Due Diligence: Human Resources Due Diligence
THIS IS THE FREE, REDACTED VERSION OF THE TASKS IN THE M&A REFERENCE MODEL AND IT IS LICENSED UNDER Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International THE FULL SET OF DATA HAS TO BE LICENSED COMMERCIALLY. HERE is a full model example for one task. The task has the following goal(s):
Organizational structure: analyzed
Culture: analyzed
Retention measures for target employees: prepared
Culture integration plan: created
Draft HR Integration Plan: prepared
The task has the following objectives:
Information asymmetry: minimized
Integration success: maximized
Short description of task Human Resources Due Diligence:
Human Resources Due Diligence considers personnel-relevant aspects of the target company such as organizational structure, aspects of the target's employment contract, pension schemes, recognition and reward systems, and benefits.
The task uses the following business object types:
Target culture, Legal aspects of social insurance, Social security, Legal aspect of the target's service contract with external employees, Draft HR Training Plan, Draft HR onboarding plan, Draft HR Integration Plan, Draft HR communication plan, Draft culture integration plan, Culture integration plan,
Questions to be used during the execution of the task
The task is executed with the following questions, among others:
How many internal and external employees work for the target company and all subsidiaries?
What is the organizational structure of all companies in the target?
How are the contracts with internal and external employees structured?
Acquisition of new employees: Does the acquisition of new employees take place externally or internally?
Obligations: Are there any commitments regarding openness towards personnel (for example, promotion promises)?
Occupational pension provision: Is the occupational pension provision adequate (especially in view of competition)?
Future plans: Have you already decided/planned the future development of the number of employees? Detailed documentation of the current situation and future plans
Personnel development: Is there a systematic and continuous qualification of the personnel?
Residence permits - valid for all employees ?
Training: Are there any particularities in the branch/company regarding training ?
Variable compensation components: Are there other variable components? Complete list of fringe benefits!
How is the target's payroll organized?
Which application systems are used for payroll accounting?
Benefits: Are there stock option programs for employees?
Benefits: Is there a health plan and health programs for employees?
Benefits: Are there other non-cash benefits for employees?
Company pension plan options: Are there pension funds or a company support fund?
Company pension plan options: Is it possible for Target employees to use a direct insurance policy?
Options for occupational pension schemes: How intensively is the company pension scheme used by active employees, pensioners and ex-employees?
What is the capital cover of the company pension scheme?
In what way and how often do you communicate with employees today?
Which forms of co-determination exist in the target company?
Which company agreements exist between employee representatives and target management?
Have there been any acquisitions and integrations of companies by the target in the past?
Which applications are used in Human Resources Management?
Which self-service options are available to employees?
How are sales incentives regulated?
Which complementarities arise in the area of human resources and how can these be implemented to create synergies?
THIS IS THE FREE; REDACTED VERSION OF THE TASK IN THE M&A REFERENCE MODEL: THE FULL SET OF DATA HAS TO BE LICENSED(C) Dr. Karl Michael Popp 2025