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People in M&A

Employee experience, culture and onboarding play a crucial role in retaining talent - and unlocking deal value.

When it comes to transactions, the focus tends to be on the 鈥渉ard鈥� factors: the legalities, commercials and financials. Yet, with up to two-thirds of transactions failing to deliver value, something clearly doesn鈥檛 add up.

Our experience shows that it鈥檚 often the softer, human-factors that are typically underestimated within deals.

People play a critical role in the success of deals, with the acquisition of key talent often being a driver behind a transaction, but their experience is often a poor one.

Therefore, how do we create an environment where an individual who joins an organization via a transaction would say 鈥淚 would have joined this company even if the deal had not happened鈥�?听

Discover our annual Swiss M&A recap and outlook
Chau Woeste, Partner, Deal Advisory
Chau Woeste

Partner, Deal Advisory, People in M&A

乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网-UK

Nick Lawitzke
Nick Lawitzke

Director, People & Change Consulting

乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 Switzerland

Key areas to focus on

Employee experience

How we shape this intentionally from end to end, increasing excitement and reducing uncertainty.

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sky divers creating circle - left focus

Culture in M&A

How we prepare from a culture perspective pre deal and help the new workforce land positively and assimilate culturally, buying into the organization鈥檚 mission, vision and values.

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sky divers creating circle - middle focus

Onboarding and talent retention

Setting newly acquired talent up for success, helping them to say goodbye to yesterday and hello to tomorrow.

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sky divers creating circle - right focus

Let鈥檚 explore each area in a little more detail

Employee experience

Employee experience plays a critical role in a successful deal. While traditional communication and welcome initiatives are important, focusing on key business functions and critical talent is crucial for maintaining continuity and achieving deal objectives.

Here鈥檚 why employee experience is so important:

  • Impact on business performance

    A positive experience leads to higher retention, productivity and morale. Satisfied employees are less likely to leave, ensuring continuity and minimizing disruption. They are more productive, leading to quicker realization of deal benefits, and are more motivated, contributing to the success of the deal.

  • Reputation and brand value

    An organization with an engaged workforce can attract top talent, enhancing the company鈥檚 reputation as an employer. This can also lead to improved client relationships, better service and a positive brand image within the market.

  • Overall deal success

    By investing in a positive employee experience, companies can minimize transaction-related risks, ensuring that key business functions are able to continue as usual, even when everything is changing. This ultimately lays the foundation for sustainable growth and long-term success, post deal.

Culture in M&A

No matter the deal scenario, making significant change to an organization can be challenging. The approach to culture in a transaction can significantly and positively impact its success, especially when people are at the center of organizational value.

Here鈥檚 how we can tackle the cultural dimension, predict potential challenge and transition employees successfully, protecting deal value:

  • Use data and AI to inform culture pre deal

    Having access to culture insights to inform deal strategy has proven invaluable in a pre-deal environment. Utilizing generative AI and machine learning allows us to scrape publicly available data, constructing cultural comparisons between organizations. This gives the opportunity to address potential cultural challenges and areas of cultural alignment early, within the transaction strategy.

  • Focus on assimilation, rather than post-deal integration

    For decades, companies have pursued cultural integration, aiming to blend the best of both worlds. However, this often overlooks the human element. Instead, we focus on cultural assimilation, helping new employees adapt to the acquiring company鈥檚 culture. This fosters a sense of belonging and accelerates the emotional transition.

  • Ensure leaders set the tone from the top

    Leadership in deals is crucial to ensure successful cultural assimilation. Leaders should embody the desired corporate culture and build trust, communicating effectively, being understanding and celebrating successes. By fostering the right work environment, leaders can guide employees through the transition, acknowledging the past and embracing the future.

Onboarding and talent retention

Getting onboarding right is a key ingredient of successful talent management and is your gateway to employees鈥� hearts and minds following a merger or acquisition.听

So how do you ease the transition, make people feel welcomed and onboard them successfully?

  • First impressions count

    Deal close isn鈥檛 the first chance to make a good impression. There may be restrictions around communicating commercially sensitive information to your future employees, but they can start to get to know you from information that you make publicly available. They鈥檒l be checking you out online so it鈥檚 important you provide a convincing and true picture of your organization.

  • Be there from day 1

    Whether in person or virtually, ensure you are there to welcome your new employees. The power of online communication tools means we can welcome thousands of people, personally, all at the same time. Effective onboarding is about being there for your new employees and giving them access to the knowledge, tools and guidance they need to be successful.

  • Make the most of digital

    Digital channels offer a powerful solution for effectively welcoming and engaging new hires. By leveraging digital tools and strategies, companies can ensure a smooth and successful transition for new hires, maximizing their engagement and contribution to the organization.听

So, what can we take away from this?

The most successful transactions are often the ones that don鈥檛 underestimate the crucial role of people in deals.

Therefore, having an engaged workforce is fundamental to drive post-deal success and unlock the full potential of the transaction. That鈥檚 where the real deal value lies.

Case studies

Employee experience, onboarding and talent retention

A Silicon Valley giant was acquiring a tech supercomputing company. The software engineers were a key aspect of this deal and a major source of IP and value for the acquisition.

As part of the employee experience and onboarding strategy, the transaction team implemented the gamified 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 Digital Engagement Platform. This digital and social people engagement solution kept the workforce informed, engaged, equipped and connected throughout the transaction. Encouraging people to participate and get to know one another and the new culture helped both sides transition successfully and set teams up for success.

Attrition was halved compared with past transactions 鈥� a critical success factor for this deal.

听

Key role of culture

A large player in the tech industry was exploring the acquisition of a SaaS start-up.

The main driver for the deal was the software capability so ensuring retention of critical talent was at the forefront of integration planning.

As part of the pre-deal work, the transaction team used an AI-based solution to run a culture assessment using publicly available data. The findings were presented to the transaction team on the Monday, to the CPO on the Tuesday and to executive leadership on the Wednesday 鈥� resulting in a change to the integration strategy by Thursday.

The findings drove a valuable discussion between the transaction team and senior leadership and ultimately shifted the direction of the transaction.

听

Maximize long-term deal success with expert HR management and integration planning

Despite the focus on legal and financial factors, many transactions can fail to deliver value. Often, it's underestimated that human factors make the difference.

How can we create an environment where talent joining through a deal feels they would have chosen the company, deal or not?

Meet our expert

Chau Woeste, Partner, Deal Advisory
Chau Woeste

Partner, Deal Advisory, People in M&A

乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网-UK

Nick Lawitzke
Nick Lawitzke

Director, People & Change Consulting

乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 Switzerland

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