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Human Resources
Coaching Overview
"m&a wins guaranteed!"
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Table of Contents:
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Overview
A recent survey of over 100 mid-market CEO’s involved in merger & acquisition (m&a) transactions revealed that:
Transaction success is directly tied to the speed
of reaching the business objectives, and a
powerful speed enabler is cultural alignment!
Culture is often referred to as the way people work and the way people work is most disturbed during m&a. People are the assets that the human resources (HR) function cares for. Therefore, culture alignment is a very powerful tool at the disposal of the HR leader to further serve their customers to move the business forward quicker.
HR functions can be easily overloaded by the many demands of merging organizations. Support for: communications, organization design and infrastructure cost synergies can be readily used to engage the key functions (sales, R&D, operations) to drive cultural alignment and quicker functional performance. Sales functions are very sensitive to the uncertainty and ambiguity of an m&a transaction. For example, an “early win” in sales provides strong evidence that it is going to work and lays the groundwork for the other functions.
The transition period following an m&a transaction is unlike any other time in your HR career. Your involvement in a merger or acquisition might just be the best and worst thing that ever happened to you. It brings financial rewards, along with change & uncertainty, accountability, involvement and speed of decision–making. The blending of your HR skills with the power of the m&a transaction makes for an awesome and unstoppable combination!
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What is m&a HR coaching?
HR coaching targets the development and effectiveness improvement of key HR leaders within the backdrop of a merger or acquisition. Affectionately referred to as: putting HR on steroids!
The post-deal side of an m&a transaction is especially challenging because of the sea of uncertainty and ambiguity that exists between the HR leader and business performance. Navigating these waters can be daunting without a few simple tools and the assistance of a navigator/coach.
It is also about leveraging the predictable dynamics, clearing roadblocks, unlocking potential, supporting (not competing with) integration initiatives and filling gaps between where the organization is and where it should be.
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How does HR coaching work?
Most often, HR coaching consists of a series of intensive, structured, one-on-one (face-to-face, electronic, telephone…) interactions between an HR leader and a highly experienced & specialized m&a coach aimed at enhancing performance and overall effectiveness. Due to its intensive nature, this type of coaching is most effective during the 6 - 8 month transition period following an m&a transaction.
The coaches serve as experts, facilitators, motivators and sounding boards dealing with crisis & transition management issues, conflicts, business goals, team member alignment & interaction and self management issues. The coach closely identifies with, and has been in a similar position as the coached leader. Saying and doing the right things with confidence during transition is often the first benefit. It is not about unraveling personalities, but often involves guidance on doing things differently and more productively while under extreme pressure.
The HR coaching delivery is adapted to your unique situation, just-in-time, field-tested, proven in m&a and is, as required, confidential!
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How do I know I need a m&a HR coach?
If you believe you are experiencing or are overly exposed to any one of the following risks you could significantly benefit from merger coaching:
1. Experiencing expectation and culture conflicts within your team and across functions
2. Having trouble fulfilling promises to your internal customer
3. At high risk of not attaining revenue and cost-cutting objectives
4. Difficulty influencing the business agenda, priorities and strategy around human assets
5. Feeling overwhelmed by the amount work, while working harder than ever, with less reward
6. Encountering decision making that is tangled and slow
7. Difficulty knowing what to communicate, when and to whom
8. Feeling that the new expectations are unrealistic
9. Continually discussing team unresolved retention and succession issues
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What are the benefits?
- Solidify your relationship with your internal customer by delivering value when the need is the highest
- Overcome ambivalence and unpredictability, improve trust and make bold moves with confidence
- Solidify your position, job enrichment and/or survival
- Lead with authority and insight by setting the agenda
- Increase the effectiveness and overall happiness of your team
- Continue career momentum by leveraging predictable dynamics and by making counter-intuitive moves
- Improve your personal leadership and development
- Access to a ready-made network of other executives with similar experiences
- Get your life back, or transition to a new one and live a more balanced life
- Align both personal and corporate expectations
- Quicker cultural and transaction goal attainment
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What do others say?
"There was a defining moment when the strategic implications became clear. The market demanded a course of action we had never considered. This type of coaching helped drive through the difficult considerations and kept the decisions focused." -Robert Hall, CEO, Customer Analytics
"With MergerCoach’s expert staff and tools, we completed the integration in less than half the time, avoided costly mistakes, and discovered an additional $10 million in savings." -Jim Sherriff, CEO, Stonebridge Technologies
"The real value in hiring MergerCoach was that we couldn't afford to waste time shooting from the hip on our transition. We saw no reason to reinvent the wheel when we were already talking to the company [MergerCoach] that created it." -Sue Thompson, Vice President, InFocus Corporation
"Having a process like this is pure gold." -Werner Heid, President, Proxima Corporation
"Incredible. This process works – it incorporates the very best thinking..." -John Harker, Co–Chairman, CEO & President, InFocus Corporation
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What is the investment?
Your time commitment is the biggest investment. With time demands at an all time high, primarily consumed by post-transaction activities, taking even a small amount of time for your personal development can be difficult. Experience has proven many times over that you will get time pressure relief in a matter of days by acting upon your coach’s expert guidance. The stakes are also much higher. Earnout, options and stock conversions tied to accretion, market share expansion, product development, employee and customer retention and/or replacement are all critical and risky activities. Why take the added risk of going it alone? Often the entire coaching fee and time investment are recovered in a single moment of insight and subsequent decisiveness! HR coaching provides you with the performance edge and substantial risk reduction. The monthly fee ranges from $2,500 - $7,500 for coaching (can often be charged to m&a transaction costs) includes:
- Unlimited scheduled access via telephone and email with your coach to address transition management issues, plan development, leadership challenges, conflicts with both superiors and team members.
- A variable number of onsite or in-person meetings per month, team facilitation and out-of-pocket expenses are additional.
- Unlimited use of the many proven transition management & communication tools with both your team and customers
- Computerized personal assessment benchmarking you with 3,000 other executives and leaders to ensure your proper fit to the process
- Access to a network of other leaders similar to yourself and quality service providers at no additional cost
Refer to:
http://www.mergercoach.com/faq.asp for a list of frequently asked questions.
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Bottom line
During the significant changes that a merger or acquisition event brings the combination of your leadership and our expert coaching & solid business consulting work together to refine, retool, invigorate your game.
This process is proven and winning is
guaranteed!
HR coaching is designed to be easy to engage and for you to quickly benefit from. You may have many transactions under your belt or this could be your first. Give yourself the extra edge and margin of safety that ensures your success – no matter what the goal!
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Coach Biography
William N. Case
Pioneered the coaching of organizations and executives during mergers and acquisitions to substantially reduce the historical 80% failure rates.
His research interests include the connection of human psychology to the predictable dynamics of change and the ensuing chaos inherent to all m&a transactions. He developed many proprietary management tools that prescribe the most appropriate actions during the inception, intervention, integration and implementation stages of an m&a deal. The tools address many of the critical communications and the effective sequence of buyer and seller management actions that consistently produces higher than expected results during transition. In addition, his thought leadership in the field of mergers and acquisitions was commissioned and introduced by Southwest Publishing for university teaching texts and he is a frequent expert reference on m&a for numerous professional periodicals.
Case has refined his experience and approach through his direct involvement in over 40 successful m&a transactions worldwide, including selling his own business, and coaching 100’s of executives. He has also held senior management positions with Advanced Network Technologies, ARCO, PWC and EDS.
Email: bill@mergercoach.com
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