Given the certainties and uncertainties that the Fortis staff currently faces, you are asked to develop a specific action plan. This plan should, taken into account the context and given the number of staff, tailor the organization's staffing to the future staffing needs in a creative manner. Indicate the main points of your plan and take into account both those employees who will probably stay and those who may leave.

When these arrangements are violated, extra compensation on top of the legal severance pay must be given. Furthermore due to the long history of mergers and acquisitions, the Fortis employees are used to costly departure plans. During the merger between ASLK and Generale Bank we lost a lot of key employees that way, resulting in serious consequences for business continuity. Consequences we now want to absolutely avoid. Furthermore such costly measures are ruled out by the current climate. There are also other uncertainties that remain even after the deal with BNP Paribas. An industrial plan still needs to be drawn up and the vague promises need to be conrmed. Thus there is always the risk of strengthening the attitude of 'why should I dedicate myself to this project when everything could change next month?' Such an attitude doesn't only damage business continuity but can also be demotivating and can lead to the loss of key people. Assignment B Given the certainties and uncertainties that the Fortis staff currently faces, you are asked to develop a specic action plan. This plan should, taken into account the context and given the number of staff, tailor the organization's stafng to the future stafng needs in a creative manner. Indicate the main points of your plan and take into account both those employees who will probably stay and those who may leave. The following week, on December 17", the whole Fortis saga took an unexpected turn. On this day it became clear that one of the judges who ruled on December 12 had possibly violated her professional duty of secrecy. The following alleged violation of the separation of powers through the alleged influencing of the court led to the fall of the government Leterme on December 19th. Leterme was replaced by Herman Van Rompuy who, on December 30", took the oath as Prime Minister of the new government. This new government came, together with the Fortis Holding and BNP Paribas, to a renegotiated and improved deal, namely that the holding maintains 90% of the Belgian insurance activities and is entitled to the added value that the Belgian government may get on their BNP Paribas shares. However, the shareholders weren't very enthusiastic about this renewed deal which resulted in a 'no' vote on the shareholders meeting of February 11 . This, in turn, resulted in prolonged uncertainty. This 'no' vote led, yet again, to a new agreement that was reached on March 6" and was approved today: BNP Paribas will acquire 75% of Fortis Bank Belgium and, in turn, Fortis Bank will acquire 25% of Fortis Insurance Belgium, the Belgian state will acquire 11.6% of the shares of BNP Paribas With the approval of this deal we are finally released from the stranglehold of long legal uncertainty. After months of debates and negotiations we finally have some new prospects for the future, a future as BNP Paribas Fortis. For various reasons the employees of Fortis have always regarded BNP Paribas as a safe haven. First of all BNP Paribas is known as a very stable French group, established in May 2000 through a merger between the 'Banque National de Paris' (BNP) and Paribas. Immediately, BNP Paribas became one of the largest banks in Europe with a presence in over 80 countries, including Belgium, and a workforce of almost 170 000 people, 65% who were from outside the country of origin. The bank is not only active in the retail sector but is also one of the main European financing and investment banks and a major player in asset management & specialized financial services. Furthermore, the Belgian market isn't unknown territory for BNP Paribas: in the mid 90s the two banks that created BNP Paribas were active in Belgium and BNP Paribas itself concentrated on financial services for companies, financial institutions and private persons in our country. Today the group belongs to the small circle of banks that has largely remained intact throughout the credit crisis because of their rigorous risk management and their limited number of toxic loans. Their situation didn't remain unnoted and a lot of largeTuesday, April 28 2009 After a morning in which I, and all Fortis staff with me, eagerly awaited the verdict of the shareholders' meeting of Fortis holding the following liberating news was heard: "At the general shareholders meeting in Ghent, the Fortis shareholders voted 'yes' to the acquisition of Fortis by the French group BNP Paribas. The transaction was approved with 72.99 % of the votes. In total 650 million shares, representing 26% of the capital, were present at the meeting in Ghent. Eventually 454 million shares voted in favor of the renewed agreement with BNP Paribas.' Finally! After months of bickering, legal proceedings, doubt and uncertainty a decision has become final. On October 6" last year no one could have predicted that it would be such a difficult journey. At that time it was obvious to everyone that we would take our chances with BNP Paribas. The Belgian government, which had just become owner of Fortis Bank, had sold 75% of the bank and 100% of the insurance activities to this French leader in Banking & Financial Services. The shareholders of Fortis holding, however, felt betrayed by this deal and when the share price continued to fall, even below 1 E, they took action. United and represented by the Brussels law firm Modrikamen, and the minority interest group defender Deminor, they went to court. Both insisted that the sale be put forward for approval at a general shareholders meeting. However, on the 18th of November, 2008 the court ruled that the decision to sell was valid and that the shareholders did not have to be consulted beforehand. The shareholders couldn't reconcile themselves to this ruling and took the case to the Court of Appeals. On December 12th, 2008 this Court of Appeals revoked the earlier ruling and agreed with Modrikamen and Deminor: the deal of October had to be presented to and approved by the shareholders in a special shareholders meeting. To facilitate this ruling, the sale to BNP Paribas was suspended for 65 days and a panel of experts was appointed. 5own manager. We also put together various useful tools, presentations and documents in an \"HR Roadbook\" that was made available on the intranet for them. In addition to these measures we put a lot of emphasis on providing a continuous ow of two-way communication. 0n the one hand, we immediately created a central mailbox where employees could post their questions and comments about the events, their job security, shares, pensions, bonuses etc. This mailbox was checked every day to answer as many questions as possible and to reduce uncertainty. We also made full use of the intranet to give daily updates of the situation. On the other hand, next to this written communication, we also focused on oral communication. Because of the intense media attention and constant inow of external (mis)information we recommended organizing regular meetings, both to inform people and to improve visibility and credibility. Seen that many managers were promoted to this function because of their business expertise they needed support in the communication process. We offered this support through the HR-advisors who gave feedback to the managers, motivated them to go into the field and who supported their communication process. So doing we, again with varying success, emphasized the importance of real talk : people didn't need sugar-coating, they needed correct information. We as the general HR community also took on our responsibility in this communication. Since the beginning of the crisis we scheduled weekly information sessions for the HR community with the latest developments and HR business as usual on the agenda. Although the main focus of these initiatives was situated in Belgium, there were also worldwide initiatives. For instance the Pulse Survey that is used by HR to regularly measure the general sentiment by means of a short questionnaire. This very simple tool gave us an insight in the mindset of the employees worldwide. Next to this every country took its own measures to guide the employees through the transitions. In the UK, for instance, a number of seminars were arranged for the employees in response to the uncertain markets and to the acquisition. In Turkey, a Q&A mailbox has been set up and they organized several meetings. In France a dedicated psychological support cell was implemented. Monday, October 6'" 2008 till Tuesday, April 28'\" 2009 That famous \"black Monday" and the associated dismantling of Fortis caused a lot of emotions. Managers and employees at all levels were in shock. They felt powerless, worried and angry. During our meeting on the f5:Th of October the other members of the HR crisis team and I decided on some clear measures to take in order to deal with this situation. To facilitate this immediate action plan we set aside all normal decision making procedures. As a rst type of action, we enlisted an external consultant specialized in dealing with emotions during times of change. He helped to make the situation more understandable. This was done by means of working groups of senior management, middle management and the HR advisors that started on the 8th of October. These groups were given knowledge and the skills needed to respond appropriately to the difcult situations that arise in times of change. Specifically for (senior) managers, the workshop 'Leading in Times of Uncertainty' created awareness of all the components of the situation by focusing on change as an emotional process. People were helped to cope with their own emotions as well as the emotions of their team members. Finally they received the clear message that although they could count on the executive board they also had to take control and responsibility for themselves. So people were encouraged to prepare a plan B. Concretely this meant: updating their CV, checking out vacancies, thinking about new challenges, learning to position themselves on the job market, etc. These workshops were attended by 1500 (senior) managers but reached even more people worldwide through the session's video. Given this immense success we used more consultants to reach all employees in the organization. Based on the original workshop, those consultants worked out and implemented the 'Navigating the Change (with People)' program in which people managers could express their feelings and get some tips on how to support colleagues in difcult times. The program was made up of several workshops. Through these workshops 1500 people managers increased their awareness of the emotional impact the changes at Fortis Bank had on individuals and on teams, they also explored new perspectives for coping with the reality and prepared for the business challenges ahead. corporate clients and governments found their way to BNP Paribas which improved their position even more. They closed off last year with a prot of 3 billion 62 and as one of the seven most protable banks in the world. With the acquisition of Fortis, the position of BNP Paribas is strengthened even further. It is now the largest nancial institution in Europe as far as the number of deposits is concerned and as such the group has an unprecedented stability and accessibility to liquidity. The global activities and the fact that they can rely on strong home markets in four countries: France, Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg, means that BNPP is a safe haven that can weather the current nancial crisis. Another important reassuring factor for many employees is their long history of successful mergers and acquisitions, including between BNP and Faribas, the Italian bank BNL, where respect for the diversity of cultures, respect for the commitment of social engagements and cooperation has always been put rst. BNPP has a reputation that should not be underestimated and this ensures that the (vague) promises, made in the run-up to the acquisition are likely to be implemented. These promises imply, amongst others, that a Belgian will become the chairman of the Fortis Bank, that a few competence centers will move to Belgium and that the deposits will be used to stimulate the Belgian economy. However although the facts are encouraging, we as HR professionals have to be aware of and anticipate the dangers that lurk for Fortis Bank Belgium. An estimation within the bank indicates that the takeover could result in substantial downsizing. BNP Paribas does not have a network of offices, so none or only a few jobs on the commercial level are threatened. However, within the merchant bank there is a great overlap with BNP Paribas, so jobs are in danger. The trading room for instance employs 340 traders, while BNP Paribas already has large trading floors in Paris and London. Next to this, there is also an oversizing of central support functions after the break up. These services exist on a scale of a much larger group. It is therefore important to anticipate this and to take the necessary measures. However, this is complicated by several factors. In 2005, Fortis signed a collective labor agreement to provide a general guarantee of no redundancies applying to all Forts employees, with the exception of the management. This guarantee of non dismissal means that employment may not be terminated for economic, technological and/or organizational reasons in times of mergers or acquisitions. A second action was to review our training offer. As a result, from mid-October on we offered alternative courses closely linked to the events in order to better equip people to cope with these changes. The trainings were all based on the same themes but were adapted for the different target groups and to their reality: 'Coping with Major Change' has helped people at Global Markets express their emotions and avoid burnout when faced with an unclear future, 'Resilience in Crisis Times' was set up to help Private Bankers in their contacts with dissatised customers and to restore self-condence after emotional events, IT and Group Services launched the 'Listening to Teams' program in November. Thirdly, and reecting upon these collective initiatives, we tried to anticipate the limits of these measures. Some people needed more individualized assistance because the situation had personal consequences for them. We tried to meet this need by setting up a hotline where employees could contact external psychologists. We also strengthened our already existing medical and social service, to help people cope with their individual problems. As many as 1000 employees of Fortis Bank made use of these different modes of psychological help. A fourth type of action concerns measures specically tailored for management. We wanted management to be aware of their role as people manager in these difficult times and to support them in that. This was done in order to reach the maximum number of staff as fast as possible. More specically, we developed three tools that managers can use to manage their people's emotions and to get deeper insight in their mindset. There is the \"Team Compass" that gives, through an anonymous questionnaire, both team managers and their team the chance to get more insight in the way the team experiences the changing environment. We also developed the \"Navigator Toolkit" that gives the manager practical tips and tricks on how he or she can recognize and deal with different emotions. Finally there is the \"Retention Toolkit" that clearly explains what retention is and claries what drivers could be for employees to continue working for the company. Although we focused on the target group 'managers', a fth type of measures were taken to support the HR advisors. These, mostly young, HR-professionals went into the field to help staff cope with their emotions and to assist the managers in their people management duties. We organized two half-day workshops with special training in career counseling and emotion management for the HR advisors. We then provided them with an external consultant who they could contact in addition to their