Finding the right Integration Balance
Closing the deal is a milestone in any merger, but success is defined in the quality of the subsequent integration. The realisation of the added-value inherent in the deal is dependent on the constructive and active cooperation of the staff in this phase.
Achieving integration goals is a challenge that is complicated by a variety of merger-specific factors. Managers and staff need to actively manage the integration project for which they are often ill-prepared at the same time as they ensure that the day-to-day business carries on.
This requires a specific merger competence that in turn requires a competent and professional management of complexity in intransparent situations through a clearly structured project management approach that combines change management with a professional management of the organisation’s structure.
We support companies in a professional merger consultancy with in-house seminars to help achieve their merger targets despite the inherent turbulence and at the same time develop their merger-management competence as a skill.
Planning with the “Integration Diamond”
Using our integration diamond, we help our clients to develop their specific and individual integration strategies.
The integrated use of all six integration fields helps to develop a complete integration strategy that is capable of being implemented through the corresponding project management structures and change architecture.
This development of a practical strategy represents the high art of managing permanent ambivalences and contradictions inherent in such a process. Typical examples here include:
- The desire to achieve a quick integration in order to be able to concentrate on the say-to-day business again contradicts the need for a thorough, step-by-step and time-consuming integration process.
- The need to provide quick answers both within the organisation as well as externally can lead to statements that are not sustainable and need to be revised.
- The desire to leave things as they are in order for each side to get to know the other better sits uneasily with legal and statutory requirements.
- The diversity and independence of many operational areas and their desire for unity and standards contradicts the idea of cultural diversity.
- The achievement of savings and synergies promised during the deal stage contradicts the need to get to know things better and to concentrate on innovation and customer needs.
- The challenge of developing a reliable complete planning concept contrasts with the fact that much information is only available after the deal has been done.
The early concentration on the specific integration challenges and their strategic resolution through realistic and practical activities form the heart of our post-merger integration consultancy.
PMI excellence – an overview
frankfurter gruppe uses an integrated PMI-methodology and supports your integration project hands-on throughout the entire duration incl. review and lessons learned.
Blue print
- An individually designed and adapted blueprint allsows for steering and controlling across the project scope and – equally – it deeply structures and guides the vertical wokstreams
Project organization and controlling
- Setup of a stable and lean project organization that enhances a meaningful dialogue between the various actors and roles within and aside the project as well as a effectful and precise tracking and controlling.
Change Architektur
Cultural Integration
- Our extensive experience over 10-20 years of partner-level consulting in integration- and change-projects gives us ürofessionalism and confidence in approaching issues in the context of cultural integration with adequate and well-considered formats.
Leadership
- Leadership needs specific support before and during the integration: We prepare, coach, qualify and support leaders to be guides and points of orientiation for staff in times of change and complexity.
Learning organization
Success factors
Framework conditions as specified in business case, value drivers and synergy expectations
Our services in merger integration projects
Central functions for PMI planning, steering and controlling
- Project Management and Co-Lead to internal PM
- Project Management Office
- Project Integration Communications
Focussed and specialized PMI-services
… during the pre-merger and transaction phase
- Cultural Due Diligence Design & analysis in buyer- and target company
- Design of integration strategy based on given business case, type of acquisition and value drivers
- Identification,analysis and measures for integration risk management
- Integration methodology and play-book
- Setup and building of project team
- Transfer from transaxtion to integration-team
- Detailed integration planning
- HR readiness: Retention and staffing
- Worksstream readiness support for HR, legal, finance, IT etc
- Day 1-30 readiness
- Communication Signing-to-Closing
- Communication to markets, customer, suppplier
… during integration (post-Closing)
- Realization of Day 1/Week 1
- Ramp-up and support of workstreams and proejct team
- Getting-to-know oldCo and newCo
- HR staffing schemes
- Strategy processes in central busiess functions: slaes, marketing, SCM, R&D, manufacturing etc.
- Workshop-cascades for team building and development
- Risk management and project controlling
- Design and formats for cultural integration
- Conflict management
- Change leadership training & coaching
- HR competence models and integrated leadership development schemes
Seleceted references
- Merger Integration of two financial institutes (“mergers of equals”)
- PMI Consulting for global automotive supplier: Integration of a UK-based company
- Special chemistry company: Consulting during a global transaction and integration process
Learn more on merger integration!
Further Links
- Top seminar: Merger Integration Management
- New publication: Post Merger Management