Change Management @ICICI

ICMR regularly updates the list of free cases. To view more free cases, please visit our site at frequent intervals.

<< Previous

ICICI conducted an employee behavioral pattern study to assess the various fears and apprehensions that employees typically went through during a merger. (Refer Table I). Table I 'Post-Merger' Employee Behavioral Pattern Period Employee Behavior Day 1 Denial, fear, no improvement After a month Sadness, slight improvement After a Year Acceptance, significant improvement After 2 Years Relief, liking, enjoyment, business development activities Source: www.sibm.edu

Based on the above findings, ICICI established systems to take care of the employee resistance with action rather than words. The 'fear of the unknown' was tackled with adept communication and the 'fear of inability to function' was addressed by adequate training. The company also formulated a 'HR blue print' to ensure smooth integration of the human resources. (Refer Table II).

Table II
Managing HR during the ICICI-BoM Merger

The HR Blueprint	Areas of HR Integration Focussed On
A data base of the entire HR structure Road map of career Determining the blue print of HR moves Communication of milestones IT Integration - People Integration - Business Integration.	Employee communication Cultural integration Organization structuring Recruitment & Compensation Performance management Training Employee relations

Source:www.sibm.edu

To ensure employee participation and to decrease the resistance to the change, management established clear communication channels throughout to avoid any kind of wrong messages being sent across. Training programmes were conducted which emphasized on knowledge, skill, attitude and technology to upgrade skills of the employees. Management also worked on contingency plans and initiated direct dialogue with the employee unions of the BoM to maintain good employee relations.

By June 2001, the process of integration between ICICI and BoM was started. ICICI transferred around 450 BoM employees to ICICI Bank, while 300 ICICI employees were shifted to BoM branches. Promotion schemes for BoM employees were initiated and around 800 BoM officers were found to be eligible for the promotions. By the end of the year, ICICI seemed to have successfully handled the HR aspects of the BoM merger. According to a news report⁹, "The win-win situation created by...HR initiatives have resulted in high level of morale among all sections of the employees from the erstwhile BoM."

Even as the changes following the ICICI-BoM merger were stabilizing, ICICI announced its merger with ICICI Bank in October 2001. The merger, to be effective from March 2002, was expected to unleash yet another series of changes at the organization. With Kamath still heading ICICI, analysts were hopeful that the bank would come out successfully in the task of integrating the operations of both the entities this time as well.

---

9] 'Bank of Madura & ICICI Bank merger proceeds smoothly,' www.rediff.com, September 27, 2001.

---