Maintaining workplace culture during mergers and acquisitions

Defining a workplace culture after the completion of a merger or acquisition can be a difficult scenario to get right. The workplace forms a central part of how to make M&As successful as they are a physical representation of a business identity and culture. This can be managed by taking the time to understand the needs of the employees. By getting the employee engagement process right, business leaders can shape the new desired working culture which can have a positive impact on the organisation.

Change naturally causes uncertainty and can create challenges for employees who may face changes to their leadership, location, their working culture and patterns. PwC’s 2026 M&A Integration Survey found that 52% of respondents identified culture alignment as a people-related integration challenge. It means that the people element of a business needs to receive the same amount of attention as operations and finance, particularly in relation to a merger or acquisition.

Mergers and acquisitions can open up new markets, strengthen capabilities and create opportunities for growth. They are complex business decisions which carry a huge amount of excitement but bringing two businesses together also means bringing together people with different habits, expectations and ways of working.

What is your existing workplace culture?

Before you begin planning how to keep your existing culture or design the ‘ideal’ culture, you have to understand what your culture actually is. Knowing where you’re starting from, and where you’re going, gives you a strong foundation to build from that seeks to remove as much guess work as possible.

The types of things you need to establish early on in the merging of the businesses are the types of things that work well but also the elements that can be enhanced. This can be anything from the working behaviours and patterns through to the physical design of the office and the overarching workplace experience. Whatever the metrics are that you choose to measure, there is a great opportunity to capture positive working practices and company culture. By understanding your people and your business, you can make decisions about your workplace based on what you know and remove unnecessary guesswork.

Use your workplace to build shared company values

A considered approach starts with understanding both cultures, then creating an environment that supports the combined business. There are lots of areas which can impact a working culture that exclude the physical design of the office. It is important to look into specifics like the decision-making processes within the business, the tone of voice and internal comms and even things like the visibility of the leadership team.

These values underpin a company culture and the office space itself can help communicate these values in a positive way. Leaders should establish which behaviours and values they want to preserve, what needs to evolve and how those decisions will be communicated. This is a key stage of managing the process and the physical workplace has a role in protecting these values and helping shape them.

How do you navigate decisions around consolidating office space?

A big part of a merger or acquisition is deciding how to utilise the existing office footprint. By moving one company into another’s office, you run the risk of making the incoming employees feel like visitors. There are other additional challenges that can come with relocating teams but in some circumstances, it can be difficult to provide a design solution that resolves things like increased commute times.

Eon went through a merger when they brought together two businesses from multiple offices under one roof in Solihull. The big focus for their project was about creating connectivity and uniting staff within a collaborative environment. Rhino conducted a workplace consultancy which was a key step in ensuring that employee input was considered and the staff would feel more connected to the merged business in a new environment.

Maintaining consistent communication and engagement with the staff meant that the inbound staff and the existing staff were given the same amount of visibility over what was happening with the project. Rhino’s role in helping manage this change and contributing to the new culture of the workspace was to ensure that it responded to how they were working and what they wanted the business identity to be.

Understanding how employee needs impact the workspace

The impact across workforces can be felt on a personal level but also on an organisational level. As with any change, most people will have questions about what it means for them. This might be potential changes to their job roles, their pay and their working arrangements. On an organisational level, there is also the need to understand if, and how, company values and identity will survive. This can also have an impact on real estate if companies are expecting to relocate or close offices as more day-to-day elements like commuting times will be impacted.

As employees experience these changes that come from mergers and acquisitions through changes to their everyday lives, managing that change is critical. Before a business can truly know how much space is needed, or what the office design should look like, businesses should understand how both organisations operate.

Rhino Edge uses technology to develop intelligent workplace reports that capture employee sentiment and perspectives on how their workplace operates and supports them day-to-day. Powered by AI, it is possible to establish patterns and trends across the qualitative responses. This is a helpful way to identify where the biggest impact can be achieved and establish the shared priorities within a workplace.

The big difference with using a tool like Rhino Edge is that it takes away the guesswork. Clients can get a closer understanding of what’s really going on in their workplaces and the datapoints can be transformed from opinions into tangible design thinking. This type of workplace technology is helping businesses accommodate a combined workforce while still giving employees a voice in the decisions that affect their working environment.

The office as an asset

Maintaining workplace culture after a merger or acquisition requires a measured approach to build a shared culture. With so many different perspectives and ways of working, there has to be a consideration of individuals as well as the collective.

Leadership plays a big role in signposting the direction the business is moving in and clear communication will always be a component of how to navigate a merger or acquisition. The area that needs to be considered is how the office also plays a supporting role in making M&As successful. The workplace is an important asset in encouraging connection and nurturing a company culture that establishes an identity for the merged businesses.

Thoughtful office design can support the transition process but it cannot provide all the answers. It is an asset that should be used to remove friction and create opportunities to shape what comes next for the business.

Bringing two businesses together? Speak to Rhino about how Edge and a considered workplace strategy can help inform your next steps.