Assess employment contracts, pension liabilities and restrictive covenants for change-of-control and retention risk.
Human Resources & Personal Development
People Due Diligence and HR Integration Planning in Mergers and Acquisitions
Equips HR and deal teams to run people due diligence, harmonise terms and lead HR integration planning so a merger or acquisition retains critical talent and hits Day One without disruption.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
A merger or acquisition succeeds or fails on people decisions made in the weeks before and after signing, yet HR is often brought into the deal room only once terms are agreed. This course gives HR professionals and deal teams a structured method for people due diligence: reading employment contracts for change-of-control risk, sizing pension and benefit liabilities, and flagging the flight risk of talent the deal depends on. Teaching works from real due diligence data rooms, target operating model exercises and integration planning templates rather than deal theory alone. Participants build a risk register, design a harmonised reward structure, and structure an HR workstream inside the integration management office with a Day One checklist that keeps payroll, systems access and communication running from completion. Later sessions cover retaining critical talent through the transition, tracking synergy realisation against the business case, and closing out integration with a lessons-learned review. Participants leave able to move from due diligence findings to a working integration plan without depending on external advisers for every step.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Build a RAG-rated people risk register that quantifies cultural, contractual and leadership integration risk.
Design a harmonised pay and benefits structure that reconciles two reward philosophies within a set budget.
Structure an HR workstream inside the integration management office with clear governance and milestones.
Plan Day One readiness covering payroll continuity, systems access and tiered employee communication.
Negotiate retention and stay agreements for the critical talent an acquisition's value depends on.
Track HR-related synergy realisation against the business case and close integration with a lessons-learned review.
Who Should Attend
HR business partners and HR directors assigned to a merger or acquisition deal team.
Corporate development and M&A managers who need to work effectively with HR due diligence.
Integration management office leads coordinating the HR workstream during a deal.
Reward and benefits specialists tasked with harmonising terms after an acquisition.
HR generalists in a business being acquired who must manage employee uncertainty.
Senior HR leaders building internal M&A capability ahead of an anticipated acquisition.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Scoping and Conducting People Due Diligence
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Building the HR Due Diligence Data Room and Risk Register
- Define the scope of people due diligence and the document requests needed from the target's data room.
- Assess employment contracts for change-of-control clauses, notice periods and restrictive covenants.
- Quantify pension scheme liabilities and benefit obligations that will transfer with the acquisition.
- Identify the small number of people the deal's value actually depends on and flag their flight risk.
Session 2Assessing Cultural Fit and Organisational Risk
- Run cultural due diligence interviews and surveys to compare management style and decision-making norms.
- Compare reward philosophies, performance management approaches and works council relationships.
- Assess leadership bench strength in the target to judge whether key roles need early succession planning.
- Score every finding into a RAG-rated risk register that the deal team can act on before completion.
02Designing the Target Operating Model and Harmonising Terms
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Building the Combined Target Operating Model
- Design a combined organisation structure that removes role duplication without breaking accountability.
- Map reporting lines and decision rights for the merged entity before Day One rather than after it.
- Size workforce cost and headcount targets against an honest baseline from both organisations.
- Identify roles at risk of redundancy early enough to plan a fair and compliant consultation process.
Session 2Harmonising Pay, Benefits and Employment Terms
- Benchmark pay, benefits and grading structures across both organisations to size harmonisation cost.
- Sequence a harmonisation timeline that avoids creating two classes of employee within one team.
- Meet TUPE, works council or equivalent consultation obligations before terms are changed.
- Draft variation letters and new contracts that reflect harmonised terms without unplanned legal exposure.
03Building the Integration Management Office and Communication Plan
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Structuring the HR Workstream Inside the IMO
- Define HR workstream governance and its interdependencies with finance, IT and operations workstreams.
- Build a Day One checklist covering payroll continuity, systems access, badges and welcome communication.
- Set integration milestones and a RACI that shows who decides, who delivers and who is informed.
- Establish an escalation process for integration risks that cannot be resolved at workstream level.
Session 2Communicating Change to Employees and Managers
- Build a tiered communication plan that reaches affected, adjacent and unaffected employees appropriately.
- Equip line managers with FAQs and talking points so messages stay consistent across the organisation.
- Manage rumour and uncertainty in the gap between announcement and completion with regular updates.
- Run pulse surveys through the integration period to track sentiment and catch disengagement early.
04Retaining Talent and Measuring Integration Success
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Retention Strategies for Business-Critical Talent
- Identify critical roles and successors whose departure would materially damage the deal's value.
- Design retention and stay bonus agreements structured around milestones rather than a single payout.
- Plan leadership transition and interim cover for roles where departure risk cannot be fully removed.
- Manage notice periods and restrictive covenants so a departure does not damage client or team continuity.
Session 2Tracking Synergy Realisation and Closing Integration
- Track HR-related cost savings against the assumptions originally used to justify the deal.
- Monitor attrition, engagement and productivity data through the first year after completion.
- Migrate HRIS and payroll data accurately so pay, benefits and records transfer without error.
- Conduct a lessons-learned review that feeds directly into the method for the organisation's next deal.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
Complete your registration
We will contact you within one business day to confirm.
Ready to start?
Reserve your seat and start building the skill.