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The High Failure Rate of Mergers and Acquisitions
A significant majority of business mergers and acquisitions fail to meet their intended goals. Studies from KPMG and Harvard Business Review indicate failure rates ranging from 83% to as high as 90%. These failures often stem from two primary factors: incompatible workplace cultures and poor leadership execution. Proactively managing cultural integration and ensuring strong leadership are critical for success.
This challenge was top of mind for the leadership at KeyBank when they began their 2015 merger-acquisition of First Niagara Financial Group. To navigate the process, Brian Fishel, KeyBank's Chief Talent Officer, developed a plan focused on what he calls the 4 E’s of success: ensuring new behaviors are explicit, engrained, energizing, and enduring.
Based on KeyBank's successful integration, here are five key elements for effectively blending the leadership and cultures of two organizations.
1. Assess the Culture of Each Organization
To build a unified culture, you must first understand the starting points. This involves a simple but crucial assessment of each company's existing norms and values. By asking direct questions, you can identify what has been engrained in each organization, providing a baseline for moving forward.
Following the merger announcement, Fishel’s team interviewed 50 executives from both KeyBank and First Niagara. They asked about each company's culture, decision-making processes, and unwritten rules. This was followed by a survey where leaders rated their own and the other company on dimensions like information sharing. The assessment revealed that the two banks shared a similar "enterprise DNA" and core values, providing a strong foundation for a successful integration.
2. Offer Voluntary and Accessible Education Sessions
After assessing the cultures, create educational forums to align everyone with the new company's direction. A critical success factor is making these sessions voluntary. Allowing people to choose to attend is energizing and fosters genuine commitment. People arrive wanting to be there, creating a more positive and productive environment.
It's also important to meet employees where they are, both emotionally and geographically. Hosting sessions in regional offices rather than mandating travel to headquarters demonstrates respect for employees' time and signals that leadership is invested in their success.
Instead of forcing attendance, Fishel's team invited 600 leaders from both companies to 10 optional sessions held in key regional markets. Word-of-mouth about the value of the initial sessions drove interest, and ultimately 500 leaders attended over four weeks. This approach respected employees' autonomy and proved highly effective.
3. Ensure Equal Representation
For participants to trust the information being presented, the education sessions must be a visibly joint effort. This requires equal representation from both legacy companies among the speakers, facilitators, and "faculty." This balance demonstrates that there are no winners or losers, only a new, unified team.
The integration sessions were structured with a near 50/50 split of attendees from KeyBank and First Niagara. Furthermore, the leadership team delivering the training was also composed of executives from both legacy organizations, reinforcing a message of partnership and building confidence among attendees.
4. Keep Sessions Short, Personal, and Focused
Lengthy, multi-day training sessions can lead to disengagement. A more effective approach is to keep the content short, focused, and highly interactive. Structure the agenda to be explicit, covering precisely what leaders need to learn in a clear and direct manner. Build in opportunities for personal interaction and networking, which helps participants build connections and understand their role in the new organization.
Fishel designed a packed 10-hour session spread over two days. The format included a "fireside chat" with senior executives and significant time for group interaction and problem-solving. This condensed schedule respected attendees' time while fostering a high level of engagement and connection.
5. Showcase Accountability and Problem-Solving
A successful integration requires leaders to take ownership of the change. Training should focus on building practical skills for accountability and problem-solving. Through tools like role-playing and breakout groups, managers can practice applying new strategies, helping to make the desired behaviors enduring.
The sessions concentrated on empowering leaders to solve business challenges together. Instead of dictating rules, the training provided tools and reinforced the idea that manager accountability directly impacts their teams and the customer experience. This equipped leaders to take ownership of the integration and guide their teams through the transition effectively. '''