HR aspects of a take‐over: part 2; running it into the ground

The second in a series of three articles dealing with the human resources aspects of mergers and acquisitions, with reference to a particular transaction in the international financial services sector ‐ the purchase of most of the businesses of Royal Trustco by the Royal Bank of Canada. Describes the human resources challenges which emerged in a business which was not wanted by the acquiring organization and was therefore left out of the deal and wound down. Also describes key responses to these challenges: open communication of the business plan (including the manpower plan), innovative performance management and reward systems and unconventional approaches to redundancy planning. Considers that the learning points summarized in the article can be applied in other wind‐down situations where stakeholders’ investment is at risk.