More than any other type of organisational change a merger or acquisition can seriously undermine people’s sense of purpose and commitment to their organisation. It often falls to the HR Director to alert his or her fellow directors to the potential commercial hazards this may entail, to spell out the options and to guide them safely through the tricky process of unifying two disparate organisations.

When two organisations, employing hundreds or thousands of people, merge, a great deal of effort is given over to due diligence. Much time is devoted to poring over finances, integrating IT systems, telling the stock market about synergies and drawing up new structure charts.

Too often, it is only when people inside the organisation start to display all kind of dysfunctional behaviour such as opposition to change, constant grumbling or simple apathy that it dawns on leaders that something was missing from their plans. By then it may be too late to prevent deterioration in performance, poor customer service or people jumping ship.

On the other hand, if the HR Director anticipates the serious human issues that can be stirred up by merger they can take influence and guide their fellow directors allowing them to navigate safely through the emotional minefield keeping their people motivated and engaged in making the new enterprise a success.

The first task is to make it clear that the people element of a merger is as important (if not more important) than issues of structure, process, finance, and IT. It is not always obvious to executives that this is so. They may they struggle to put their finger on the real issues involved and even when they have an inkling that something must be done to keep people on board they are at a loss as to what is required.

Unlike most major changes, mergers and acquisitions have an enormous effect on culture and people’s sense of identity. If one organisation effectively takes over another and imposes its culture on the new combined organisation, like an invading army, then people in the organisation that has been taken over can have a very hard time adjusting. If the cultures of the two organisations differ greatly some will find it impossible to adjust and may simply leave. Worse than that, they may stay but mentally opt out of the new arrangement and do the bare minimum to get by.

As HR Director, you might want to start by asking fellow directors to imagine how they would feel if their favourite sports team were to merge with one of its rivals. Not only that, but the merged teams would take on the name of the rival team and play at the rival club’s stadium. Such a question will start them thinking about the emotional impact of merger. Stories of mergers that have come unstuck due to inattention to people issues will stimulate the desire to take action.

Take the example of the two universities that merged several years ago who did little to acknowledge the change at a human level. No new sense of purpose was declared and little was done to create a feeling of pride in the combined institution. Even today, academics will tell you that the university remains split in two in all but name. As a result, many people lack a feeling of belonging or passion for the university. They don’t have a clear sense of direction or an understanding of what is expected of them. They feel confused and de-motivated. Some just carry on as if the merger never took place, others actively undermine anything attempts to capitalise on the opportunities created by merger. If doing nothing about cultural issues is not an option what is?

One option is to start afresh. This involves setting aside the cultures of the two organisations involved and creating a new culture for the new organisation. This can be invigorating for all concerned as they work together to create something fresh and exciting. It is important that as many people as possible are involved in defining the new culture, so they feel part of the process and not simply victims of an imposed change. This approach proved highly successful in the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham in 2000 forming GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Both organisations had themselves been formed as the result of mergers in recent years and so had a keen understanding of the issues involved. They decided to engage their combined workforce in a process of defining and instilling a new vision and new set of values for GSK that everyone could sign up to. Eight years later, the company is not only a huge commercial success

but is also recognised around the world as one of the best companies to work for. It has, for example, been ranked in the top 50 of the best employers to work for in Canada for the last 7 years in a row.

For leaders who don’t have the option of starting afresh and who don’t want to alienate their people, especially those that have been ‘taken over’, there needs to be a strong focus on helping people work through the difficult emotions triggered by mergers and acquisitions. It is tempting to shy away from these issues and many leaders may feel ill-equipped to deal with them. However, there are some simple tools and techniques that are extremely effective and easy to apply.

A good starting point is to acclimatise people from the organisation that has been ‘taken over’ to the culture of their new employer. Just as with any new recruits it is vital that people are inducted carefully. They need to understand the vision and values of the organisation and to be clear about expectations and cultural norms. They also need the tools and training required to be successful in their new organisation. This will help them build a new sense of purpose and confidence about the future – both vital ingredients in maintaining motivation in the face of uncertainty.

However, unlike other recruits, who have chosen to join your organisation voluntarily, people who have been taken over are unlikely to have even been consulted about, let alone involved in, the decision to move. They are likely to have a strong allegiance to their old organisation whilst feeling hurt at being ‘sold off’. They may well resent having change foisted on them and will be suspicious of the intentions of their new employer who has already committed the aggressive act of taking them over. So how do you help people to get past these difficulties and ultimately engage them enthusiastically in making the new merged organisation a success? One thing is for sure, if you do nothing you will suffer a long period of resentment and dysfunctional behaviour. Your customers will suffer and so will you.

In 2006, a number of regiments of the British army were merged. There was a good deal of consternation at the thought that many regiments with proud histories would ‘disappear’. For example, The Green Howards merged with the Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire, and the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, to form The Yorkshire Regiment. As part of this process a history of The Green Howards was commissioned. This not only paid tribute to the proud history of the regiment it demonstrated how the regiment’s history has been one of change and merger since it first came into being as Colonel Luttrell’s Regiment of Foot in 1688. The regiment had even been known as the Yorkshire Regiment once before (during World War I). So, far from disappearing, it was continuing on its long journey of evolution and change.

In a recent merger of two high schools, both with long and illustrious histories, each school created a time capsule which they filled with memorabilia from their past such as school ties, hymn books and school magazines. They held a ceremony in which the two time capsules were sealed into the wall of the newly built library building to honour their past and to lay it to rest.

These two stories provide vital clues as how to lead people through a merger or acquisition.

One powerful technique that has parallels with the example of the British army mergers is the Timeline Method. This technique helps people to see the change in its broader context, to separate fact from fiction and to start to look to the future rather than remaining stuck in the past. One way it can be applied in practice involves people working together in groups to draw up a timeline tracing the history of their organisation, plotting key changes that have taken place over the years and those they anticipate in the near future. They examine how they felt about each change at the time and how these feelings were borne out by reality. Looking to the future, they identify what they will lose or gain through upcoming changes and what will remain the same.

This process has a number of effects. It allows people to see the merger in the context of a long history of change and helps them understand that change is a natural part of the evolution of their organisation rather than something alien to be repelled. By reliving past changes they come to appreciate how they and their organisation have dealt with them in the past and become stronger as a result. They also see that the anxieties they may have experienced during those changes were proved to be ill-founded or eventually passed into history. They can expose frustrations from the past and fears about future changes, which is a cathartic process in itself. It also turns anxieties into concrete problems that they can begin to address rather than having them rumbling around beneath the surface causing dissatisfaction. Finally, by identifying what they will gain or lose through the change, and what will remain the same, they can sort perception from reality, eliminate hearsay and rumour and focus their effort on how they will handle the real issues that change will bring. This also leads people into focusing on the future in a constructive way rather than getting stuck in the past and dwelling on negative issues. If they still find the change unpalatable they can opt but at least they will be making a decision based on sound understanding rather than in response to feelings which may not have a basis in reality.

Another important element of success is to follow the example of the two high schools mentioned earlier that lay the past to rest before looking to the future. As with all the biggest changes in our lives, like birth, death and marriage, ceremony has an important role to play. In marriage, for instance, a great deal of time and effort, not to mention money, is expended on creating a day to remember. Friends and family are gathered in from far and wide and, in some cultures, the ceremony can go on for several days.

But weddings are not simply expensive parties. They mark the changing of relationships between parents and their children and the coming together of two families and two sets of friends. They are highly ritualised and help smooth the transition to a new way of being. They also bear a strong resemblance to mergers.

Some organisations have come to realise the importance of ceremony in helping people let go of the past and binding them together as a team that will succeed in the future. In the rush to move forward it pays to acknowledge the past. Ignore it, and people feel that something they have given a great deal of time and energy to creating has been dismissed out of hand making it hard for people to move on. One effective approach is to create a ceremonial event that allows people the opportunity to recount past history and to pay tribute to past successes before setting out a vision for a brighter more successful future. It is useful to include an element of celebration as this marks a turning point in people’s lives when they can break with the past and look forward to the next big adventure

Finally, as with any major change, trust is critical to success. This requires vigorous, transparent and continuation communication. It also means giving people as much control over their destiny as practically possible. Finally, it takes leaders at every level who are committed to the change in word and deed.

As HR Director it is your duty to ensure that leaders at every level, starting with executives, understand the challenges that lie ahead and are equipped to meet them head on.

Anthony Greenfield is the author of The 5 Forces of Change published by Management Books 2000 – available from www.amazon.co.uk or www.mb2000.com - and a Partner at Resolve (anthony.greenfield@rgr.uk.com).