Posted by Mariano Bernardez - PIGN on January 06, 1998 at 07:38:30:
Habiendo experimentado durante los últimos 5 años numerosas adquisiciones (takeovers), he observado en casi todas las compañías adquiridas que el Departamento de Recursos Humanos enfrentaba algunos problemas generados por su cambio de rol "antes" y "después" del mismo.
Los más importantes desafíos/interrogantes que encuentro son:
Castellano (there is an english version at the bottom)
1) Cómo evitar los "prejuicios" culturales hacia la empresa adquirida y su personal:
Muchas veces, las elecciones tempranas de quien se queda y quien se va son erróneas y se basan en :
a) Criterios personales u observaciones puntuales del RRHH adquirente
b) Sesgos culturales opuestos entre dos compañías o culturas crean desconfianza desde el inicio.
c) Tendencia a formar "equipos de RRHH para takeover"que hacer "raids" de reestructuración...y dejan los problemas al siguiente "team"por resolver.Esto suele basarse en la creencia de que las "tropas de asalto" no tendrán "debilidad"en su juicio y no "tolerarán" la "incompetencia"o los "malos hábitos" preexistentes....
2) Cómo lograr un clima de confianza y compromiso mutuo:
A menudo se crea lo que Ryan y Oestreich llaman "el ciclo del miedo": RRHH lanza mensajes "duros" (basados en su análisis "unilateral" o "unicultural"), los "adquiridos" interpretan ésto como hostilidad y comienzan a "ocultar"cosas y ésto refuerza la idea de que "no se puede confiar en ellos"
Otras veces, el miedo, sobre todo hacia gerenciamento de otras culturas (por ejemplo en Argentina, US y España) que son vistas como más "rígidas"o menos "comunicativas"(y por cierto para las pautas cutlurales argentinas lo son) , crea barreras que hacen que:
a) La gente más capaz se vaya
b) Se produzcan despidos erróneos
c) Se acepten plazos incumplibles por "no decir que no" a los nuevos "dueños"
d) Se acumule resentimiento cuando los promovidos son vistos como "de los que vinieron"
Dejo una historia de guerra:
En una compañía que conocí. el temor a su dirección española era tan grande por parte de los gerentes de sistemas argentinos, que establecieron un plazo imposible de cumplir "porque el Director (español) no aceptaba demoras"...
.Todos eran profesionales experimentados y con años en la compañía y el director, efectivamente, los trataba con desconfianza y dureza....Ellos sabían que el sistema que debía "lanzarse"en marzo no estaría disponible realmente hasta junio y o habían dicho, pero obteniendo fuerte resistencia .... que interpretaron como un "no"definitivo...
En marzo el sistema no estuvo listo y los despidieron...y finalmente el sistema arrancó en...junio.
Quisiera sus opiniones sobre cómo evitar algunos de éstos problemas u otros que hayan tenido.
English version:
Having experienced during the last 5 years numerous acquisitions and takeovers, I've observed on may acquired argentine companies that the new HRD faced some troubles created by its change of rol from the "takeover" to the next stage.
The most significative challenges posted are, in my opinion:
1) How to avoid the "cultural prejudices" toward the acquired company and its personnel:
Many times, the early selection of who will stay and who will leave proved to be wrong and based upon:
a) Personal biases or random observations made by the acquiring HRD
b) Clashing cultural biases among the two companies creating distrust from the beginning
c) Tendency to form "storm-troops" like takeover HRD teams that reestructure, fire and left the rest of the task (and the bleeding wounds) to the next HRD "peace corps" team, based upone the assumption that the "stormtroops"will not be "prejudiced"or "tolerant" toward "incompetent' or "bad habits" ...
2) How to achieve a climate of trust between the new HRD that made the "drity work"(or inherited it) and the "acquired" personnel:
I have seldom observed what Ryan and Oestreich (see the Book Driving Fear our of the Workplace at The Bopok/The New section) called "the fear cycle",consisting of: stage 1; the HR (or whomever from the new management) gives a "strong speech" to the old employees and middle managers about : the new rules" tahta is perceived by them as a hidden menace to their stability; stage 2: the employees began to "hide" the problems or "blame" to others by them to avoid punishem reinforcing (stage 3) the previous assumption made by the new management about that they were "not reliable"...
On other ocassions, I've seen how the people of the acquired company reacted to the "cultural aura" of the new US or lets say, spanish owners (to cite common situations on Argentina) , about being : "rude" , "demanding" and "less caring about people" than their previous (hated or loved) local management...And that picture proves to be true if you look at it with argentine-cultured "eyes" : our values and history are different and "decode" behaviors in that way whether or not was that "the intention" of the new management...
All this provokes sympthoms like:
a) Some key competent people leaves the company
b)The wrong people gest fired
c) Unachieavable deadlines are accepted by fear toward the new management reactions
d) Resentment grows when the promotions goes to the "newcomers" in greater proportions than to the old timers
Let me leave a "war story:"about this:
In an argentine company that I knew, the fear toward the new spanish upper management was so intense that the MIS experienced managers accepted unachievable deadlines (lets say March) to launch a new and very sensitive administrative application companywide.
They told me that the system will not be prepared until June and that they have told the same to the spanish director, but he have rejected the idea and showed them distrust and put pressure on them to reach the goal as it was setted....
True or not , theu didn't reach the goal, all were fired, and the new MIS crew deliver the system on....June
I would like to know your opinions about how to solve or face some of these challenges or also share more experiences about the matter...My feeling is that this is a "taboo" topic on our booming countries, but also a "boomerang" that will get back for our heads if we don;t think fast enough...