M&A Integration - win people's hearts and minds

M&A integration is as successful as you are able to inspire your wider integration team to become the ambassadors of a future change and in an ideal case majority of employees believe that the forthcoming period is the rewarding opportunity how to grow not only as a company but equally also as a professional & person. Successful M&A deals are these where transparency, clear tailor-made plan, open communication towards employees and speed in the implementation are very high on the leader's agenda.

Each potential M&A deal preparation is a rather complicated and demanding process, which usually takes months. As soon as it becomes evident that the acquisition is most likely to happen, the next step of preparing the integration playbook has to begin. This document will guide the whole integration team and various sub-streams on a journey to achieve the integration goals and deliver the expected value/synergies to the shareholders.

According to many studies, the deal success depends mainly on how much attention is paid to different corporate cultures and transparent communication around expected benefits of the entire transaction.  Any major change is associated with uncertainty and therefore it is essential to avoid any major damage to the business of both companies.

The fundamental asset for the execution of the integration are people who believe in what they do and especially know why they do it.

I believe that based on my many years of experience with post-M&A integrations, the following basic principles should be applied.

• The most important rule - never disturb both integrated businesses

• Start integration planning well in advance prior to a deal announcement

• Have vision & strategy - people must understand what is driving the value behind the transaction, what is expected from them and how the implementation of the vision will take place

• Appoint the right team - carefully handpick the true leaders of the integration team

• People's availability is not a skill set  - pick the best-qualified people to lead the integration and blend them with a reasonable number of externals to get the best of both worlds. Put in place a sensible mix of in-house resources and external consultants. Not a single extreme will ever work properly, whether it is a complete in-house integration team or great dependence on external consultants. I would complement the missing in-house skills with external knowledge. And also take the integration as an opportunity to up-skill your own organization for future M&As

• Have a proper integration governance model in place - without this framework, there is no point talking about a successful integration

• Commit to one culture - it is necessary to keep in mind that you create one strong organization without compromising in terms of authority, corporate values and culture. Resolve the power and people issues as a priority

• M&A is inherently social interaction - successful companies have to bridge the social and cultural differences between parties

• Communication is crucial - the period of integration is stressful for all employees across the company and each of them basically asks the same type of questions. What does this M&A transaction mean for me/my team personally & professionally? What does my boss expect from me and how can I contribute to the success of the company? But to be fair, in case of M&As, there will be always both pleasant and less pleasant answers. But there is a continuous need for transparency, openness and respect. People really appreciate it even in case of uneasy discussions which have an immediate impact on them

• It always helps to build a little extra time into the processes and be very cautious about businesses with poor data & systems

• Do not major in the minors - 20% of what could be done provides 80% of the benefits. Focus on high-value activities with significant benefits and avoid the greatest risks

Simply saying. Communicate, treat people with respect, ensure business continuity and immediately take the control of the acquired business, assign ownership and start realizing the value of a deal according to the agreed integration playbook.