Right Management Consultants did a study of 179 organizations that recently merged. They found that only 30% of respondents said their companies had succeeded in areas such as cultural integration, employee retention or communication. The study gives eight reasons why a merger can fail:
- Key talent leaves.
- Lowered overall productivity and individual performance.
- Incomplete or infrequent communications.
- Placement errors.
- Management denial or inattention to key workforce problems.
- Lack of direction during implementation.
- Ignoring the “culture fit.”
- Poor management of remaining employees.
SOURCE: Right Management Consultants, Philadelphia, March 1, 1999.