Companies, since 2001, are getting better at M&A, according to a report by Bain & Company. This is characterized by higher overall returns on acquisition and lower overall underperforming mergers. One thing that remains unchanged though, is the impact that poor communication and swift decision-making can have on talent loss in the post-merger integration phase. When companies wait too long to put new organizational structures and leadership in place or fail to quickly address corporate culture-related issues, talented executives leave for greener pastures.
Bain & Company suggests the establishment of a Decision Management Office that employs a decision drumbeat model to quickly focus senior management and integration taskforces on the critical decisions and information sharing necessary for a merger integration to succeed. Successful integration is complicated, often by the simple fact that there are no two deals that should be integrated in the same way. One thing that is common though, is that the integration process remains as confidential as the original deal that it was predicated on.
The Virtual Data Room used to securely manage the due diligence process across corporate firewalls, is a natural extension to manage strategic integration plans. Centralize the agreement documents and strategic transition documents in one place for 24/7 access. Granular permissions give organizations the same control to limit document viewing as they had in the diligence process. As new information is made available alerts are automatically sent out to responsible parties. Detailed reporting is available for the Decision Management Office to understand who is viewing which documents and for how long, to help keep the transition moving.
Virtual Data Rooms enable secure, effective communication and collaboration of confidential post-merger integration plans that improves talent retention associated with expediency.
And for more tips on steps to a successful merger and acquisition integration visit: Bain & Company
