SEEING AN ACQUISITION AS AN OPPORTUNITY INSTEAD OF A THREAT
Leaders supported their teams in finding constructive solutions to their challenges during change and thus helped develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
CHALLENGE
A global company divested its subsidiary, specialized in PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) services, which was then acquired by a European leader in digital transformation.
Both the employees of acquired PLM services teams and consulting teams of the acquiring company had developed a negative view of the operation and their own future.
Our French Solution Partners were asked to support people to see the acquisition as an opportunity to expand their activity into new markets and to complement each portfolio with the expertise of the other team. The briefing also included the need for the acquired teams to transition to a more entrepreneurial mindset and bear with new business processes and team designs were implemented.
APPROACH
In order to best align the program with the needs of the client’s staff and economic strategy, a Program team, including managers, employees from different BUs, Human Resources, as well as top management from both organizations was formed.
Their main role was to build trust amongst the various internal stakeholders, develop the program strategy and communicate for buy-in. They organized an anonymous electronic Organizational Climate Survey to better understand the individual needs of the managers and to pre-engage them. They also were the initial audience to pilot each element of the initiative.
As the target groups were based in France, Germany and the UK, we formed a multi-lingual facilitator team and designed the “Leading through Change” program as follows:
- A ‘Making our Attitude Count’ workshop, with greytogreen – CHOICES & RESULTS”, created awareness about how our attitude influences our experiences and results, and offered ways to resolve unexpected or challenging situations more effectively.
- An ‘Understanding Change’ webinar, that developed a deeper understanding of the basics of change and how that applied in the managers’ context.
- A half-a-day ‘Lead your Team through Change’ workshop, where topics like leadership qualities and how to empower teams were addressed and approaches to better lead, motivate and communicate in times of change were practiced.
RESULT
100 managers attended greytogreen workshops in France, Germany and the UK. This helped create a common mindset and was the foundation for their own acceptance of the transition.
Managers had become more conscious of the possible human impact on their employees and opened new communication channels between with their teams.
TAKE-AWAY
- Explicit support from and working meetings with top management and HR professionals offered better long-term chances of success.
- Blending virtual and presence learning made it possible for participants to interact, even though they were geographically dispersed and had to work around tight schedules.
- The collaboration of greytogreen facilitators, who could bring the same content in the same way in all three languages of the group helped create the much sought after alignment.
