Are you planning an acquisition – or are you in the middle of one? We help you to integrate the two organizations as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Why post-merger integration?
Whether all the goals set out in the merger are actually achieved is primarily determined after the deal. From a strategic and financial point of view, an acquisition or merger can look sensible. Whether the reality in the years following the merger also reflects the original business case on patient paper and screens is a completely different matter: the reasons for the failure of many integrations lie not in the business calculations, but in the challenge of integrating two social systems.
Each company has its own routines, preferences, languages, cultures and values. When two or more companies are to become one, it is not uncommon for worlds to collide. The integration of different entities requires experience and costs energy. And that “on top” of the day-to-day business. How can you still succeed in forming a new whole? And in such a way that no more value is lost along the way than was previously present in the separate organizations?
Why ForumFührung?
It’s a steep road from approach to full integration. Our transformation and integration experience helps you to make the process safer, reduce energy expenditure and shorten the integration period.
We support you before, during and after the transaction to ensure that the conditions for success are in place at an organizational and personnel level. You set the strategy and we make sure that the organization follows suit. So that the whole can become more than the sum of its parts.
This is how we deal with the main challenges in transformation processes:
- Many companies start thinking too late about what needs to be done “after” the merger – we are already on board beforehand and support our customers in doing today what they want to succeed in tomorrow.
- The effort involved in integration is underestimated. – Integration is always an addition to the ongoing business. Integrations require a great deal of energy – which at the same time is missing for the customer and opens up opportunities for the competition. We shorten the duration of the integration process so that employees can quickly focus on their core tasks again.
- The workload is concentrated on the top performers, who are often the people who find it easiest to find a new employer. From personnel planning and effective project management to clear orientation during integration, we ensure that the risks of migration are minimized as far as possible.
- Managers often have limited experience in integration processes. This also quickly leads to questions of orientation, uncertainty, poor communication and overload. We have the relevant experience and know what needs to be done when and where. We make managers fit for their tasks in this transition process and provide them with concrete support in their day-to-day management work (e.g. through “speech notes”/songbooks for the various communication situations, etc.).
- Depending on the area concerned, integrations create enormous uncertainties. This ranges from the question of what my role will be tomorrow, which team I will be working in, to fundamental existential fears. With clarity, speed and appropriate communication, we ensure that fear is kept to a minimum and that confidence can quickly take its place.
- In crisis situations, communication at the level of the entire company is an ongoing task. It depends on the frequency and quality of the message. We work closely with corporate communications and provide support in the critical phases of integration with our expertise in crisis communication.
- There is often a loss of identity, particularly for the unit that has been taken over, which manifests itself in migration, reduced motivation and resistance. We ensure that a new “we-feeling” is quickly established that is appropriate to the new situation, so that the company can quickly look ahead again with positive energy.