GROUP MOVES
GROUP MOVES
Raising engagement in mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
The relocation of groups of employees, internationally or domestically, has major implications for organisational success. Businesses cannot afford for productivity to drop during and after such exercises. Yet, as Relocate’s series of factsheets explains, group moves have cultural and engagement consequences. Dr Sue Shortland explains how mobility professionals can help address cultural differences and thereby raise employee engagement.
T
he implications of relocating groups of employees and their families have become very high
profile over the past year, particularly as organisations take stock of the implications of Brexit for their UK operations. Alongside international group moves,
considerable media attention has been paid to the relocation of businesses within the UK. Group moves can prove to be especially disruptive to productivity as employees face uncertainty over their future and prepare to move themselves and their families to another part of the country or the world. Group-move exercises can involve
bringing together different organisations as a result of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Various research studies
have shown that over half of such business developments are considered to be failures; they simply do not realise their expected shareholder value. Problems include clashes between the
cultures of the organisations themselves or societal cultures, legislative differences (such as the legal implications of harmonising contracts and pensions issues), and keeping people motivated during set-up and immediately after the venture. Specifically, key problem areas for
mobility and human resources professionals include little post-transaction involvement compared with pre-merger/acquisition/ joint venture activity. For example, much attention is paid to the necessary pre-move mobility preparations and communications. Less focus is generally given to the post-
move integration consequences of working in a new cultural environment. Research shows that people issues,
especially training and development, are generally not handled well. Better relationships with senior management, the line and advisers are needed, such that input from mobility and HR can be incorporated into the post-move business development strategy and its implementation.
Effects of culture on engagement As Relocate’s factsheets on managing across cultures demonstrate, new ventures such as mergers and acquisitions will have different organisational cultures from those of the businesses that were previously operating independently. If the group move also involves international mobility, employees
10 | Re:locate | Autumn 2017
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