Australian engineering practice Wood & Grieve engaged BBS to advise on stakeholder and communication matters during their trans-national integration with global giant Stantec in 2018.

The Perth-based business operated offices in multiple Australian states and required strategic advice on the issues to be managed, staff and client communication, and external relations including media management. The goal was to ensure that Wood & Grieve staff and clients understood the reasons for the merger, the value of the integration to them personally and to their business and that the service and quality that they had become used to via Wood & Grieve would continue to be delivered once the transition to Stantec was complete.

The program required sensitive communication regarding to the timing and funding of the buy-out, the integration of the Wood & Grieve business in to the Stantec operating system, particularly around HR issues, plus the ongoing client service methodology and contractual arrangements.

BBS joined the project team including Wood & Grieve and Stantec executives and was responsible for establishing the master framework which drove early communication, particularly with Australian-based audiences. Following due diligence phase formal authorisation of the merger, our team joined the integration working group and supported both businesses with key messaging, issues management, with a particular emphasis on ensuring that staff morale was maintained and that support for the merger was fostered based on shared culture and values, and also future opportunities.

BBS’ value to the process came in our previous experience with large corporate mergers, an understanding of the transactional requirements and trigger points and also the key issues which emerge for staff and clients and which need to be proactively managed to mitigate any reputational and commercial risk.