01 Maintaining a positive employee experience Challenge: Challenge: Challenge: Challenge: Challenge: Employees can 昀椀nd change Attrition rates are typically high Employees don’t feel listened to, Culture becomes “us” versus “them.” Remote working can exacerbate unsettling and unnerving and this following a M&A. which leads to disengagement. disconnectedness. often impacts productivity. When two separate 昀椀rms are 47% of employees leave a business Recent research by Gallup suggests merged, it’s easy for it to feel like Without a consistent technology In 2 weeks following a merger, the within a year after a merger or that only a third (34%) of American there are still two separate entities. experience, or regular face-to- amount of work an employee does acquisition, and 75% leave within employees are engaged at work face contact with colleagues and 7 8 drops to between 1-2 hours a day. 3 years. anyway, and disengaged employees managers, it’s easy for discontent would leave the organization for or a lack of engagement to settle in, 9 almost any increase in salary. and for it to escalate. Opportunity: Opportunity: Opportunity: Opportunity: Opportunity: • Make HR a priority in M&A • Be open and collaborative • Use modern tools to actively • Find smart ways to merge tools, • Devise ways to regularly connect planning – before, during and after. regarding any structural changes. capture employee feedback and culture and ways of working so and engage people using cloud- • Communicate regularly. • Check in regularly, especially if spot potential disintegration in the that everyone feels valued and based tools. employees are working remotely. employee experience. aligned. • Provide self-service tools • Learn from your people to help • Consider tools such as Qualtrics so employees can 昀椀nd the • Use data-led insights about your people. which can help capture information they need. an employee’s performance to • Communicate with employees sentiment and ensure cultural nurture them. before, during and following issues are addressed before business changes to reassure they escalate. and prevent “water cooler gossip.” 7