A fully integrated company needs a solid decision-making structure in order to triage decisions, coordinate work streams, and establish the pace. This should be managed by a highly experienced individual who has a solid leadership background and processes. Perhaps an emerging star within the new company or a former leader of one of the acquired companies. Ideally, the person selected for this job should be able to dedicate 90 percent of their time to this job.
Lack of coordination and communication can slow down integration and stop the combined entity from achieving accelerated financial results. Markets expect early, significant signs of value capture. Employees might consider a delay to be an indication that the business is in trouble.
In the meantime, the core business must be kept in the forefront. A variety of acquisitions can result in revenue synergies that require coordination among business units. For instance, a consumer products company that was limited to certain distribution channels might join or acquire companies that use different channels, and gain access to untapped customer segments.
Another issue is that a merger might absorb too much of a company’s energy and attention which can distract managers from their business. The business is harmed. Additionally, a merger acquisition may not address cultural issues – an important factor in employee engagement. This could lead to problems with talent retention and the loss of customers who are important to you.
To avoid these risks you must clearly identify the financial and non-financial results that are expected and when they will occur. To ensure that the integration taskforces are able to move forward and achieve their goals within the timeframe, it is important to assign these objectives to each of them.