Few business changes are as earth-shaking as a merger or acquisition of companies. In addition to the obvious operational and financial issues a merger or acquisition can raise, entire cultures must be fluidly fused. It fails at least as often as it succeeds.
Historically the most effective way to address company culture after a merger is to start anew. (That can be a real challenge when a large company acquires a small one.) When a diverse cross-section of employees and managers from two very different workplace cultures come together, you could be asking for trouble – and risk alienating an already skittish staff – if one set of employees is forced to acclimate to another’s HR practices.
