In this HR case study, an experienced HR leader shares how she navigated the “HR olympics” as part of a complex merger and acquisition that involved the integration of over 1000 employees into a single entity.

When the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) was tasked with taking back responsibility for the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program, it marked one of the most significant national workforce transitions in the Australian health sector in recent history.

The federal Department of Health had resolved to bring general practice training under the leadership of professional colleges, with the RACGP taking national carriage of the program from 1 February 2023. This meant merging the operations and workforces of nine separate Regional Training Organisations (RTOs) into a single, unified RACGP-led model.

My appointment as the RACGP HR Transition Director began in November 2021. The scope was huge, but my mission was clear: oversee the successful transition, employment, onboarding and integration of more than 1100 people from across Australia, working closely with the RACGP’s existing People and Culture team, and ensuring the College was equipped for national delivery of GP training from day one.

This change wasn’t just a corporate restructure; it was a health system reform. The federal government’s vision was to centralise training, reduce duplication and provide a consistent national experience for GP registrars and supervisors. For RACGP, it was about “bringing training home.”

The workforce that was being transitioned had deep roots in its local organisations – many had been employed for years by the now-sunset RTOs. The challenge was to respect and honour those histories while reorienting their futures.

Building the strategy: one workforce, one culture

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in any industry are complex. In HR, they’re people-centred at their core. 

The classic M&A playbook focuses heavily on stabilising the incoming workforce – retaining talent, clarifying roles, easing uncertainty and building engagement. But what’s often missed is the experience of the receiving organisation.

At RACGP, we built dual-path strategies: one for the integrating workforce and another for the existing RACGP team. We knew that welcoming nine new organisations would have a deep cultural and operational impact. We didn’t just need to stabilise the situation, we needed to integrate, align and inspire each of these disparate workforces.

Phase one: how we delivered this complex merger and acquisition

Over just 11 weeks, 1100 individuals were interviewed one-on-one to understand their role alignment, personal preferences, location requirements and organisational fit. 

This wasn’t just an HR exercise; it was a national integration effort that required precision, empathy and strategic rigour.

From building a custom recruitment and placement process to navigating cultural integration, stakeholder alignment and commercial wrap-downs, our team executed one of the most complex people transitions in the sector. 

Here’s how we did it:

• One-on-one touch points: Every individual received a one-on-one interview to understand role alignment, preferences, location needs (urban, rural, remote) and organisational fit.
• Recruitment and placement at scale: My team built a custom recruitment and selection process that matched people to like-for-like or new roles within the emerging RACGP structure. The team’s care, attention and commitment to placing each GP into their preferred role was a high priority. It wasn’t about filling roles quickly, it was about forming relationships, caretaking emotions and securing positions.Rather than looking at the number of roles filled in a day it was about how many people we had carefully secured and reassured.
• Cultural transition: We worked carefully to blend cultures – acknowledging loss, celebrating history and setting a shared vision. Cultural integration plans were central to onboarding, team formation and leadership alignment.
• Communication: A national communication plan was built and executed – email updates, Q&A forums, integration briefings and leadership packs. Every touchpoint mattered. We created messaging for both existing RACGP employees and incoming teams, recognising their different journeys.
• Commercial exit and workforce reallocation: Helping the nine RTOs commercially wrap down was also critical. Employees transitioned to new remote or temporary locations while physical sites closed. In some cases, people had to begin new RACGP roles while their old offices still existed.
• Stakeholder management: From federal government partners to local health networks and medical educators, the stakeholder map was vast. Trust had to be built quickly, and sustained, across medical, regulatory and operational spheres. This included ensuring frequent communication, active listening, leading with empathy and understanding the change process.
• Daily stand-ups and milestone reviews: We ran this like a project of national importance – because it was. Two daily ‘pit stops’ for the HR transition team helped us monitor progress and resolve roadblocks in real time. Every interview counted. Every person’s identity was shifting.

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Phase Two: stabilisation and integration

After the successful day one launch in February 2023, my focus shifted to workforce integration and stabilisation. 

From February through April 2023, we worked intensively to bed down processes, respond to feedback, refine systems and support leaders as they shaped their new teams.

During the integration phase of a merger involving multiple organisations coming together, it’s crucial for employees to feel seen, heard and valued amidst the change. 

A common misstep in M&A is assuming cultural alignment will happen naturally – it doesn’t. Early on, I prioritised creating structured yet safe spaces for people from each legacy business to share what mattered most to them – their stories, rituals and ways of working. 

By doing this, we acknowledged the pride in where people came from and avoided the perception of a takeover. We co-created a shared “cultural charter” that reflected the best of all teams, not just one dominant culture. 

Through town halls, pulse surveys and informal morning tea sessions, we created platforms where employees could voice concerns, suggest ideas and genuinely influence how the new business would take shape. 

Communicating often, even when there was little to report, built trust. People want to know where they stand, what’s coming and how they’ll be supported.

Equally important was supporting the receiving teams – those welcoming new colleagues – to understand their role in integration. We ran empathy workshops and briefed leaders to “host with heart,” reinforcing that culture-building is a two-way street. 

Breaking down the integration into phases – Connect, Align, Build – allowed us to stay focused. In the ‘Connect’ phase, we paired employees in buddy systems across businesses. In ‘Align,’ we mapped out common goals and team standards. In ‘Build,’ we celebrated quick wins and milestones together. 

“A common misstep in M&A is assuming cultural alignment will happen naturally – it doesn’t.”

Regular recognition, visible leadership and sharing stories of successful collaboration helped shift the narrative from fear to excitement. 

The biggest learning? Don’t wait for culture to settle – shape it, invite others into it and keep reinforcing what’s working. Integration isn’t just about systems and structures; it’s about helping people feel proud to belong to something new, together.

Reflections: From HR executive to enterprise leader

This role stretched every HR muscle I had – and built new ones. I moved beyond traditional HR delivery into executive-level project leadership.

I learned how to operate in high-stakes ambiguity; make rapid, high-quality decisions; pivot between strategic plans A, B, and C; lead people through uncertainty with empathy and courage (a critical skill for leaders in our current work environment); and communicate relentlessly and transparently.

Importantly, I looked after the people who delivered it all – my transition team. Some conducted up to 12 interviews per day, mapped feedback overnight and worked over the  weekends to hit key milestones.

Running a large team working at pace is like managing a Formula 1 pit crew – every role matters, every second counts and precision only works when people are aligned, trusted and clear on their function. 

We introduced daily pit stops, which are short, focused stand-ups where the team came together for 10–15 minutes each morning to align on priorities, blockers and support needs. 

These weren’t just task check-ins, but moments to tune the engine of the team – checking energy levels, pressure points, and where backup was needed. Clear lanes of ownership, a shared dashboard of real-time metrics and rapid communication loops kept us nimble. 

Collective performance was driven by shared rituals: wins were celebrated, feedback was quick and honest, and each team member knew their role was essential to the lap time, not just the finish line.

At the same time, we deliberately balanced pace with personalised care. Each team member had access to monthly 1:1s that weren’t just performance-based, but focused on wellbeing, motivation and development. These check-ins were sacred, protected in the calendar and guided by three key questions: How are you really? What’s keeping you engaged? What’s something I can remove from your way? 

We kept a pulse on burnout risks through weekly mood boards and voluntary wellbeing check-ins. Moments of pause – like Friday wind-downs or shout-outs – created breathing space and reinforced that speed didn’t mean sacrifice. 

In this model, drive came from feeling seen, supported and part of something high-performing yet human. The key was creating a rhythm where pressure was purposeful, not punishing – and performance and wellbeing could fuel each other.

This wasn’t just the ‘Olympics of HR’ because of its scale; it was because of the precision, endurance and heart it required. I’m proud to say that we didn’t just transition a workforce, we helped reimagine how GP training could be delivered across Australia.

This project didn’t just shape RACGP’s future. It shaped mine. So if you ever get the opportunity to join a complex, business-critical  project with many different moving parts, I say jump into it with enthusiasm and a learning mindset. The learnings will stay with you for a lifetime.

D’Neale Prosser is an executive HR, People & Culture leader with a strong track record in driving enterprise transformation, leading corporate services and managing complex M&A initiatives. Her leadership experience spans retail, manufacturing, construction and the broader commercial sector – intentionally shaped to deliver impact in complex, fast-paced environments.