A health care company was in the midst of a major acquisition. Their ethics program was well established. They were concerned that the acquired company’s exclusive focus on compliance could create integration problems. Furthermore, they were aware that employees at both companies were focused on issues of job security and that many were stressed by the uncertainty and perceived higher workloads. Senior management wanted to assess and manage the stress and anxiety, but they also wanted the integration to be finished as quickly as possible.

To assess the ethical climate and employee perceptions we met with a range of employees covering every level – from senior executives to middle managers and supervisors to men and women who worked in the pharmacy operations. We conducted 26 interviews with senior executives and 48 focus groups at 14 separate sites, meeting with 422 employees.

We identified specific problem areas. Not surprisingly, change has an impact on employees, and in this case themes surfaced that needed to be addressed quickly before they created rifts that could undermine the success of the acquisition. For example employees commented that:

Once identified, these issues become part of the integration plan, and ultimately the acquisition was a success without significant employee problems.