Taylor Clarke Blog

Post Acquisition Management and Acquisition - by Alistair Brown, Principal Consultant

July 12th, 2007

I recently attended a very useful seminar looking at the pitfalls and success drivers underpinning effective post acquisition integration, as part of our research for a new acquisition related change product we have been working on.

Having personally led a couple of acquisition integrations during my own managerial career, I can tell you it was quite a cathartic experience with many flashbacks…..leading me to reflect on the fact I was attending the programme 8 years too late!

While a lot of the principles and approaches chimed well with our own views and beliefs on managing change in general, there were some very useful insights and pointers that will help us when working with our clients dealing with the people aspects of making acquisitions work.

I was particularly struck by the emphasis on –

- Research suggesting many organisations failure to anticipate and factor in the people and cultural issues early, particularly as part of the pre acquisition due diligence phase.

- The impact that people issues have on failure to deliver on the anticipated synergies built into the premiums paid for an acquisition.

- Retention issues, particularly with middle and aspiring middle management grades, only emerging some 12-18 months after integration once people have “had a look” at the reality of the new regime. Don’t celebrate success too early, transition takes time!

- Identifying your “individual” top talent early at all levels and understanding and addressing the impact of the changes on the people key to your success.

- Taking the time to re-evaluate change readiness/impact once the dust settles within the integrated workforce and investing in preparing key people to lead change with a strong focus on involvement and engagement rather than compliance. This attitude of “slowing down to move faster” in terms of releasing benefits is particularly challenging for senior leaders charged with releasing often over estimated synergies handed down from on high, often from recently departed advisors!

- The use of key measures and reward schemes as a key communication tool to emphasise what’s important and what can wait, rather than overloading the new organisation with unrealistic demands for change when people are adjusting to new relationships and ways of working.

- Respecting cultural differences more when communicating change, keeping cultural alignment assessments simple and regular and asking yourself how important it is for cultures to align in some instances, particularly in the short term.

- Celebrating the past successes of both companies before laying out the vision for the new company

- Recognising that uncertainty is worse than bad news and that sharing failures/bad news builds trust in leadership.

- The need for interim transition leadership and management structures to balance peoples focus the internal/external worlds and the task/people issues

In summary, a very useful day even if some of the delivery was a little didactic in style (Note to self…….) and one which will certainly help to enrich our future client work.

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