Page 62 - BV_May-June 2012

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62
BizVoice
/Indiana Chamber –
May/June 2012
Cassidy Turley employees came
together for an annual day of
service in October 2011.
Approximately 50 volunteers
gave more than 200 hours of
their time to beautify Stringtown
Park in Indianapolis, and the
company made a financial
contribution to underwrite new
equipment.
W
hen Indianapolis-based HardingPoorman Group acquired Saint Clair Press
to join its other locally owned and operated graphics and printing companies
in 2010, the business was tasked with the challenge of uniting workforces.
“Differing cultures is always a concern,” explains president/CEO David
Harding. “A good new hire orientation plan that includes discussion about
the company’s vision, values and strategies is a good way to get new staff
members off to the right start.”
Harding adds, “You have to follow up with them and continue enforcing your company
beliefs. We always ask employees coming from new companies to make notes about what they
see that they don’t understand, but also ideas they have to improve our operations. After all,
they’re coming into our company with a fresh set of eyes.”
Jeff Henry, regional managing principal of Cassidy Turley – a commercial real estate services
company that underwent a major rebranding two years ago and has completed recent acquisitions
across the country – contends the most important part of blending workplaces comes before the
merger takes place.
“Our primary (objective) at the top was to maintain the culture,” he offers. “We took our
time and did our due diligence to make sure companies we were merging with would have the
same culture, thoughts, goals, and code of ethics and integrity that we had. We
weren’t going to sacrifice that just to make a little bit more money.”
Growing pains
Henry points out that after mergers and acquisitions are executed, maintaining
continuity can be the most difficult task.
“The biggest challenge is bringing a consistency to all the cities and former
companies,” he says. “There are a lot of legacy situations you have to deal with.
Generally, you give yourself two or three years to deal with that, so that after that
everybody operates the same on a daily basis.”
Another potential hurdle is getting new employees to work cordially together. Jay
McAveeney, chief strategic officer for Bingham Greenebaum Doll (BGD, created by
the recent merger of Indiana-based law firm Bingham McHale with Kentucky-based
Greenebaum Doll & McDonald), states that getting everyone on the same page is
critical.
“Challenges are numerous – some are people, some are operational,” he asserts.
“One of the things for us in integrating the firm is getting our lawyers to work
together. So far, that’s been easier than I ever would’ve expected. Lawyers generally
aren’t known for being collaborators or team players so to speak – a lot of individual
contributors. But I attribute (the successful merging) to the cultures of each firm
being so well aligned.”
McAveeney reports that an integration team of 16 people (eight from each
office) has met regularly since the merger was approved in late December 2011.
“We’ve agreed on a charter of how we’re going to work together and the importance
of being open and receptive, and embracing change – and to be respectful and civil
to each other at all times,” he shares. “That team has focused on integrating operations and
building consensus around how we want this new firm to operate. It’s been by and large a very
positive experience.”
Battling the unknown
When companies come together, positions can overlap. That can lead to some staffers developing
insecurity and uneasiness about their futures with the company.
“There is always a sense of uncertainty,” Harding relays. “People have fear. I have an
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