HR for Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions succeed or fail on people decisions. While financial and legal due diligence are well understood, HR risk is often underestimated.
Employment contracts, leadership capability, cultural alignment, and team integration issues can quickly erode deal value if not identified and managed early.
UPP HR provides specialist HR for mergers and acquisitions in Brisbane, supporting buyers, sellers, and leadership teams through due diligence, integration planning, and post-acquisition people strategy. Though local experts to South East Queensland, we also work with interstate and
international teams coordinating their mergers or acquisitions virtually and in person as needed. Our role is to protect value, reduce risk, and support a smooth transition for the business and its people.
UPP HR conducts commercially focused HR due diligence to identify:
Employment risk and inconsistency
Award, enterprise agreement and compliance exposure
Misclassification of contractors
Leadership capability and role clarity issues
Cultural and engagement risk
Founder dependency and key person risk
We translate findings into clear, practical insight so decision-makers can assess risk, negotiate confidently, and plan integration effectively.
Unaddressed human resource issues can become costly after settlement. Common HR red flags when buying a business include:
Outdated or non-compliant employment contracts
Lack of timesheeting/record keeping for payroll and Fair Work Act compliance
Modern Award and Industrial Instrument non-compliance
Informal people management practices
Performance issues masked by founder involvement
Cultural misalignment between organisations
Unclear reporting lines and decision authority
Lack of documented processes or role clarity
UPP HR helps identify these risk early, providing a clear view of what needs immediate attention and what can be manged post-acquisition.
Our integration support focuses on:
Clear communication and change planning
Retention of key talent
Alignment of employment terms and polices
Leadership and management capability during transition
Reducing uncertainty and employee risk
Maintaining productivity during integration
The goal is not forced uniformity, but a practical, stable people framework that supports the combined businesses.
UPP HR works closely with leadership teams to support:
Role clarity and organisational structure design
Decision-making authority and accountability
Cultural alignment without unnecessary disruption
Practical guidance for manages leading through change
We help leaders navigate complexity with confidence, ensuring people decisions support the commercial objectives of the transaction.
Why UPP HR for M&A Support
Clients engage UPP HR because we combine deep HR expertise with commercial awareness. We understand that M&A is about timing, risk and value protection.
Our appoach is:
We act as a trusted human resource advisor
during critical business transitions.
Partner with UPP HR
Whether you are acquiring, merging or preparing your busienss for sale, the right HR strategy can not only protect value (but inrease it) and support long-term success.
UPP HR provides expert HR for mergers and acquisitions in Brisbane, helping businesses manage people risk, integrate teams effectively, and move forward with confidence.
Book a confidential discussion with UPP HR to ensure your people strategy supports your transaction, not undermines it.