Bringing collaboration into M&A planning

The difficult part of an M&A is the integration and successful integration needs planning. Could collaboration become part of the planning process, in the same sense as we would be considering any other risk or mitigation for an effective integration? Similar to individuals’ behavior, for the collaboration between two organizations to nourish, it needs more than good intentions. It needs practice. And it needs real commitment from leadership and the will to exercise empathy and create a safe space, where people can be heard without judgement. Otherwise, even the most inspiring and well-thought Change Culture campaigns are doomed to fail, and unfortunately there are so many examples attesting to it.

A merger is foremost a learning and communication process

In a horizontal or vertical merger both sides have a lot to learn, so setting up a “collaborative space” can only expedite the learning process and foster knowledge sharing. Here are few ideas to consider before entering integration phase:

1. Listen
Organise functional meetings between the team members of both organisations, asking the acquired company’s employees (not their leadership team) to present their achievements, their concerns and how they have been doing things before the M&A.

2. Preserve Knowledge
Appoint two collaboration leaders, one from each organisation, as responsible for maintaining the “collaborative space” during the integration phase and to ensure that the knowledge shared during these meetings will be preserved.

3. Connect
Ask the new company’s HR to share examples that manifest their team culture and invite them to organise their traditional team celebration event for both companies’ employees to attend.

4. Engage
Engage their former leadership in the M&A integration planning process and ask them to provide feedback on policies, procedures, productivity plans. They certainly know better what worked with their employees and what to avoid.

5. Communicate
Ensure that all steps of the process are effectively communicated to both old and new employees, using We, instead of You and Us, in all communications.