Two plants, two histories and one company: a beverage maker prepared its teams for a merger

Maker of soft drinks, water and juices formed by the merger of two regional companies, with about 2,350 employees, three plants and its own distribution. The two organizations had different systems, benefits and management styles.

The integration plan called for unifying processes, systems and structures within a year. Management needed to know where resistance was strongest and why, before announcing each area’s changes.

Change Readiness (IPM)

Why this instrument. IPM Regular separates understanding of the change from the impact each person perceives, which made it possible to tell lack of information apart from a real fear of loss.

Format: Regular · Respondents: 1,680 of 2,350 (71%)

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What changed in operations

• Readiness index moved from 44 (Reactive) at baseline to 57 (Emerging) in the pulse.
• Management system unification was completed on schedule.
• Voluntary turnover during integration stayed at 11%, below the projected 15%.
• Line efficiency returned to pre-merger levels within seven months.

What this case teaches

• In mergers, silence turns into rumor. Saying what had not yet been decided was better than saying nothing.
• The lowest pillar was personal impact. People wanted to know what would change for them, not for the company.
• Leaders from both companies running the integration together reduced the sense of winners and losers.