From merger to momentum: Building shared culture after integration

WS Audiology’s CHRO shares how psychological safety, grassroots involvement, and leadership vulnerability shaped a unified post-merger identity

From merger to momentum: Building shared culture after integration

When Widex and Sivantos merged in 2019 to form WS Audiology, the task was clear: build a single organization from two global competitors.

The merger wasn’t just about combining operations. It was about reconciling distinct histories, processes, and people into a shared future.

Rather than impose a blueprint, the leadership team chose to involve the organization deeply in shaping its own cultural direction.

Nicolai Raymund Jensen, Chief Human Resources Officer, says that shift didn’t happen quickly, but it did happen meaningfully. “We talked a lot about ‘them’ and ‘us’ in the beginning,” he says. “Then we started to talk about ‘we’.”

Today, WSA stands as a multinational company with global recognition for its people practices. But for Jensen, its culture was not crafted in a conference room. It was built in workshops, team calls, hallway conversations, and in the trust created during moments of pressure.

Early efforts focused on building trust

Jensen remembers that the integration effort focused early on not on defining values, but on how people engaged. “You don’t change culture overnight,” he says.

“We waited a little bit before building the values. We focused on getting people to talk to each other.”

That early work paid off. WSA formed a network of 200 cultural ambassadors who led workshops across global markets. “We ran two-day training courses. We asked 1,000 people what values they believed should define us,” Jensen shares. “We went from 50 ideas to 20, then to 10, and now we have three.”

The company’s approach to culture wasn’t symbolic: it was tactile. “The behavior started to change,” he says. “We didn’t just talk about culture. People started to feel it. That’s when you know something is working.”

Psychological safety was deliberately built in

A foundational shift came from psychological safety, not as a theory, but as a lived principle.

“We interviewed each other in the leadership team. We invited feedback. We told the organization: speak up, or it won’t improve,” Jensen says. “We said, shoot at these ideas so we can get them right.”

During the pandemic, those principles were tested and upheld. “My CEO called every one of us, every day, and asked, ‘How are you? If you’re not okay, tell me,’” he recalls.

“It helped create that space for openness.”

That same mindset shaped how leadership showed up on the ground. “Every time we visited a site, we had half a day set aside for ‘fireplace talks,’ or conversations with employees and managers. It wasn’t scripted. It became a rhythm.”

Leaders were expected to model transparency

To Jensen, cultural credibility starts with consistency and transparency.

“We had ask-anything town halls. We answered questions live. And we didn’t hide from the hard ones,” he says.

That approach extended to HR transformation. “We asked 100 managers: what doesn’t make sense in these processes anymore? We invited them into the redesign,” he shares.

“That’s how you build ownership before you even launch anything.”

As with any merger, not all leaders aligned. “Some left because they didn’t see themselves in the new setup. That’s part of it. But we told people… If you want to stay, we will find a space for you,” he says. “The goal was not to push anyone out… It was to build something together.”

Values became visible in daily leadership

The values that emerged from the workshops weren’t placed on a wall and forgotten. They were embedded into how leaders acted. “I probably repeated our core messages a thousand times,” Jensen says.

“But it can’t feel like a script. You have to live it.”

That came into sharper focus during COVID. “We launched our value foundation just as the pandemic began. It wasn’t just a document… It showed in how we supported each other.”

He emphasises that values must be tested to be real. “You only believe in a value when it holds up under pressure. Otherwise, it’s just words,” he says.

Consistency and clarity built lasting credibility

WSA has earned Top Employer recognition in multiple countries, something Jensen credits not to elaborate programs, but to everyday reliability.

“At first, I didn’t think we were ready to apply. But then we realized… We weren’t bad at HR. We just hadn’t been telling the story clearly.”

The team spent time aligning its HR work with broader business strategies. “If you have solid HR processes, leaders show up better,” he explains. “Bias drops in hiring. Feedback becomes behavior-based. That makes a real difference.”

Part of their approach involved looping managers into system updates. “We did the stakeholder work before launch. The people we asked became sponsors. That’s why it worked.”

Graduate programs brought fresh perspective in

Jensen lights up when discussing WSA’s graduate and student worker programs.

“We started locally a few years ago,” he says. “These aren’t just interns. They’re bringing new energy, tech fluency, and fresh perspective.”

The idea, he explains, is to embed them into teams early. “They get to know the business. They build networks. And when you hire them full-time, they’re already connected.”

He adds that graduates often become advocates for the company’s values. “They’ve grown into cultural ambassadors. They’re not just employees… They’re shaping how we think.”

Culture change takes patience and humility

After leading HR through six years of culture-building, Jensen says the most important lesson is patience. “Culture isn’t a sprint. And you can’t force it,” he says. “You can architect some of it, but then you have to let people interpret it. That’s how you get real ownership.”

He believes ambiguity has a place. “If everything is overdefined, you leave no room for creativity. We didn’t focus on all the obstacles… We focused on the energy of the people who wanted to make it work.”

That outlook continues to influence how WSA evolves. “We’re now looking at the next version of our values and behaviors,” Jensen says. “We’ve achieved a lot. But the work isn’t finished. It never really is.”

People must feel values to live them

Asked what more leaders need to understand about culture-building, Jensen doesn’t hesitate.

“If people don’t feel it, they won’t live it. That’s the difference,” he says. “You can’t fake authenticity.”

He reflects on what helped WSA turn a high-stakes merger into a sustainable culture. “We didn’t greenwash diversity. We believed in it. And we saw it make our teams stronger.”

What also made a difference, he says, was choosing leaders who were willing to be vulnerable.

“It’s not always easy. But if you’re willing to listen, reflect, and let others lead with you… That’s when culture starts to move.”