How to - Assess Cultural Integration Whether your firm is experiencing a merger, an acquisition or revamping its focus, culture integration should not be ignored. Due Diligence is a tricky aspect of moving forward and many executives are not prepared for the time, energy and effort it takes to handle the task successfully.

Conducting Cultural Due Diligence involves investigating, assessing and defining the cultures of two or more distinct business units through a cultural review to discover areas of similarity and difference that will impact integration efforts and achievement of strategic objectives. The results can be used as a foundational tool for creating integration plans and a baseline for measuring organizational progress in the integration effort over time. Conducted as early as possible in the process, this process can be used as a benchmarking tool throughout the integration effort to measure progress and confirm that human systems are being aligned to business objectives correctly.

A Cultural Due Diligence process covers essential cultural and organizational effectiveness issues including:

Leadership: vision, mission, values, business strategy development, leadership effectiveness and ethics
Relationships: trust, collaboration, inter/intra group relationships, community and customers
Communication: feedback, information sharing, employee trust in information
Infrastructure: formal procedures, processes, systems, policies, structure and teams
Involvement & Decision Making: authority levels, accountability, expectations and the decision making process
Change Management: creativity, innovation, recognition, continuous learning and diversity
Finance: perception of financial health and the role of the employee and the level of financial comprehension and impact on the business
Cultural Descriptors: a list of predetermined values which can be customized to reflect the organization’s values.
Climate: open-ended questions that capture the stories and suggestions from employees.

What you end up with is a cultural resume that lays out the unique organizational culture of each business unit and integrates them into one clear message. While the process of conducting a Cultural Due Diligence won’t fix an organization that is pursuing the wrong strategy, it can cut down on informal practices, internal politics, lack of trust, resentment and just plain bad management that could sink the right strategy.

Like any assessment, the information is only as good as what you do with it. However the efforts involved can be well worth the time, energy and effort. People are the backbone of any business and are at the heart of integration effort. My clients say that “People are our most important asset” but I often wonder if that’s true. The financials are reviewed every quarter and customer satisfaction surveys are completed every quarter, but employee satisfaction surveys are conducted every 18 months at best.

Cultural Due Diligence works. If you are undergoing an integration effort, here are some strategies that will improve your potential for success:

Involve your HR/OD department or an external consultant with an HR/OD background in the integration process from the beginning.

Focus on finding the best practices within the business units that support the achievement of objectives rather than illuminating areas of weakness.

Use a validated assessment tool that collects both quantitative and qualitative data.

Include culture as part of your due diligence process. Be prepared to address the incongruencies and gaps between business units with action.

Communicate…communicate…communicate! Keep employees in the loop about the progress of the integration effort.

Involve employees in the integration effort.

Allocate dedicated time and resources for this project.

Measure and report on project progress regularly.

Communicate results and progress. Seek input on areas of improvement on what you are doing.

Share and celebrate successes!


Nationally recognized consultant, trainer, author and professional speaker Joni Daniels has helped thousands of people become empowered about accomplishing their professional and personal goals. She is a sought after resource for Fortune 500 clients, professional organizations, higher education, and business publications. Sign up for her free quarterly newsletter at www.jonidaniels.com/newsletter.html.  3:02 PM •