What’s the Biggest HR Mistake Companies Make During M&A?
Episode Overview
When most people picture Merger & Acquisition, they picture spreadsheets, valuations, deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's actually lived through a merger or acquisition, and they'll tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.
So in this episode, we're looking at M&A from the workforce side, the part of the deal that rarely makes the press release but almost always decides whether the deal actually works. And to help us, we have with us Elizebeth Mack, Principal and Workforce in Transactions Leader at BDO USA.
Host of the Episode: Sanjeevani Saikia
Guest Bio
Elizebeth Mack is an experienced leader bridging the gap between Finance and HR to demystify the HR aspects of mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs and dispositions. Liz works with a variety of private equity and corporate clients (public and private). She has significant experience addressing HR-related due diligence and integration issues arising on transactions.
She has expertise in people strategy/operations, workforce structure, equity, executive entitlements, global retirement and health & welfare benefits. She spent several years working in Europe and has worked on transactions in dozens of countries around the globe.
Timestamps
01:32 The biggest HR mistake companies make during M&A, and why it keeps happening.
02:48 The people-side red flags most companies overlook before a deal even closes.
06:38 How to communicate with employees in the first 90 days when the "who stays" question is still unanswered.
11:12 What actually keeps top performers from walking out during an integration.
20:03 Merging two pay bands, titles, and cultures: what to harmonize immediately, and what to leave alone for now.
Also listen on
