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By Joe Aberger
The HR integration kickoff sets the operating framework for one of the most complex workstreams in any merger. The charter is broad and intentional: unify HR across nine sub-workstreams — HR strategy, culture and organization, talent acquisition, talent management, learning and development, compensation and benefits, HR operations, HR technology and data, and compliance — while making integration decisions based on best practices from both sides, not default adoption of the acquirer's existing approach. The overarching objective is to identify and achieve unifying opportunities for employees, maintain a positive candidate and employee experience throughout the transition, and deliver real cost synergies — particularly in third-party provider relationships where consolidation is most straightforward.
Several key decisions were already made entering the kickoff. Acquiree US employees move to Acquirer payroll and benefits by year-end. A Talent Inventory Tool has been developed to support org design planning. A culture framework recommendation has been developed and is ready for leadership review. Four-month plans across all HR tracks have been created with named owners. Discovery conversations on HRIS systems, data architecture, the global job framework, and culture are actively underway. What remains open are the org structure decisions, the HRIS platform selection between Workday and Oracle, the global job framework design, global payroll and benefits for non-US employees, and the retention strategy for key talent at risk during the pre-close uncertainty period.
The HR plan spans more than a dozen functional tracks, each with near-term actions already assigned. Talent acquisition is coordinating candidate messaging with the communications workstream for pre-close and Day 1. Workforce planning is finalizing the talent assessment tool, training HRBPs and HR Directors on its use, and beginning to map employees to the new organizational structure. Works councils in Europe are being engaged informally through local HR Directors to prepare for formal consultation processes. Employee handbook reconciliation is underway with a side-by-side review to identify legal variances and determine whether a global or local approach is the right model going forward.
On the systems and data side, a full HRIS comparison is in progress with a gap analysis and platform decision targeted for year-end. Payroll discovery is running in parallel, with discussions already underway on whether US integration can be completed by January 1. Benefits discovery is active on both sides. A unified employee engagement platform is being scoped, with a parallel engagement survey planned for the next quarter to cover both acquirer and acquiree employees simultaneously — a first step toward bringing both organizations into a single listening environment. Career architecture, total rewards, DEI, health and wellbeing, and charitable giving structures are all in early discovery, with intro meetings underway and side-by-side assessments in progress.
The integration timeline runs from pre-close through Year-End 2028 and beyond. Pre-close focuses on completing discovery, finalizing org structure, and developing acculturation plans. Day 1 activates the acculturation plan and triggers any required works council consultations. The first 30 days roll out the unified people dashboard and continue acculturation implementation. Further out, global career architecture, a single HRIS platform, global performance management, and payroll and benefits vendor consolidation all come online on a timeline still being finalized. The workstream exits IMO supervision once the NewCo cultural and talent roadmap is established, HR processes are unified, major third-party integrations are complete, and key synergies are achieved.