Caution: merge ahead.
M&A Integration
Few moments in a company’s journey are as unsettling as a merger or acquisition. Whether your organization is joining forces with another or it’s getting acquired outright, it’s a big deal. Employees’ jobs will be affected. Processes will be disrupted. Anxiety will be at an all-time high.
Fortunately, you don’t have to manage the integration alone. Since our very first engagement in 2001, ROI has supported M&A integrations for a large variety of clients. So whether you’re still in the announcement phase, getting ready for post-day one or anywhere in between, our team of consultants can seamlessly onboard with you and your team and get straight to work.
Need help with M&A integration planning?
Our M&A integration experts can help your two orgs become one
So your company is in the midst of completing an M&A deal? Great. Now comes the hard part: bringing your two orgs together. Here are some of the M&A services we can help with.
Planning
- Communication strategies
- Integration roadmaps
- Governance documentation
- Communication calendars
- Employee onboarding
- PMO coordination
Writing & Messaging
- Messaging guides
- Executive messaging
- Executive & manager toolkits
- Ad hoc writing & editing support
HR Support
- Employee onboarding
- Benefits communications
- Compensation communications
- Total Rewards communications
- Monitoring employee questions
Design & Branding
- Brand identity
- Guidelines
- Videos
- Templates
- Toolkits
Events*
- Day one celebration
- Company town halls
- Department/functional meetings
* in person or virtual
Measurement
- Surveys & pulse checks
- Stakeholder analysis
- Executive dashboards
Real Estate
- Company site consolidation support
- Building move support
- Digital signage
- Employee rebadging support
Digital Platforms
- Microsite development
- Intranet support
- Ecosystem integration
Dedicated Support
If you’re in need of extra support, our experienced M&A consultants can jump in and get to work on either a part-time or full-time basis.
Need help with your M&A communications?
We can support you through every phase of your M&A
M&A integrations have different phases, each one requiring its own set of communication challenges and opportunities. No matter what phase your organization is in, we can assist you, helping ensure your employees avoid many of the anxious bumps along the way and navigating them to the exciting days ahead.
Six strategies for a successful M&A integration
Building trust through communication
Trust doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. It takes patience. The key is to communicate regularly and openly — about big plans, new decisions and changes in policy and procedure. It’s all about including people in the process and treating them fairly. The more they know, the less anxiety they’ll feel.
Making the case to employees
Most M&As start with a small team for confidentiality purposes. That means the rest of your org needs time to understand their place in the big picture and to see the value your new organization brings. Creating a story that explains your M&A’s “why” will go a long way toward helping employees from both companies get onboard.
Answering employee questions promptly
Employees will have lots of questions about their new organization and how any changes from the M&A will affect them personally. It’s important to be as transparent as possible. The more you answer and the more thorough your answers, the less concerns people will have. A centralized resource for responding to employee questions will be key.
Measuring employee sentiment
Measuring employee sentiments, through surveys and pulse checks — particularly during the early days of post-day one integration — will help ensure there’s no disconnect between what leaders think and what employees actually feel.
Forging a new company culture
To quote ROI vice president and culture expert Roger D’Aprix, culture is defined as “the way we do things around here.” An M&A provides the opportunity to take the best from both organizations to create a new culture. Bringing people together and identifying the things that are important will form the basis of your new culture going forward.
Helping employees navigate through change
M&As are a time of great change, whether that means moving to a new city, learning a different IT system or supporting an entirely new product or team. The more resources you can provide employees in the form of product roadmaps, meet-and-greets, buddy programs and the like, the quicker they’ll adjust to their surroundings — and embrace the change.
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