The success of any post-merger integration project is heavily reliant on your joint IT teams - but it’s not just their skills that are important, it’s also their attitude.

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, there are many people and multiple systems to take into
consideration, and there’s always a lot of pressure involved. After all, who wants to be the one to tell the board that there’s going to be a delay, and could they extend the project deadlines?

Here are a few key points to help you cultivate the right attitude across your post-merger integration teams

Don’t overburden your staff

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A common mistake made in post-merger integration projects is to overload already busy teams. It’s unreasonable to expect project managers to work long hours and not take any holiday for extended periods of time. This is a sure-fire way to lower morale and create unproductive negativity around the project.

To avoid overburdening your employees, you need to ensure you set realistic integration deadlines.
That means developing full design and implementation plans before you agree on an integration date.

Secondly, bring in temporary additional expert resources to help resolve major business and technical issues. IT project managers can become overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of the work involved. They’re the ones feeling anxious over potential delays or system failures, yet they may have never previously handled an M&A integration project

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Engage with your teams

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Reassure your teams by engaging with them right from the start and let them know what’s in it for them. Are you
expecting them to work long hours in stressful conditions when they’re concerned about the security of their jobs? That’s a recipe for disaster.

Your staff should be clear about what’s going to happen post-merger when teams from different companies begin to work together. Not only do they need to know that they’ll still have a job, but they should also be clear about what their future responsibilities will be.

Your IT teams know they face a significant period of change followed by a further transitional phase when they’ll be required to adopt new IT policies and procedures. For them to enter your post-merger integration plans in the right frame of mind, it’s vital to let them know where they stand and what support they’ll be given.

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Our approach to promoting the right mindset in team members begins with coaching. Spending time with staff and talking about project planning and tech design will help them to engage with the project from the start.

Next, make sure they know that this coaching is not just there for the initial phases. By putting post-implementation support and Day Two remediation in place, your teams will be more confident and assured as they progress through their M&A journey.

If you’d like to know how to prepare your teams for post-merger integration success, contact us for a friendly discussion regarding your particular business needs.

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