echelon
unleashing potential

Managing change for mergers and acquisitions

Thorough product knowledge is the foundation stone for creating high performing teams

The smooth integration of a merger between a Scottish Trust Bank and a city investment bank. The three year project took on a longer term focus due to the additional integration of the Trust Bank with a US Trust Bank. Both projects involved bringing together two complex organisations, with differing services and cultures, to deliver the planned business synergies.

Development of a video-based Technical and Business Awareness programme which everyone in the bank undertook. The programme, delivered via the company intranet, was made up of three layers: the outer layer involved every department gaining an understanding of the total range of services the business offered, the middle layer involved only those departments which might have some immediate interconnection with specific products or services offered, and the inner layer involved only the products and services offered by the department in which the employee worked.

Echelon’s approach

Six months of working with each of 10 departments to understand the range of products and services they offered to their customers and internal colleagues.

A series of focus groups were held with each department identifying the content of their own products and services and the self-assessment questions that were envisaged being asked. Launch involved every member of staff attending a half day event explaining the structure of the programme and undertaking the outer layer of the programme. This involved video scenarios and interactive questions with hidden feedback.

As a result of this large-scale and complex merger the need was identified for a specialised induction and product knowledge development process for new and existing staff.

A three-phase, self-development programme utilising video and linked print-based modules was developed to enable employees to:

The programme was launched as a major initiative. The company newsletter and the company internal website gave the story front page billing. The organisational intranet could be used exclusively to access this programme during lunch hours.

The initiative was sustained through regular product updates, through the HR Department recording all elements of the programme carried out by each individual, and through the personal motivation it generated to prosper in the organisation.

Time and cost saving

The programme enabled over 2,000 staff to learn about the new organisation and its procedures more quickly and at less cost than through the conventional course-based induction programme. Savings were made in facilitator, venue and subsistence costs as well as costs of disruption to the business of staff being away from their work. The saving proved finally to be in the region of 20%.

Establishing a learning culture

The Bank successfully used the programme to establish a new learning culture in which individuals were expected to learn fast, show initiative, be self reliant and build their own team relationships.

Staff motivation and morale

At a time of exceptionally rapid change, staff in this newly-merged organisation were suffering from disorientation and anxiety about their future roles. The programme was successfully used to reassure staff about their future and their place within the organisation.

Consistency and evaluation

Managers and coaches worked within a standard framework to manage and evaluate the progress of new starters. The integration elements of the programme were designed to meet the specific technical and business needs of each division eg. IT, Custody, Treasury, Sales.