An integrated company requires an efficient decision-making system to manage decisions, coordinate work streams, and establish the pace. This should be supervised by a highly skilled professional with strong leadership capabilities and process–perhaps a rising star in the new organization, or a former leader from one of the acquired companies. The person chosen to fill this position must be able to commit 90% of their time to this job.
Lack of communication and coordination hinders integration and hinder the combined entity from achieving quicker financial results. Financial markets are expecting the first signs of value capture, and employees could see the delay in integration as a sign of instability.
In the meantime the core business has to remain the main focus. A variety of acquisitions can result in revenue synergies that require coordination between business units. For instance, a customer product company that was confined to a certain distribution channel might merge with or acquire one that operates on different channels, and gain access to previously untapped customer segments.
Another risk is that a merger might consume too much of the attention and energy of a company which can distract managers from their business. The business suffers as result. A merger or acquisition could not address the cultural issues that are critical to employee engagement. This can cause problems with retention of talent as well as the loss of customers who are important to you.
To reduce the risk to avoid these risks, clearly define the non-financial and financial results that are expected from the deal, and when. To ensure that the integration taskforces can move forward and achieve their objectives on time it is crucial to assign these goals to each.