The Client

Creating Sustainable Value for the Future

This global private equity firm focuses on mergers, acquisitions, and operations. With a portfolio of over 40 companies and $25 billion in assets, this firm focuses on creating long-term, sustainable value in various industries worldwide. The goal? To help the companies within its portfolio unleash their full potential.  

The Situation

Attaining M&A Value with a Human Capital First Approach

After completing a recent $5 billion acquisition of a water treatment company within its portfolio, this global private equity firm realized it was lacking one thing: a workforce integration plan.

According to research, one of the main reasons most M&A deals fail is that they lack one. But when included as part of the transaction, a workforce plan enables companies to hit the ground running Day 1 of the merger while also improving employee retention and reducing churn.

Seeing the vital role a workforce integration plan plays in successfully integrating two companies, the firm set out to find an independent consultant. Specifically, they needed someone to help them define the first five layers of the organization while also identifying Day 1 critical roles.

Day 1 critical roles play a pivotal role in ensuring business continuity after an M&A transaction has closed, which signifies the official day when ownership of the companies changes hands.

For the firm, taking this human capital first approach was necessary. Not only would it help it define the best organizational structure for two merging water treatment companies, but it would also ensure that the business would not suffer any side effects to its performance as a result.

As the firm set out to develop and define the kind of independent consultant it would need, the scope of work became clearer. In particular, the chosen expert would need to have 5-10 years of experience in organizational design and change management consulting.

The Solution

Onboarding the Right Fit for the Role

With the scope on hand, the firm set out to find an independent consultant. After researching the best place to find a human capital consultant, it found Graphite — a platform that enables businesses to access the talent they need on demand.

The firm engaged an account executive (AE) on the platform, detailing the specifics of the initiative, the kind of expert it wanted, and the experience it was looking for. Given the urgent need of the project, the AE used their extensive knowledge of the platform to source, vet, and present the right expert for the role.

The independent professional presented? A human capital consultant with over 10 years of experience working at global consulting firms like Deloitte, PwC, and Ingersoll Rand. After engaging with the expert via Graphite’s in-app messaging tools and meeting space, the firm decided to move forward with the AE’s suggestion.

The firm was able to attain faster speed to value by onboarding an independent consultant versus a full-time employee, saving on onboarding costs as a result.

Results

An Organizational Structure Built to Last

Because the firm had already completed the operating model, the independent human capital consultant was tasked with assisting leadership in the talent selection process.

The first step for the expert as the M&A Organization Design Lead was to develop the templates that would be used to define and develop the future state structure for the newly formed water treatment company. Once this initial process was completed, the expert then engaged senior leadership in a series of interactive meetings where they identified:

• Current talent that could fill Day 1 critical roles

• New positions that would need to be developed

• Roles that would no longer be needed

The process took eight weeks to complete, with the expert working with senior leadership to refine and curate the proper structure that would yield the best results.

Satisfied with the expert’s work and the ease of use in managing the expert and payment on the platform, the global investment banking firm has partnered with Graphite on an ongoing basis.