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Successfully integrating a company means winning the hearts and minds of its employees
Moving on: changing home is a traumatic experience for many employees
Getting employee buy-in was essential to the successful transfer of United Utilities' facilities management business to Europa, says Gavin Wainer.
Selling off part of an organisation is never straightforward. Apart from the financial negotiations, the main issue will always be people. If your part of the organisation has been described as "non-core", then there is a real risk that employees will become disillusioned and demotivated and customers will take their business elsewhere. So, what do you do?
In 2006, United Utilities decided it wanted to return to being a utility asset owner and operator. As part of its strategy to achieve this goal, the company began disposing of non-core commercial operations that had been successfully established over the preceding years. One such operation was the facilities management team that had emerged as a commercial business from within United Utilities Contract Solutions in 2005. John Entwistle, the operations director of the United Utilities FM business at the time, explains: "Our part of United Utilities had successfully transitioned from being an internally focused operation into a fully fledged, outward facing commercial facilities management team that had won some significant contracts in a short space of time. Having restructured the operational business in early 2005 we quickly grew our business to provide facilities management services to the likes of Welsh Water, Thurrock Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Northern Gas Networks. However, while this was proving to be a successful business, it did not fit with the overall United Utilities strategy and the sale activity began."
The disposal process
The disposal process culminated in the sale of the United Utilities FM business to Europa, one of the UK's largest independent facilities management companies, in February 2008.
"There was a competitive process set up by United Utilities plc, during which Europa demonstrated that it would be a good home for the 250 employees within the facilities management business," says Entwistle. "The cultural fit was very important to United Utilities: there was a common approach to service delivery and a good blend of family values balanced against experience and ambition."
With the deal agreed in the spring of 2008, the next hurdle was the transition process. It was vital that on day one of transfer the operational business continued to deliver and that customers did not experience a drop in service.
"We wanted to make sure that none of our customers would perceive any change to service at all. Everything our teams did had to be consistent and we focused on keeping it that way for two months. It was only afterwards that we began to consider an assessment of our service delivery and find ways of improving what we were doing and transferring knowledge between the old United Utilities FM team and our new colleagues," says Entwistle.
Making new friends
The transition was the first time that any of the team transferring to Europa met their new colleagues and the meeting took the form of a roadshow to every major site around the country. Mark Cooper, Europa's head of learning and development, says: "We had not been able to talk to any of the United Utilities FM employees before the deal was signed, so as the ink was drying, we embarked on a series of events as part of an induction into the Europa family. Our goal was to welcome the new team into the Europa operation and explain to them what the opportunities were and the kind of role we envisaged for them."
The roadshows were fronted by Martin Jones as the head of Europa and supported by briefings from key management and presentations from John Entwistle and his team. More than half of the team joining Europa were at a management level and it was made clear to them that career opportunities were there for the taking and the team was going to enjoy a bigger voice than previously inside United Utilities plc.
"We gave everyone a welcome pack, set up telephone helplines and a frequently asked questions section of the intranet and reassured them about pensions. Each person was welcomed to the Europa family," explains Cooper.
"The employees transferring across immediately felt valued and motivated. This had a positive impact on service and a reassuring influence on customers," he says.
This was vital not just in maintaining service levels, but because in many areas of the new-look Europa operation, people who had previously been colleagues and friends were now sharing a customer and supplier relationship.
"Our people needed to adapt overnight. The job and service they were providing did not change, but the subtle shift in cultural attitudes towards the actual provision of the service did alter. But the way we briefed our customers and made certain that our people were inducted into the Europa way of working meant that service levels improved and customer relationships were strengthened," says Entwistle. This was particularly difficult for United Utilities because it although it was selling the business, it was also a client.
Fast forward one year and the utility and public sector teams inside Europa have successfully added new contracts and are aggressively targeting new business across the UK. Best practice, knowledge and skills have been shared and transferred across the four operating businesses that now make up Europa. Most importantly, nobody was left behind and everyone is working as a team to capitalise on the opportunities available in the business services market.
Gavin Wainer, business development manager, Europa
Keeping it together: communication is key
Utility companies are seen by most people as good employers, providing relatively high levels of job security, competitive terms and conditions and an engaging working environment, all of which lead to high levels of retention. So when the organisation commences a sale process people naturally become suspicious, confused and concerned about their future.
United Utilities and the two main trade unions, Amicus and Unison, were clear during bidding about the terms of the sale from a people perspective - employment protection rights were a given, and the focus was on securing like-for-like pension arrangements.
Throughout the process, United Utilities worked to consult and inform at the earliest possible stages, from the invitation to tender through to the contract signing. It was not always a bed of roses and in partnership with the trade unions people's issues or concerns were swiftly and honestly addressed. It was about treating people like adults and not avoiding the difficult discussions. The sale was going to happen and it was in the best interests of all parties that we removed uncertainty, even if some of the answers were not what people wanted to hear.
From a human resources perspective this is a real success story. The facilities management team from United Utilities has found a home that gives them a real sense of importance and provides an environment for rapid individual and business growth, while maintaining some of the utility ethics that set them apart as an employer and lead to an highly engaged, motivated and committed workforce.
Sharon Willis, director of PeoplePro Consulting
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