Culture Audit and
Dialogue in Merging Banks.
A large foreign bank decided to purchase a US regional bank and combine it with another regional bank that they had acquired earlier. They needed to ensure that the merger was a success in terms of both economic synergy and brand equity.
They asked Centauric to assess the compatibility of the two corporate and regional cultures, as well as identify how best to capitalize on opportunities and minimize risks associated with combining these organizations.
Centauric developed a two-pronged approach to data collection. First, 4000 employees in both banks were invited to complete a comprehensive culture audit questionnaire. We then launched a series of facilitated workshops in both banks to give people a chance to tell their stories, express their hopes and concerns and get involved in shaping the merger.
This approach generated useful data for bank leaders and gave people comfort that the parent organization was willing to listen and was concerned with integrating the banks in a thoughtful and sensitive manner.
Our findings lead to consensus on some issues and a need for further clarification and analysis on others. This began an iterative process of data-driven dialogue that eventually engaged the integration committee, the management committee and leaders throughout the organizations.
We facilitated staff and leadership in a productive dialogue about culture, highlighting areas of common ground that could serve as a foundation for the new bank. We identified hot buttons that needed to be addressed in carefully crafted communications, and emphasized how orientation and development programs for teams and leaders could accelerate cultural integration as the new organization took shape.
Through our Data Driven Achievement approach, leaders reported that they were able to address quickly and productively issues of culture that otherwise would have been ignored or avoided.
The new bank now reflects the best of its predecessors and is a hit with its customers.
