The HR Practitioner's Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions Due Diligence: Understanding the People, Leadership, and Culture Risks in M&A

Book excerpt: Over 70% of all mergers and acquisitions are doomed to fail according to Harvard Business Review. When deals fail, they destroy billions of dollars in value, affecting companies, employees, retirees, and communities. Over a quarter of business leaders say avoidable problems with people, leadership, and culture are the primary cause of deal failure. This means the key to a successful M&A requires you to uncover significant people issues before it's too late! The HR Practitioner's Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions Due Diligence shows you how to avoid the HR headaches that arise in M&A-and make your deals more likely to beat the odds. In this step-by-step guide, Dr. Klint Kendrick, who has personally led dozens of deals and is Chair of the HR M&A Roundtable, provides practical teachings, tools, and techniques to help you understand: - How people, leadership, and culture issues will determine if your M&A is a success or failure -The six vital areas HR must explore for your due diligence efforts to make a difference -Eight powerful methods for extracting critical data from the information ecosystem so you can uncover problems earlier -Four fundamental ways to mitigate the HR risks that will doom your deal to failure if they're not addressed -A no-nonsense approach to assessing and retaining top talent during M&A, ensuring business continuity and maximizing value capture. Overflowing with real-life examples and actionable tools and templates, this practical book helps you tackle the most vexing people issues that arise during business sales and acquisitions. Klint Kendrick, Ph.D., SPHR is a sought-after expert on issues of people, leadership, and culture in M&A. He has worked on dozens of public and private mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures, making him a respected authority in the field. His presentations on the human side of M&A have been heard by HR and Corporate Development leaders at high-profile events sponsored by Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, The Conference Board, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg BNA, and McKinsey. Dr. Kendrick chairs the HR M&A Roundtable, a peer-learning forum for HR professionals working on M&As. Learn more about the roundtable at www.MandARoundtable.com.