HR & Labor Relations Consultants

HR Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions

hr due diligence for successful m&a projects

HR Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions

Welcome to the Hutchison Group! We provide expert HR due diligence services for M&A projects and have helped some of the world’s best companies and private equity firms achieve their M&A goals by identifying potential risks and opportunities for improvement.

We work in both union and nonunion environments and are highly regarded for our ability to identify potential risks and opportunities for improvement. For unionized operations we carefully evaluate current collective bargaining agreements and, when needed, can negotiate new competitive union contracts. At nonunion locations we assess the organization’s vulnerability to potential union organizing. With over 35 years of experience, Hutchison Group HR due diligence M&A consultants are among the best in the business. Contact us for more information

Assess Risks and Opportunities for Improvement

Mergers, acquisitions, and business restructuring provides companies with a unique “window of opportunity” to rapidly implement meaningful change, reduce future costs, and create a more productive work environment. Research shows that the acquiring company must conduct thorough due diligence and act quickly to develop an action plan for a fast, well-focused transition. Key changes and improvements must be accelerated in order to capture value, or the chances for success are greatly diminished.

“Mergers & acquisitions represent a unique window of opportunity to rapidly implement change, reduce future costs and create a positive work environment … Key changes must be accelerated to capture value.”

Management Review Journal

Unfortunately, due to the magnitude of these projects and aggressive timetables for completion, few companies have adequate people resources to fully capitalize on these opportunities for change. As a result, many potential savings and improvements are never realized.

Most M&A Projects Fail to Increase Shareholder Value

65% of Companies Surveyed Cite People Related Issues

According to recent studies, 83 percent of new mergers and acquisitions fail to create or achieve their intended financial objectives. Not surprisingly, approximately 65 percent of companies surveyed cited people-related issues among the principal reasons for failure. Specific reasons cited include:

  • Poor HR due diligence
  • Inadequate or delayed integration and improvement strategies
  • Inaccurate assessment of employee talent and loss of key personnel
  • Unexpected labor relations concerns and impediments

We Can Help Ensure Your M&A Success

Hutchison Group has decades of experience helping some of the world’s best companies achieve their M&A goals; our M&A due diligence consultants provide expert assistance with due diligence and proven strategies to lower costs and improve productivity. Our mergers & acquisitions consultants can provide the additional support required to ensure all opportunities for improvement are realized, helping to create a sustained competitive advantage for your new business. Some of our HR due diligence services in this area include:

  • Expert HR due diligence to assess risks and opportunities for improvement
  • Reduce labor costs and improve productivity
  • Negotiate new competitive collective bargaining agreements (union locations)
  • Assess vulnerability to future union organizing (nonunion locations)
  • Identify and implement timely integration and improvement strategies
  • Help ensure a smooth transition and avoid costly disruptions
  • Minimize unwanted employee turnover
  • Research and secure valuable government economic incentives
business people at meeting

Hutchison Group was the recipient of the prestigious Human Resource Excellence Award for Best Merger and Acquisition

Sponsored by KPMG Consulting

Union Workforce: Assess Risks and Opportunities to Negotiate New Collective Bargaining Agreements

When acquiring a business with union represented employees, our union contract negotiators are highly regarded for our ability to help clients assess the current union-management relationship, highlighting any areas of concern. Also, as part of our HR due diligence program, our labor relations consultants carefully review all relevant collective bargaining agreements, identifying potential risks and opportunities for improvement. In some cases (i.e. asset purchase deals), while the acquiring company is obligated to acknowledge the union as the employees bargaining agent, the company may not be legally required to assume the current agreement. In these cases, our expert mergers and acquisitions consultants work with company management to negotiate new competitive collective bargaining agreements, to help position the company and its employees for future success.

Nonunion Operations: Maintain Union Free Status

For those organizations that have a non-union workforce, special emphasis will be placed on discreetly determining the company’s vulnerability to potential union organizing. Having worked with both union and nonunion companies over the past 30 years, our labor relations consultants have learned to identify key warning signs and recommend proactive steps to reduce your risk of a union organizing campaign. Failure to recognize these warning signs can result in having to engage in a costly and disruptive union campaign, which can create deep and long-lasting divisions within the workforce; not to mention the negative consequences should the union prevail (e.g. increased cost, restrictive work rules, etc.)

Divestitures can also Benefit from Good Planning

When selling a company or subsidiary, careful planning can provide a great opportunity to improve purchase price and increase buyer interest.

As part of our divestiture planning process, our mergers and acquisitions consulting team works closely with company management to prepare a report for prospective buyers identifying potential opportunities for securing significant labor cost savings, helping the seller to generate increased interest and a higher company valuation. In addition, our report includes specific recommendations and process methodologies as to how the cited union contract improvements can best be secured and implemented by the buyer post sale.

Reassure Board Members, Investors, and Shareholders

As an added benefit, our HR due diligence for mergers and acquisition services can help to reassure the Board of Directors, Investors and Shareholders that management has been diligent in its efforts to capitalize on important opportunities for improvement, while avoiding potential risks that might negatively impact share price or company valuation.

“Great job negotiating new competitive labor agreements for our Spirit AeroSystems and Allison Transmission acquisitions…restructuring costs and increasing flexibility helped set the stage for future success.”

Onex Corporation / The Carlyle Group

For a complete list of our services please visit our services page.