The Most Impactful Strategy for M&A Success May Surprise You

2025 is projected to be a banner year for mergers and acquisitions. Predictions estimate that M&A deals could top $3.5 trillion by the end of the year, up from last year’s $3 trillion. As M&A activity ramps up, the real make-or-break factor isn’t just strategy or synergies — it’s culture — and HR leaders are key to bringing people together to build a shared identity that fuels both connection and long-term success.

Culture alignment isn’t just a “nice to have” in an M&A environment. It is a business imperative, and recent data highlights exactly that:

• A 2023 report stated that three-quarters of acquiring organizations “struggle with cultural issues that require serious intervention.”
• Over half of M&A deal failures stem from cultural misalignment, according to a study from last year.
• Another survey revealed that 30% of M&A deals never reach their financial targets because of culture problems, with two-thirds experiencing “synergy delays because of culture mismatch.”

These stats all reinforce the fact that culture can’t be sidelined in M&A — it must be a focus.

How HR leaders can help

Successful M&A hinges on cultural integration that brings the best of both organizations to the forefront. HR leaders can facilitate this in x steps.

• Define your organization’s culture clearly and authentically. Be real with who you are and are not as well as what values are deeply ingrained versus not. The more specific and behavioral you make it, the better off you are.
• Represent those values in the deal process both in what you do and how you do it. No one wants to get into a long-term relationship with someone who presents very different during the courting process. You do a disservice to your company and the potential acquisition.
• Assess the culture of the potential acquisition – qualitatively and quantitatively – for alignment. Having a clearly defined Culture Due Diligence process is mission critical.
• Be transparent about the alignment and gaps/challenges with the potential acquisition so both parties can go in with eyes wide open.
• If you move forward, leverage this shared knowledge to pre-plan integration.

This upfront work allows leaders to build deeper and more meaningful relationships needed to accelerate post-close integration work. And this will buy you faster returns, minimize transaction distraction and business interruptions, and retain talent post-transaction.

The Three Vs: A foolproof change framework

Change on a large scale will only be successful if all stakeholders buy in and understand the intent of the transformation. Managing this type of change can be distilled into three interworking principles — The Three Vs: Vision, Velocity and Village.

• Create alignment around a shared Knowing the “why” behind changes ensures everyone remains in the loop and encourages people to help shape that unified path forward. This can be achieved through strategy sessions with executives across corporate teams and acquired companies. Co-creation is the key to success while also clearly defining non-negotiables and decision rights.
• Once a defined path has been established, it’s time to concentrate on the Velocity, allowing staff to gauge momentum and provide real-time feedback for necessary pivots. Build velocity with leadership offsites with next level leaders and thoughtful internal employee engagement and corporate strategies like All Team meetings and a digital workplace that supports the transformation ahead. Spotlight wins to build momentum, share challenges and roadblocks transparently to build trust, and foreshadow what’s to come to build clarity and buy-in.
• Last but certainly not least is tapping the Village. Finding ways to engage leaders and all employees is key whether it’s through transparent Ask Me Anything sessions, surveys, cross-functional steering committees, or 1:1 conversations. Brilliant ideas are everywhere and just waiting to be surfaced and sponsored. Employees want to be builders and co-creators and not just consumers. Find ways to tap this passion and expertise. The culture is lived, not just explained. One of my favorite African proverbs is “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

For organizations that aim to scale with soul, culture isn’t a side note — it’s the strategy. Culture informs how deals are sourced, structured, and integrated. When you lead with cultural clarity and human-centered values, the result is faster integration, better outcomes, and a workplace people want to be part of.

In M&A, it’s not just about combining balance sheets — it’s about merging human experiences. Belonging, trust, and shared purpose are what make a newly joined workforce stick. This is especially vital in relationship-driven industries like consulting and accounting, where people are the product.

Ultimately, success depends on leadership that’s real. Authentic leaders model transparency, empathy, and adaptability — helping teams navigate uncertainty and co-create something greater than the sum of its parts. Culture-first integration doesn’t just drive results. It creates organizations that grow with integrity — and scale with soul.