Studies show that the number one cause of failure among international mergers and acquisitions is employee integration.
Don’t panic—we specialize in supporting the cultural components of integration between diverse, global corporations.
Successful mergers and acquisitions require the effective collaboration of leaders and employees across the new combined organization. We help facilitate this working through organizational and cultural differences.
Before we help organizations with integration, we conduct interviews and surveys. Positioned as a neutral third party, we gain a holistic understanding of organizational dynamics, key workstreams, and potential pitfalls.
Our consultants perform a mapping exercise of the assets, relationships, and best practices of both organizations early on. This exercise ensures a full picture of the merger and acquisition and provides our consultants with what they need to develop a strategy that will successfully support a smooth integration.
Consultants develop a first 100 days initiative to support the successful transition of a merger or acquisition. Commonly this initiative will include increasing the cultural awareness of leadership and can involve learning sessions like “India Immersion” to develop skills to work effectively together.
Once a baseline of cultural awareness is reached, team building in a face-to-face setting is often the next step. Team building learning sessions include a structured sequence of activities that increase mutual understanding, build trust, and align on key priorities and processes.
Often short-term expatriate exchange assignments are arranged for key integration team members. Our consultants provide pre-departure and repatriation training, as well as ongoing cross-cultural and change management consulting.
Without a concerted effort, the change management that comes along with global mergers and acquisitions can quickly become a vicious cycle. Headquarters have imperatives they push out while subsidiaries have limited capabilities.
We know this cycle well, and have a specific strategy for turning this vicious cycle into a virtuous one. We utilize local input, joint development, accurate assessments, and effective communication to do this.
Our consultants develop recommendations that leverage the unique strengths of the organizational and national cultures involved. Their recommendations incorporate the diverse talents and insights from both parties. We help to build a new culture with shared values, communication norms, and collaborative behaviors.
Watch this on-demand webinar with Aperian Global’s Director of APAC Consulting, Mui Hwa Ng. Learn how to collaborate effectively across distance, both geographically and through differing work styles. Get the skills you and your team need to work effectively and ensure team members feel safe and heard.
Remote global teams are more vulnerable to bias than any other team due to isolation, cultural differences and language barriers. Unexamined biases may cause teams to head into a downward spiral of misunderstanding, blame, and mistrust, leading to poor team performance and a cycle of reaffirming biased beliefs.
Download a helpful list of specific strategies leaders can use to help their global teams counter bias and pave a path for success.
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