First Mergers & Acquisitions Global Report Launched

Report’s key finding is that effective people management can drive value in M&A Transactions

Mercer, the global human resources consultancy, has developed and released it’s very first Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Global Report, which contains a primary focus on people risks in M&A Transactions. According to the report, people risks remain top of mind for both buyers and sellers, including employee retention, cultural integration, leadership assessment, compensation and benefit levels and overall talent management.

The report’s goal is to enable business leaders, both inside and outside of the HR function, to make more informed people decisions in a challenging global deal environment.

For Buyers, key Mergers and Acquisitions considerations are as follows:

• The assessment of leadership team and employee capabilities are achieved through skills inventories and competency assessments.
• Development of effective retention strategies should be considered within wider programmes for staff retention, by segmenting key stakeholder groups beyond the executive.
• Provide a clear culture, communications and change management plan, which features transparent and frequent communication, which should seek to minimise disruption.
• Evaluate HR service, delivery and design needs, in order to ensure basics are in place to deliver pay and benefits, whilst positioning HR to enhance business results.
• Adopt an enterprise or global view to effectively manage benefits, utilising a comprehensive global governance strategy, which thereby avoids unnecessary costs.
• Understand the market competitiveness of rewards and leverage reward programs to attract and retain talent, including base pay and other metrics.