how to keep business momentum going during M&A
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Momentum is net present value of forecasted hope of stakeholders about M&A success with discounting rate of opportunity cost. reduce the integration time, increase the realistic hope and make interesting the future opportunity of stakeholders in comparison of other option accessible to them (reduce opportunity cost).
Move fast
Often during periods of great change, such as a merger or acquisition, businesses can stall as they work through the details and re-strategise. This often involves a drawn out integration process with teams of consultants advising on integration strategy and refreshing corporate goals.
Prioritise IT
According to a recent survey by Deloitte, fewer than 30 per cent of companies actively involve IT in pre-close planning during M&A activity. However, to help ensure the expected benefits of any deal are met, it’s crucial that consideration is given to how IT integration aligns with business activities during the M&A process.
Share the vision
Mergers and acquisitions can leave staff unsettled and unclear on the next steps: where next from here Where do I fit in the big picture It’s therefore critical to unite employees and bring them along on the journey.
Ideally, being able to have a few resources that are SMEs on the acquired side works best, because it allows the other employees to continue their focus on their day to day duties. Of course, most of the time, the reality is that the acquired staff has to perform both functions. When this is the case, you have to be very thoughtful in how you obtain the information you need to ensure you are doing so with the least impact to BAU.
Keeping the employees engaged in their work, and communicating as much as possible to them that their job is safe and their increased performance will help drive the company forward. There is also some things you can put in the terms sheet, like the seller can not do things which inhibit momentum, such as make large investments, fire key employees, etc…
If resources permits, we typically carve out teams to focus on the M&A work and bring contract staff on board to lighten the load of existing employees, especially routine work
I believe that the designation of a cross-functional integration team really helps to focus on the merger’s operational aspects, allowing core teams to remain focused on business-as-usual activities. Nevertheless, I believe it’s important for the acquirer to take into the valuation model a revenue dip in the first 3-6 months post-merger.
Make sure that you have the right team – SME’s – and the right amount of time from those SME’s. Focus is essential ad making it fast is key to not loose momentum.
I think the key is to ensure a swift process and clear post-merger plan.
A prolonged M&A process creates an atmosphere of uncertainty among employees at the target company. From management to rank-and-file employees, people are unsure if they will be retained post-merger. News of the deal may also leak into the market, adding anxiety to customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, especially if there is any major sales or procurement negotiations happening concurrently.
A clear post-merger plan, including HR and IT integration and communications to business partners, help to minimize disruption and sends confidence to employees and stakeholders.
Keep an active open communication channels between the teams, and update regularly the people in the organization on the process status.
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To maintain business momentum during an M&A:
Keep employees focused on customers, quality, and delivery.
Communicate regularly and clearly.
Retain key employees.
Clarify roles and decision-making authority.
Use a dedicated team to manage integration activities.
Avoid making too many changes at once.
Monitor sales, performance, customer retention, and turnover.
Recognize early successes and support employees through the change.The goal is to integrate the companies without disrupting daily operations.
Lots of good points already shared. I agree that it is critical to avoid the ‘side of desk’ work unless you want to disrupt the business during the integration. Having dedicated resources with the right knowledge and skillsets not only can speed up your integration execution, but can also ensure that the integration work doesn’t detrimentally impact the business and your customers.
I think the key is to protect the core business while integration happens in parallel. In my experience, clear priorities, quick decisions, and regular communication help employees stay focused on clients and ongoing projects. Integration activities should support the business rather than consume so much attention that day-to-day performance suffers.
I agree with many of the points raised, but maintaining momentum is not only about moving quickly. Integration priorities should be organized around the products, services and customer journeys that generate the most value. The employees, processes and systems supporting them should be identified early. Where possible, dedicated integration resources or temporary backfills should be used to avoid overloading employees who are critical to daily operations.
From a governance standpoint, the IMO and Steering Committee should review integration milestones and synergies together with business objectives such as revenue, customer retention, service levels, operational incidents and employee capacity. Workstream leaders need clear decision rights and escalation thresholds. Synergy targets should not automatically take priority when they create a material risk to customers or ongoing operations.
A single dashboard covering both integration and BAU performance makes these trade-offs visible. If milestones are being completed while revenue, service or customer confidence is declining, the organization is not maintaining momentum. The SteerCo must then be prepared to resequence activities, adjust targets or add resources. The objective is to deliver the expected deal value without weakening the underlying business.
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