HR Insights: Merging Teams and Cultures with Nikesha Madison

Get insider HR wisdom as Nikesha Madison Director of Human Resources at The Raley’s Companies, dives into the dynamics of merging teams, fostering partnerships, and building trust within an organization. From impactful leadership to cultural integration during acquisitions, this episode is a goldmine for anyone passionate about creating a supportive, community-focused work environment.

Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:

• HR's role in strategic partnership
• Change management in mergers
• Transparency breeds trust at work
• Celebrating achievements in HR
• Continuous learning in HR leadership

Resources:

• The Raley’s Companies
• StaffGeek

Connect with Nikesha Madison:

• LinkedIn

Connect with our host, Lindsay Patton:

• LinkedIn
• Email

Quotables:

• 15:55 - It's important to acknowledge what we've achieved. You know, we all work together. We have goals that are set out in front of us, and it's important to recognize those achievements and to celebrate them so that we are all motivated to keep going. I think celebrating your achievements motivates you to achieve more.
• 17:36 - I would say to leaders to be open and honest, but also to be, have an open door for people to ask questions. So I think it's important that team members feel that they can initiate a conversation around what they're feeling and not just when a leader comes to them. And then for those who are not in leadership, I would say don't be afraid to ask questions. It's hard, as a leader, to always know exactly what everybody wants to hear and know. So I would encourage people to ask questions.
• 06:34 - So when it comes to combining two teams, is really, that's kind of what an acquisition or a merger is, right? You have, you know, a team here and a team there, and you're really wanting them to operate as one team. And so one of the things that I've seen is that you wanna look at what both areas are doing and take the best practices from each and that, you know, kind of creating a dynamic where you're doing, you know, really, really good things now because you've taken best practices from both sides. So, but change is hard, right? And it's, it's really hard for people to step away from things or habits that they've created over time. So really being sensitive and attentive to the change management dynamic of combining any two teams and communicating the why around any particular thing or idea is really, really important. Because people wanna see the benefit of a change. They don't wanna just change for the sake of changing that doesn't feel good, but understanding why that is, is very important. So I like to make sure that we communicate why we're doing things.
• 03:25 - I wanna know from that person what is the ultimate goal? What are you looking to do, how and how I can help achieve that. And then really kind of just laying out the options as I see them based on the policies of the company or the laws that are applicable and just kind of laying out like the if then scenarios, like, if you do this, then this may happen, and then have them make the decision
• 1:19 - So partnership is very important in an HR role because a lot of times the perception is that HR is there as kind of a policing agent, but really we wanna be a partner, we wanna be a thought partner on strategy. We want to be there not to create a hurdle, but to help you identify risk and then come alongside you to meet the goals that you've set for the organization. And when I say you, I mean our operational partners. We also, in my role, partner very closely with some of our other stakeholders in the organization, such as our security or asset protection department, because we are both responsible for ensuring the physical and emotional safety of our team members.