Taking Information and Records Management Through a Merger

Conference 2010 S13 - Monday 3.30pm

It is almost inconceivable that anyone in work today will not have been through a merger, a de-merger, an organisational split, or an acquisition. We tend to think of mergers as being part of the private sector business world (Glaxo Wellcome merges with SmithKline Beecham; Kraft buys out Cadbury Schweppes) but mergers and de-mergers, in their broadest sense, are happening everywhere, all the time, across all sectors. Two of the oldest UK government departments, the Inland Revenue and HM Customs, merged in 2005; as we speak, the Learning and Skills Council is in process of splitting into two new organisations supported by some shared services.

Mergers make headlines and attract media attention. They make professional advisors, corporate lawyers and investment bankers rich through the fees charged for helping organisations join up or split apart. Analysis of merger activity shows that less than one in two merger/acquisition projects deliver the benefits used to justify them in the first place.

Employees are often the last know that a merger is about to happen. Employees find themselves in the middle of something that can be both exciting and disturbing. Decisions are taken by senior management teams that may effect the working lives of many people and their communities.

Having said all that, mergers and acquisitions are simply everyday aspects of organisational life with the volume turned up.

Information and records managers have a lot to offer when organisations merge or divide: understanding organisational structures, knowing the what, where and who about information assets, understanding where current and older records can be found. On a technical, professional level, good ordinary records management will underpin so many merger activities that fall out in the fabled first 100 days: moving sites, moving people, providing tools to review content, providing guidance to inform IT planning.

Raising their game, information and records managers can play key roles in important projects where new merged company services and functions are shaped and delivered.

Don’t panic! This is just everyday work with the volume turned up.

John Davies, TFPL

John Davies – Senior Information Management consultant at TFPL John Davies combines extensive business content with a rich experience of Information and Knowledge management in the public and private sectors. He is particularly interested in how to help people thrive at... more...

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