MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Merger management
support staff, of which only one had worked with me before. So it
was quite a challenge getting to know individuals and also
ensuring that we worked as a team. So we immediately
introduced team meetings with the officers. Then when we were
given our support staff, almost immediately getting everybody
together and having team meetings and talking through how we
would work, what sort of service level was to be provided from
the different offices and how we would try and manage that. But
it meant really a totally different role for me because it was
managing people, which I had not really had to do before.
(Interviewee O)
The suggestion that people were informed what they would be doing
and told to get on with it is supported from several other sources:-
I remember being told that I was responsible for IT, this is who
you will be working with, draw up a two page paper saying what
you want to do and when you want to do it. So it was very much
a back of the fag packet approach to work. (Interviewee E)
Including at regional level:-
Well I was told that I was going to be manager of the office, that
in itself created a problem because a very good friend of mine
and someone who saw herself as my equal suddenly saw me as
being paid to do a job that she thought she should do. I had to
manage that. (Interviewee M)
And it appears that other managers took proactive steps to try to
manage the process of assimilation of their new teams:-
During the period of January to March the manager, say the
Director of Finance, had staff in Southwark and here and he was
over in Southwark and he would be coming and going between
the two buildings. He would encourage the staff to move as well
by making visits and helping people to get to know each other.
Some of those working in Southwark came over here before
they started working as a team because I wanted them to feel
part of the team (Interviewee O)
Though some personal difficulties were identifiable, related to
differences between partner unions:-
One of the most difficult structural things for this merged union,
PCS, was what we were going to do about equality and equality
structures and it was almost to be the very last thing that we did
in terms of putting rule books together and setting up structures.
Which is quite interesting but I think because the unions came
from such different perspectives on equality and had such
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