing to do, but it also is a powerful way
of showing those who remain what kind of company they are now working for and of
helping them begin to develop some positive feelings toward the new organization.
Cultural compatibility issues often arise when bringing together two or more cultures in
the M&A process. Because culture encompasses the beliefs and assumptions shared
by members of an organization and influences all areas of group life, the M&A
integration always has a degree of misalignment, regardless of the perceived similarity
between the two firms. Since cultural clashes can affect important M&A outcomes,
focusing on cultural alignment has been identified as the top challenge in M&A
transactions.
Global Issues
Much of the pressure to compete and perform has intensified from globalization and the
emergence of China and India as two of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
During the 1990s and through about 2005, M&A activity was controlled largely by U.S.
and European-based corporations. The climate has changed as Asian-based
businesses look to expand their markets and become truly global players. The Middle
East, even with its volatile political and religious climate, also is becoming a hotbed for
M&A activity. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have plenty
of cash available from their vast oil wealth and are looking to diversify their business
holdings. The cultural and communication issues involved in a global transaction can
create even more complexity for HR practitioners.