It is always difficult for staff when their company is acquired by another. Leadership styles may be different and objectives may be changed. How do you quickly bring the team together under new ownership?
Poolia AB, a successful European agency, quoted on the Swedish stock exchange, specialising in the recruitment of professionals for the Accounting, Finance and Banking sectors.
Poolia, with ambitions of becoming the leading recruiter of professionals throughout Europe acquired Parker Bridge Recruitment (later re-branded Poolia Parker Bridge), chosen because of its reputation of providing a quality service to its clients and its strong ethos of high standards and good financial controls.
The leadership style of the previous owners had been to instil high standards through direct control, rigorous procedures and financial incentives for reward. In contrast Poolia had a more participative style of leadership with a national culture reflecting the importance of respect and social responsibility.
The challenge was to retain the best of the UK company style whilst introducing the core values of the client. Another key objective was to develop leadership excellence amongst its managers creating a culture that would produce sustainable growth and profitability.
When the former owner managers departed a year later, a new senior management structure was put in place by promoting from within, headed by Mark Widnall as Acting MD. At the same time a search was instigated for a new Chief Executive who Poolia insisted should not only have a strong industry background at the top level but also have the people skills to drive the business forward in a way consistent with Poolia’s values and culture.
Right at the start the major issues facing the business were surfaced in a senior management workshop facilitated by LeaderShape resulting in:
At the same time, training, recruitment and personal development plans were overhauled to incorporate aspects of Emotional Intelligence. The purpose of this was to create the link between employing the right people, then developing and retaining them to provide an orderly career development programme and succession.