On Sunday, this news release announced that that two of the biggies, as far as HR consulting goes, are merging. Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. is merging with Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. to become Towers Watson & Co. For those interested, here is the link to the webcast from June 29th discussing the transaction.
In listing the benefits of the transaction, this one stands out for me: “Greater Opportunities for Our People: For our people, there will be an expanded set of career opportunities, a stronger brand, greater access to resources, and a broader network of colleagues.”
While I certainly do not want to be negative, I do want to be realistic. Mergers result in job losses. The compensation (and other HR) professionals that are/have been on the due diligence team[s] should make/have made thorough analyses and selection decisions.
Decisions about who gets let go are never easy. If they are, you’re in the wrong field or you weren’t doing your job.
Those who employed should be/have been selected based on what their (as JC Kovac put it) “unique view and skill set” is and what they offer both the position and the organization. The decision shouldn’t be based on managers’ likes/dislikes, seniority or rate of pay. What the keepers “bring” should be what’s needed for the future, today is a given.
If I’m wrong and no jobs will be lost, excellent. However, if I am right and job losses will occur/have occurred, I hope the new Towers Watson & Co, with one of their core service lines being people management, shines brightly through this transition as the spotlight is now focused on them.
Best wishes and may we all benefit from the greater opportunities.
Terri Albee, CCP, is managing partner of HR Ops Team LLC, which provides scalable and affordable human resources services, ensuring human resources structures are in legal compliance, streamlined for funding or exit events, or just optimized for day-to-day operations. Terri has planned and managed HR operations in a variety of industry verticals from start-up organizations to the Fortune 500, domestically and globally. Her experience encompasses design, implementation, compliance and management of compensation, benefit and equity plans at all levels.
Creative Commons Photo: Problems are Opportunties by DonnaGrayson
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