Change is in the air. 

In the last year alone the value of global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has jumped 37% to $10 trillion. And the number of companies changing hands increased by 7% in the last quarter of 2023. It's been a whirlwind of business transformations, from restructures and layoffs to return-to-offices and more.

In the midst of this relentless change, there’s a hidden threat: culture clash. As business transformations continue to gain momentum, companies are also facing a rise in culture integration challenges.

Imagine a workplace where high-performing teams falter due to misaligned values, communication breakdowns, and disengaged employees. It's a costly reality for many organizations. The good news? It doesn't have to be your reality.

Solutions like 10KC’s Culture Integration Program are designed to equip your team for success —in times of change and beyond. 

Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in. 

Culture integration challenges in 2024 and beyond 

Organizations are made up of people. And resistance to change is a part of human nature, which is why times of transition can be challenging to navigate—particularly when it comes to company culture.

Before you can start implementing a culture integration strategy, it’s important to identify these challenges and understand why they occur.

Let’s look at some of the biggest culture integration challenges that companies are facing in 2024:

1. Obstacles in value creation: As much as 65% of acquirers cite cultural issues as a major obstacle in creating value in their deals. When employees are unable to work together cohesively or are disengaged, it impacts their ability to effectively contribute toward company objectives. 

2. Lack of change leadership skills: For your organization to successfully withstand change, you can’t simply manage it. You need change leaders with the skills and forward-thinking mindset that drives transformation in company culture. 

3. Change fatigue: Between the pandemic and recent economic instability, many companies—and their employees—have been experiencing a prolonged period of consistent change. While change is a part of business, and often a positive thing, these constant shifts—if not managed well—can be exhausting for employees. As a result, employee willingness to support organizational change continues to drop, which has made the process of integration more difficult than it may have been in the past.

These challenges have been intensified by the evolving nature of the physical workplace.

While there are certainly valid arguments on all  sides of the table for in-person offices, remote work, and hybrid environments, dispersed workforces can add an additional obstacle  to foster the connections necessary for  successful culture integration 

In an M&A, if two physical offices are combined, it can be  easier for cultures to organically meld together with the support of strategic initiatives. However, if teams are integrated virtually, it becomes a lot more difficult to build meaningful connections. 

Without the right tools in place, organizations are left with transactional relationships between teams that turn into silos. This creates misunderstandings and miscommunications that ultimately result in one large game of broken telephone.

“The lack of culture integration will create a fragmented team. And it's that lack of cohesion that creates silos and reduces velocity in organizations. The very goal that you're after for bringing people together to create the synergy of an acquisition ends up being what's pulling people apart. So I would definitely, in the next [acquisition], double down on getting that part right first.” - Alim A. Dhanji , Chief People Officer & EVP, Equinox Group

What are the key elements of a successful culture integration? 

The vast majority of executives (95%) would agree that culture fit is critical to the success of integration. While transformation in and of itself is tricky to navigate, culture integration is equally, if not more complex.  

But with the right strategies, it can be achieved. Here's what a truly successful culture integration looks like: 

• A shared identity: A unified vision and identity that all employees align with, emerging after the change. 
• Meaningful connections: Strong relationships across teams and departments, fostering collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing. 
• Cultural familiarity: Preserving the best elements of previous cultures to ease the transition and create a sense of familiarity for employees.
• Transparency: Seamless communication across the organization, demonstrating elevated employee trust and connection.
• A clear integration plan: A roadmap to maintain a cohesive company culture in the long run, even after initial signs of success.

The impact of successful culture integration post-change 

Transition is temporary. However, the impact of that change can have long-lasting implications for the business. When companies successfully integrate culture post-change, they benefit from: 

Cohesive company culture and sense of direction

Companies with a strong workplace culture can have as much as a 4x increase in revenue growth. 

When cultures are successfully integrated, it creates a sense of unity among employees, where everyone is on the same page. When you take the time to share strategic priorities and address employee concerns throughout the culture integration process, you’re able to build trust among your workforce. 

This fosters better teamwork, boosts employee connectivity and inclusion, and reduces the risk of conflict in integrated teams. 

Maximized business value

While culture is notoriously difficult to measure it is directly tied to business results.

A McKinsey study found that companies that manage culture effectively in M&A integration planning are about 50% more likely to capture cost and revenue synergies. Another study found that companies that prioritize culture and organizational health see an average of a 3x increase in shareholder returns.

When company culture integration is mismanaged, it slows down decision-making and creates confusion in day-to-day activities. It also creates disengaged employees who underperform or leave the organization entirely—further impacting business value.

“We don't always start with, ‘what's the success criteria on talent?’ We start with the financial metric. But in reality, you're not going to get that financial metric if you don't get the talent plan right from the onset. So thinking through that and understanding the different retention drivers and the change management that has to go into play is super important in order to drive the business outcome that you're looking for.”- Alim A. Dhanji , Chief People Officer & EVP, Equinox Group

Higher rates of employee retention 

Change is driven by a variety of objectives. However, people resources are often one of the most valuable assets in any business transaction—particularly high-performing and high-potential employees.

Yet, it’s incredibly common to see employees leave in droves following a major business change. 

With M&A in particular, we’ve seen that 47% of key acquired employees will leave within a year of the transaction and 75% within the first three. This is a significant loss in talent that comes with major financial implications, especially once we factor in the costs of employee turnover. 

Employee retention packages can help temporarily incentivize staff to stick around post-change. But the reality is that if employees aren’t fully committed to the new direction of the business or feel isolated in their new role, their value to the business is diminished—even if they don’t jump ship.

Successful culture integration boosts retention while creating a work environment where employees actually want to stay and make a meaningful contribution to the business.

10KC culture integration solution: an overview 

In the wake of transformation, helping employees process change, feel included, and build relationships is crucial. It's about retaining and engaging key talent while fostering a network that connects everyone to leaders, experts, and colleagues.

10KC’s Culture Integration Solution is designed to help organizations navigate and thrive through times of transformation. Through comprehensive networking initiatives, group learning sessions, mentoring, and employee onboarding programs, you can create a unified culture that drives better performance and retention. 

Companies use 10KC to facilitate successful culture integration by:

1. Fostering connections to retain top talent and eliminate silos

Employee flight is a significant risk during periods of change. To retain your best people, cultivate a supportive environment that prioritizes connection and growth. Studies show that a strong sense of belonging can increase employee retention by up to 34%. However, organizational shifts often erode psychological safety, making it even harder to build new relationships.

10KC addresses this challenge head-on. Our smart-matching algorithm breaks down barriers by automatically connecting employees (based on customizable criteria) with shared interests and goals. This sparks meaningful conversations and transforms transactional interactions into lasting relationships across your organization.

Additionally, our social learning pathways enable you to build recurring programs that automatically match talent groups based on organizational attributes or skills, ensuring consistent engagement and relationship building. By strategically pairing employees with colleagues from different levels or departments and providing them with structured conversation guides, you’ll create ample opportunity for knowledge sharing, skill development, and cross-functional collaboration. 

2. Creating a culture of alignment

For organizations to move seamlessly toward their goals, everyone needs to be on the same page. When you’re bringing together teams from different backgrounds, this doesn’t always happen naturally. 

10KC helps you create a culture of alignment by facilitating meaningful conversations that promote the flow of information, including strategic priorities, employee concerns, and trust-building initiatives. Host engaging group events like leadership roundtables to welcome new teams, share strategic visions, and encourage questions. "Change champions" can host smaller roundtables to discuss local implications, ensuring everyone understands their role in the bigger picture.

Targeted group sessions facilitate culture building by connecting employees with internal influencers in a conversational and approachable format. This empowers leaders to establish trust while addressing questions and concerns regarding ongoing changes.

With pre-built conversation templates, you can keep discussions on track and make the most of every interaction. And after every session, you’ll get access to reports and learnings that deliver insight into how your employees are feeling. 

3. Facilitating culture onboarding and continued development 

Welcome newly integrated hires (whether new in role or newly acquired through a merger) through a group onboarding program led by "culture carriers"—existing employees who embody the company's values and can share insights on its history and ways of working. This cohort-based format fosters immediate connections, creating a sense of community and belonging from the start.

And, 10KC helps you ensure the development doesn't stop at onboarding. During mergers and acquisitions, employees from both companies can be invited to participate in development programs side-by-side. This reinforces the message that everyone is part of one team, fostering unity and shared growth. Identify talent priorities and funnel employees into programs that align with those needs, like leadership development, mentoring and sponsorship opportunities, high-potential programs, or DEI initiatives. 

4. Ensuring institutional knowledge is shared

In the midst of organizational change, preserving and transferring institutional knowledge is paramount. 10KC acts as a bridge, connecting the right people across teams and departments to ensure this vital knowledge isn't lost, ensuring that the collective wisdom of the organization continues to drive success even as the landscape shifts. 10KC's curated curriculums and discussion guides combat information overload and ensure recent grades receive the right knowledge at the right time. 

5. Empowering leaders with critical change management skills 

Successful culture integration hinges on  leaders who are able to inspire and guide their teams through change. These influential figures within your company champion transformation and set the tone for a positive transition. 

With only 15% of employees feeling confident in their leaders' ability to navigate change, even the strongest leaders can benefit from change management skills that allow them to effectively lead through change.

10KC helps current and future leaders develop the critical skills to guide successful business transformations and create a high-performance culture—all while minimizing business disruption. With a unique mix of 1:1 leadership mentoring experiences and collaborative learning environments, 10KC delivers a leading change program that is backed by industry experts and tailored to the transformations within your organization.

“The emotional aspects of change shouldn't be underestimated. One of the things I find that's helpful is to remind ourselves as leaders that we actually don't need to have all of the answers. In fact, when it comes to leading really truly complex challenges, we can't, because there isn't a right answer. So, first things first. As the leader, take a little bit of the burden off of yourself for being able to fix it, right? And just acknowledge that maybe the purpose of the conversation isn't to fix anything, but to simply deeply understand the experience of the other person.” - Catherine Brown, Founder, Taybridge Leadership

Companies driving culture integration with 10KC

10KC’s culture integration solution is proven and subject matter expert (SME) backed. But don’t just take our word for it. 

Let’s explore examples of real-world companies that have successfully used 10KC and talent development programs to drive culture integration. 

Connecting a hybrid workforce with PwC

For PwC, the link between employee connection and key outcomes, such as engagement and retention is clear. However, with a hybrid workforce spanning dozens of time zones and departments, creating a seamless culture across the entire organization was much easier said than done. 

As a leading employer, they knew they needed a solution to eliminate silos and create meaningful connections among employees. 

“We wanted to build meaningful connections that superseded historic silos or proximity barriers. We wanted to drive connections that were human-led and tech powered, and 10KC allowed us to do that. The platform has helped us bring intention into conversations, which can be challenging in a remote or hybrid environment.” - Chris Dulny, Chief Digital, Data & Innovation Officer at PwC.

With PwC’s Connection Central program built on the 10KC platform, they were able to:

• Make upwards of 20,000 employee connections.
• Organized 170+ small group events that promoted collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Most importantly, the connections helped elevate diverse and underrepresented employees with 91% of these connections connecting employees between different inclusion networks. 

See how PwC created over 20,000 employee connections.

Building a winning culture with BMO

Cultural integration can go beyond people transitions, such as M&A or restructures. BMO shifted to a hybrid work environment that includes talent across the world. While it opened up access to top-tier talent, it left over 46,000 global employees facing silos and an inconsistent employee experience. 

After implementing mentoring and networking through 10KC, BMO saw higher-than-expected levels of adoption, further proving that employees wanted to be better connected with their peers. 

Within the program, 96% of employees said that their connection was valuable. Beyond that, they were able to better connect employees to the business itself, with 72% of employees saying their connections deepened their understanding of the business.‍

‍See how BMO built a winning hybrid culture.