Payroll can have a significant impact on how successful a merger or acquisition will be, but it is only one part of the human capital factor. It will be up to the CHRO, Payroll Manager, and CIO together to keep the transition team on track. Your people are the most important part of the organizational change, and what you do will influence how much they help make it successful.
Chances are if you have not been affected by a merger or organization, you soon will be. Buying or merging companies is proving to be a mainstay in organizational growth.
Mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings can take many forms. It would be impossible for us to lay down an exact blueprint, but we can provide a framework. Good planning begins with aligning your project to your organizational strategy.
The place to start is with how you will structure the new entities. Is your company acquiring another that will operate independently, or are you merging two organizations into one? Is it something in between? Will it begin with a simple co-branding and become one company over several years?
Evaluate the workforce needs of the new structure. Will there be redundancies or relocations? Do you have a well-managed outplacement program in place to protect your company brand and control your costs? Will you need to merge competency models and L&D?
Cultural assimilation will make or break an organization. Ensure that you have the resources and a plan in place. Begin change management before rumors start, and don’t stop at go-live. Continue until the organization has completely assimilated.
Since people are the greatest expense and value driver of your organization, your HCM technology, including payroll, should be a top priority. Your CIO will scramble to deal with the changes, and the better prepared you are, the better your CIO will support you.
Will you need to upgrade current HCM and payroll platforms? Will you need to localize your applications for the first time? Can you save costs by outsourcing? If you have different systems, will one survive or both?
If your organization doesn’t have a formal data governance team and a master data management plan, we recommend you make it a part of your project execution. If you are having data difficulties now, a lack of governance in a merger will only compound the problems. Even if your data governance efforts only include your part of the implementation, it will be a start. Your success will influence and guide the rest of the organization.
Your plan to execute the changes in payroll should be in step with the organizational change plan. You need to move quickly but cannot afford to overlook due diligence.