As a consultant I am often hired by companies that are in the middle of a takeover. In takeover situations companies have a lot to deal with - from changing processes and procedures to different mentality and dissatisfied employees and customers. I have often found myself in a situation where unsatisfied employees simply refused to cooperate, driven by emotions. In most of the cases the emotions are very human : after having worked for a company for years some people become very loyal and don't like to see the takeover as they fear for all they know and love in their jobs.

In reality the change of companies brings a lot of work. Typically, a company in a takeover needs externals for two tasks :

• coordinating migrations related tasks
• takeover the workload temporary from the operational team

People often forget takeovers also create jobs, as procedures and proceses change, and people leave the company looking for another job. As a consultant, it is important to act with caution in these situations. Key is to try and keep other people's emotions out of the way and just move on with the new procedures. Be warned as this can be a real snakepit !