On employee satisfaction impact of bank mergers and acquisitions and a case study research.

Mergers and acquisition activities, gaining momentum every day due to globalism, stand out as methods that companies with growth-based strategies opt for, especially banks. Given that most mergers and acquisitions end up failing because of the human factor, it is clear that employees play a critical role in the success of these activities.This study aims to ascertain the current state of the Halkbank - Pamukbank merger, which can be accepted as the biggest bank merger in Turkey, in terms of employee satisfaction. In this study it?s aimed to contribute to the success of future mergers and acquisitions by assessing the efficiency of the Halkbank ? Pamukbank merger, measuring its effects on employee satisfaction.The research utilizes a survey model. The effects of bank mergers on employee satisfaction are assessed with a survey. Within this context, the satisfaction levels of both banks? employees were measured before and after the merger. Thus, the effects of the merger and the changes in them over time were analyzed comparatively. Within this context, the merger is the independent variable and the employees? satisfaction level is the dependent variable. Furthermore, diversification of the effect of the merger on employees in terms of demographic qualities was also analyzed.As a result, considering the Halkbank ? Pamukbank merger as a whole, the efficiency of the process can be attributed to the importance placed on human resources and employee satisfaction. Other main factors contributing to the success of the merger during the period of change include ensuring employee participation through teams, informing of everybody affected by the changes concurrently through the use of various communication channels, running all activities transparently, exercising special care in justice regarding decisions made at the time of the merger and ensuring the monitoring of all operations related to this by senior management, taking necessary measures to ensure the Pamukbank personnel -who are the junior partners in the merger - retain their rights and finally, appointing the executive director in charge of the Human Resources department to coordinate the change.