Planning a Smooth Post-Acquisition Transition

The ink on the acquisition deal has just dried. It should be clear sailing from here on out, right? It can be, provided there’s a good plan for onboarding the acquired firm’s team members and processes.

In this blog - based on our recent podcast with Emily Blue, founder at M&A advisory firm, Hue Partners - we’ll look at ways to integrate the companies’ people, cultures, and processes to set the merged firm up for success.

→ Watch Now: Onboarding After Acquisitions
with Hue Partners

⚡At a Glance: Post-Acquisition Transition

---

• • Use a stairstep approach to onboarding rather than trying to make every change at once.
• • Avoid common integration misconceptions: onboarding does not follow a fixed timeline, and it is not solely HR’s responsibility. Every department plays a role in helping teams adapt.
• •
  Define and reinforce shared core values to create a consistent macro culture across the combined organization, while allowing room for local or team-specific micro-cultures.
• •
  Prioritize client communication early and often. Clients need reassurance, clear guidance, and personalized support as systems, contacts, and processes change.
  
  

Stairstep Model for Onboarding

Blue noted that some companies struggle with onboarding because they try to do too much all at once. That approach can cause chaos and frustration.

Instead, Blue recommends a stairstep approach. Start out on Day One addressing what’s needed at that point, and don’t try to manage every change immediately. Next, focus on getting through Week One by answering client questions and taking care of their concerns. Blue points out that the best company integration processes take more than a week, a month, or even 90 days. “It’s a much more gradual process with multiple connection points built into that process.”

Misconceptions Around Company Integration

Blue points out two major misconceptions that can make an onboarding process more challenging:

Expecting Integration to Proceed on a Fixed Timetable

Onboarding doesn’t have a distinct start and end; it’s a continuous process. Integration should be an ongoing process of building relationships across the new partnership and learning together. As Blue states, that continual learning process, “doesn’t really have an end.”

Believing that Integration is Just HR’s Job 

Blending two companies involves more than just getting everyone on the same benefits plan. It’s a firm-wide initiative; every department should be rolling up their sleeves to make sure team members from the partner firm get up to speed and have the support they require. Even staff from the buyer’s firm may have to make adjustments if the company opts to use technology or processes from the purchased company.

Defining Company Culture

For a newly expanded firm to succeed, everyone needs to be working from the same playbook – a set of core values that drive decision-making and set the tone for how the team works together. Having core values means having a shared vocabulary and a management framework that aligns across all different offices. Firms often establish core values around how to treat clients, the importance of clear communications, and the firm’s place in the wider community. 

While the macro culture of the whole firm should be cohesive, Blue notes there can be room for what she calls “micro-cultures” within branch offices or among remote employees. A micro-culture can reflect how a subset of the company handles issues that only apply to that group. There can be variations across micro-cultures, but the macro culture – driven by core values of the whole organization – must be consistent.

Best Practices in Client Communications

When a company is sold, its clients understandably have questions about who they’ll interact with and how their accounts will be handled. They need to know how to access their information in the new company’s systems. Being proactive with communications can help calm nervous clients and set the stage for smooth interactions going forward.

It may be tempting to put off contacting clients until every detail of the transition is settled, but Blue advises against that. She points out that clients expect their contacts to overcommunicate during the transition period. They expect personalized assistance with new apps and websites. They want help accessing the new client portal. They want access to the reports they’re accustomed to seeing. It’s fine not to have every answer immediately, but it’s vital to let clients know their questions have been heard and to research answers as quickly as possible.

Making Transitions Work

Blending two companies can result in strong growth, taking advantage of synergies between the two original firms and building on new skills and expertise among the team members.

To make the transition move smoothly, take a stairstep approach that involves the whole company and clearly define the new company’s core values. Finally, make client communications a priority, and err on the side of too much information rather than too little.