CASE STUDIES - HUMAN DUE DILIGENCE

Before any transformation, merger or acquisition takes place, due diligence should be applied to people as well. The issue is that many companies wait until after the closing to make the big decision on their people, culture and their organisation. What we advise our clients is to pull that entire process forward.

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• We are working with the Global HR Director of a major player in the Private Equity field.
We have assisted in the successful re-deployment of internal players who no longer fit the re-structured organisation.

• Working with the Global HR Director of a VC owned company, we have assisted with the recruitment of international CEO level employees to drive the venture forward to meet new targets and deadlines.

• Working with the CEO, Non-Executive chairman and VC, we have offered strategic support in the re-structuring of the top team in a successful acquisition. This involved our top team development approach post acquisition. An obvious ‘pain point’ that was proving to be a block to progress needed to be assessed and resolved. Human due diligence at this point in the company’s history enabled a re-newed top team to move forward even more successfully and save the company financial loss and political embarrassment. Working with ‘soft skills’ is particularly potent when there is a risk of legal of financial implications if issues remain unresolved.

• The acquisition of global express and logistics company by a government body has necessitated massive re-structuring as part of a global re-structuring programme. We have worked pre and post acquisition with this integration with the Global HR Director successfully providing all of our service offerings. Given the scale of this operation and continuing acquisition we have been involved in supporting the workforce through change over the past 7 years. We diagnose and address the complexity of national and corporate culture integration across international borders as the group continues to grow through acquisition.

• Working with the Group COO of a Global media and financial services organisation, we assessed the top 25 key managers of a recently acquired US software company based in California and New York. Major cultural issues needed to be assessed and resolved during this integration. Our human due diligence approach enabled the COO to understand the key talents in the team and how best to motivate and retain these vital players in a highly mobile and costly workforce.

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© 2007-2010 Human Due Diligence • Thompson Dunn • Assessment Specialists

"So what does good human due diligence actually involve? In our experience, an acquiring company must start with the fundamental question that all deals should be built on: What is the purpose of the deal? The answer to that question leads to two more: Whose culture will the new organization adopt, and what organizational structure should be adopted? Once those questions are answered, human due diligence can focus on determining how well the target’s current structure and culture will mesh with those of the proposed new company, which top executives should be retained and by what means, and how to manage the reaction of the rank and file." David Harding and Ted Rouse, Harvard Business Review