THE PORTFOLIO SOUND DECISIONS // Chelsea Wood, Middle Market Organizational Consultant, Insperity
MID-MARKET TRENDS
SOUND DECISIONS
TAP BUTTONS TO NAVIGATE COLUMNS
Chelsea Wood
Addressing Merger Concerns
historical success of the business. What
Turnover and productivity are big con-
are the must-haves moving forward? Then
cerns during mergers and acquisitions.
create an agreement about what the cul-
Culture is a strong driver of satisfaction,
ture of the future organization needs to be
engagement and, ultimately, retention.
in order to deliver on what you’re promis-
Maintaining institutional knowledge is often important during times of transition. A culture that recognizes the value
ing your customers. Anticipate potential barriers and address them. Once the transaction closes, convey the
of the workforce is a good hedge against
changes while maintaining open lines of
losing that knowledge.
communication with your employees and
Productivity can be impacted by a disorganized integration process. By planning for culture early in your M&A process—in
customers. Make sure there are ways to receive feedback in a timely fashion. We’ve all seen deals go south. And they
the same way you address the financial
do so for many reasons. But it’s been dem-
analysis—you can develop an integration
onstrated time after time the critical role
plan and minimize disruptions. Typically,
that culture plays in the long-term success
integration begins at close, but integration
of a merger or acquisition. The transaction
planning starts at the beginning.
prerequisite that you put into place may
Investing more resources in the early stages of a transaction will protect the
just make the difference in your next deal. Learn how to structure a human capi-
long-term investment. The goal is to have
tal framework to navigate the historically
a smooth transition that provides clear
nebulous concept of culture at insperity.
expectations to all stakeholders.
com/acg. //
Moving Forward
Chelsea Wood (M.A. I-O Psych) is a middle-
During your initial planning stages, con-
market organizational consultant at Insperity,
sider cultural compatibility in your target
an employee services firm. For over a decade,
criteria. Build a framework for under-
Wood has partnered with leadership teams
standing what cultural fit means and how
to identify and address business challenges
to evaluate it.
related to operational performance, strategy,
In the pre-close phase, identify the cultural requirements needed to continue the
business development and human capital.