People issues matter in an M&A, and giving them appropriate attention is critical to the success of any deal. As numerous studies over the past two decades have shown, many M&As fail to meet expectations — largely due to the challenges of integrating people.
Towers Watson recently conducted two surveys — one of more than 100 Finance executives across Canada in partnership with the research foundation of Financial Executives International (FEI) and one with more than 400 HR executives from around the world. The assessment of the challenges and success factors from Finance and HR in Canada are surprisingly aligned, and demonstrate that when organizations address the risks related to the people factors — early, strategically and with discipline — they can achieve significantly greater success.
This white paper takes a closer look at M&A success factors and the specific steps companies need to take in order to address the key people issues, including:
HR Performance: There is a strong correlation between the performance of HR in due diligence and the success of the deal.
Better Due Diligence: The financial impact of people-related risks is often not considered or clearly evaluated.
Cultural Alignment: The number one differentiator between very successful deal makers and less successful ones is the effectiveness of the organization in aligning culture.
Focus on Success Differentiators: Besides cultural alignment, the most important success differentiators are key talent retention, change management, workforce deployment and leadership alignment.
M&A Readiness: M&A readiness before the next transaction is key in order for HR to be more effective and for Finance to better understand the risks associated with the people aspects of the transaction.
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