How to survive a merger. And tech tips on unlocking 'the power of together'.
Back in 2003, four guys - I was one of them - set out to merge two businesses, a marketing consultancy (Stewart Fenn Marketing) and a tech business (BD Media).
Both businesses were 10 years old. Each had different cultures and skill sets.
Pancentric Digital was the outcome.
Like all new marriages, we had exciting growth plans and 20 years on we've done okay. Highs and lows and pivoting - but done okay.
But this isn't about self-congratulation or dull reflection. It really isn't.
It's a story about how tech can help bring people together.
'Pancentric' was a made up name, the product of a pint or two between founding shareholders. If I'm honest I was never that keen on it but it's served us well - and the domain was available
In 2003, Web 2.0 was a twinkle in the eye
Nowadays there's a heap of online platforms available to help bring your workforce together - operationally and culturally. Not back in 2003.
Back then it was early days Sharepoint and very little else.
Mergers are a challenge at the best of times
Anyone that's done a merger will know they're a challenge at the best of times.
We not only had to see eye to eye as a new Board, but we had to offer direction and leadership to our newly merged (and far from integrated) team.
There were lots of cultural and practical challenges to address - from new Board dynamics, to strategy development, delivery management, QA and service continuity for clients.
We did some good things, and there were areas we didn't get right.
Tech wasn't the answer but it helped
Our decision to install an intranet was one of the good things we did.
Arguably, our single most impactful initiative.
Our first intranet, built by us - a special shout out to fellow co-founder Martin Boswell for his work on this - was a rudimentary version of the project management, finance and intranet tech of today (combined) and it did us well.
It gave us an online home for the transactional work of the business.
It didn't enhance our culture but it helped bring us together, operationally.
And the value of this was huge.
Two ways of working became one.
Our homegrown platform gave us shared calendars, task lists, single views of clients and projects, time sheeting capability, invoice creation, billings info and more.
Quite advanced for 2003.
Sorting out these practicalities got the cogs and wheels of our disparate businesses working as one, and we quickly became a joined-up, functioning entity.
It was a great foundation to build on.
Culture isn't something you program
Team culture though - that's not something you can program.
In our early days, we didn't think that hard about 'culture'.
We defaulted into an entrepreneurial, growth mindset. It was a culture we understood as founders. Work hard, play hard. Light on hierarchy. Value-add, market focus. Mentoring on the fly. Those who enjoyed the 'freedom to take initiative' and the hunt for business thrived.
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We achieved some good results.
But 'gung ho' is tricky to sustain as staff numbers grow and functions mature. Not everyone is salesy by nature. And you wouldn't want it that way anyway.
As you evolve, you need more thoughtful practices, diversity of skills and scalable structures.
I'm not about to theorise on people management.
Suffice to say that in my experience there are many factors to get people management right, and small, highly invested teams where individuals feel heard, valued and empowered seem to work the best. Two-pizza teams, a dash of Agile, strong purpose, meaningful contribution. These are the components that have worked well for us over the years.
New era, new challenges, better tools
But today's world presents other challenges. Very different to 2003.
Remote working, displaced teams, less in-person connection, proliferating digital tools, multi-channel, fractured internal communications, evolving attitudes to work.
While the surface analysis post-COVID is that companies have done well to adapt, and aspects of productivity are up, scratch deeper and there are red flags.
Business leaders are realising that the new normal is fine for rigid delivery but not so hot for collaboration. And team connection can suffer, as can people's mental welfare. Individuals can feel isolated, anxious, less invested in the 'why' of the business. It's taking its toll.
We've done our research on this.
Well over half of business leaders are now prioritising team engagement for these reasons.
Grab a copy of our report Brave New World of Work & Comms - it's got useful insights.
Unlocking 'the power of together'
So team engagement is the new challenge.
And tech rides to the rescue again. Not the sole answer but it can help (a lot).
We're on the front foot with this one.
We've been busy over recent years building and iterating a leading intranet solution called HUB Intranet - very much a player in the pack of intranet SaaS offerings.
Like any self-respecting software house of course, we use the product ourselves.
Eat our own dog food.
Team engagement is the meat and drink of platforms like this - a very different animal to the intranets of the past and the transactional platform we built back in 2003.
Culture and connection is centre stage.
Handled right, these modern intranets can function as the digital heart of your workplace, offering calm and certainty amidst the storm of operations, the hit & miss of social channels and the myriad of other tools and systems.
An intranet can be the definitive online home for your business culture. It dosn't define your culture, but it helps consolidate and amplify all the good things you're doing.
Truly, it works for us. We wouldn't be without it.
And CEOs across all sizes of business see the value. 60% of businesses are planning high to medium use of intranets in 2024. Up 17% from pre-COVID times.
#ThePowerOfTogether.
HUB is a leading intranet solution from Pancentric ranked top 3 in the UK and top 10 internationally by software review site G2. The platform has multiple awards including Best Customer Service 2024 by Gartner’s Software Advice review platform.
HUB supports SMEs and Enterprises in over 50 countries globally and is on a mission to help businesses of all sizes unlock the full potential of their people and resources through improved access to modern intranet technology. HUB prides itself on speed of set-up, best-in-market service and an all-inclusive licensing model underpinned with peace of mind information security credentials (ISO 27001).?
Check out the 0% Guinness Simon Fenn - its pretty dam good!