Forming an in-house project team to focus on post-merger integration can be highly beneficial to the success of your project.

The question is, how do you go about choosing the best people for the team? At Beyond Migration, we take into account not only the people in IT departments but others within your organisation who may also have relevant skills and capabilities.

Of course, you must also take into consideration the time available to those individuals. Picking the best team is not an easy task. It takes skill to choose the right mix of people to form a group who can work effectively together to deliver results

The advantages of a dedicated team

Creating a dedicated team features in Deloitte’s Post-Merger Integration Survey & Report, which focuses on the post-merger integration phase of the merger and acquisition lifecycle, collating the views of 800+ executives.

Respondents considered the following to be key drivers for successful integration:

- Executive leadership support
- Involvement of management from both sides
- Development of a project plan that often included creating a dedicated integration team

An efficient team will be able to provide direction and purpose. There should also be an element of risk management to ensure everything is being done correctly. The team should be responsible for keeping the focus on the fundamental value of the merger and not allow individuals to become distracted by territorial disputes.

If there are any gaps in the experience and capabilities of your internal team, these should be filled by bringing in external support.

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Is there a customer advocate in the team?

Having one member of your team look at the project from a customer’s point of view will ensure you don’t forget about service while trying to keep up with the demands of internal stakeholders. The advocate can provide a balance between corporate requests and customer delivery.

In an acquisition situation, you can’t just assume that existing customers will come onboard too. Communication is fundamental to gaining their buy-in, and your project team should factor this into their action plans.

For more information on this, read our earlier post: Prioritise Your Customers in Your M&A Integration

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Delivering post-merger value

Essentially, your post-merger integration team should be structured so that it has a clear focus and accountability as well as a company-wide viewpoint. To gain overall value from your merger, you should avoid dividing up areas such as IT, accounts and marketing – instead take a comprehensive overview.

The team’s objectives should be to deliver on the planned outcomes of the deal, taking into account productivity, operations, customer service and beyond. Tangible results should be seen across the board; not just in one area.

Experience has shown us that poor teamwork is one of the main reasons PMI projects fail to deliver on their objectives. Therefore, it’s vital to take the time to carefully select your integration team and make sure they’re the right people for the job.

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Find out how to create the perfect PMI team for your organisation

If you’d like to discover how to create the perfect project team for your post-merger integration and gain maximum value from your IT infrastructure, contact us for a friendly discussion regarding your particular business needs on 0330 043 4532.