Be successful in your Merger or Acquisition with people-focussed guidance
Putting People back into Cultural Integration
Years ago, on a warm August day I went to a wedding in the North of England. It was a church wedding, with a reception held in a local community hall. The couple had been together for several years and by the time they said I do, it felt like an inevitability coming to it's logical conclusion. During the father of the bride speech, a teary Dad spoke of his love for his new son-in-law, how he trusted and empowered the young man to take care of his (let's be honest) favourite daughter and wished them genuine and heartfelt success in their future life together, with an appropriate amount of northern humour, mostly at the groom's expense.
Rarely do we see such honest emotion and well-wishing in the business world, and even less in the field of mergers and acquisitions. Armies of lawyers, finance experts and consultants swarm together to detail the quantitative benefits and outcomes of potential monetary-matrimony. Each with their own systems, processes and formula's to predict success.
As a leader, owner of a business or someone with a key stake in a merger or acquisition, you'll know the pit-of-the-stomach yearning feeling that the numbers cannot reveal. Like your (still favourite) daughter getting married, you want to know as best you can that there will be a successful outcome. Like our father-of-the-bride, you hope the families will come together, ideally behave themselves or at least until last-orders, dance and celebrate, and rather than going their separate ways entirely after the party, will coalesce and share their skills, dreams and ideas and the whole family will be better because of the union. No Red Weddings here, thank you!
How to know for sure if it will be a "good fit"? How could data possibly tell you whether the people within the walls will coalesce? Are you aware enough of your own biases and blind spots to trust your gut entirely?
What if you had an impartial, pragmatic, supportive partner who could help you reach clarity and support the cultural transition of your merger or acquisition?
Founded by Marketer and Executive Coach, Elle Whitelegg, Preaduco puts people back in the centre of the business conversation. After a decade of working in fast moving, world-class brands, Elle noticed that it was people and all their nuances that were the reason companies and teams were successful and grew, or stagnated. This experience, combined with a honed ability to ask the right questions that others have described as “unbelievable”, “revealing” and “deeply thought provoking” is the formula that Elle has poured into Praeduco.
Why cultural integration in M&A is important
Did you know that a disengaged employee costs an organisation up to 34% of their salary. (Gallup)
The importance of cultural fit when bringing together multiple companies and teams in a merger or acquisition cannot be understated - businesses who acquire another and yet fail to fully integrate the separately evolved cultures fail to fully benefit from the technical and proprietary opportunities they have bought.
Some common but disastrous challenges that can befall a merger or acquisition are:
- Misaligned, misunderstood, misinterpreted cultures, values and priorities.
- Resistance to change.
- Communication breakdowns.
- Overt talent retention issues.
- Covert, subtle or quiet defection.
How Praeduco can help
Praeduco works with your company to create and deploy:
- Custom Strategies: Truly tailored approach to align cultures through time spent listening, to both leaders and employees alike.
- Leadership Coaching: Equipping executives to lead change effectively.
- Workshops & Training: Empowering teams to adapt and thrive.
- Ongoing Support: Continuous guidance through the integration process.
With all clients, Praeduco applies a sensitive and bespoke approach. When a leading London Law Firm was in need of support, 1:1 Coaching was used in combination with a workshop session to determine the compatibility of a potential merger. Read the case study, here.
The success of any union lies in getting to know each other and a key component of the Preaduco approach is spending time, face to face with all parties, in their environments.
Benefits of working with Praeduco on your merger or acquisition
By working with Elle Whitelegg during your merger & acquisition you will benefit from:
- A decade of experience in executive environments & coaching.
- Senior Leadership Team experience
- First hire in Europe to launch a $1.2 bn U.S. brand
- Proven track record in M&A cultural transitions.
- Personalised, results-driven approach.
- Someone who can spot the crucial players who's influence may be otherwise overlooked
Let's Build a Cohesive Culture
Request a call-back from founder, Elle Whitelegg