Change

Change Managment . . . Acquisition, Integration and Motivation

"I currently work as an acquisition coordinator and feel that although my company has made many successful acquisitions, we are lacking in the transition/integration area . . . The senior executives have the end result in mind but lack a focus on how to get there . . ."

- Respondent to the 2006 "Current State of M&A Integration" Survey

SEC has been supporting companies and developing tools for integration issues within departments, between departments, between vendors and the company and between companies. It turns out that the tools created are especially useful for certain stages of the acquisition process noted below. Most importantly, the system and tools foster productivity and a focus on getting things done during a typically stressful period.

Better Interactions

Work happens "on the fly" and the less we are able to define and plan projects and initiatives well in advance, the more we have to rely on collaborative, corrdinated efforts to get the job done. These "tacit" interactions involving the exchange of information, the making of judgments and the need to draw on multifaceted forms of knowledge in exchanges with bosses, peers, coworkers, customers and suppliers are critical to any person's or project's success. Collaborative efforts tap the human creativity and intuition that is indispensible in dealing with variability and in adapting to changing circumstances.

When we observe people working, we find that they invent processes, work in them, change them when we need adjusting, and even replace them when they become obsolete. People do this with a structured, but implicit set of conversations, or language actions. Some people are unconsciously competent when having these conversations, while many others are less competent. By making these interaction processes explicit and by providing a framework for understanding the human element of coordination that underlies these interactions, we have been able to systematically reduce waste, decrease cycle time and increase both the internal worker's and paying customer's satisfaction.

The Four Levels of Integration Assessment

Small groups, teams, departments, and entire companies manifest habitual ways of integrating as they go about their daily work. There are four levels of integration we have identified that range from non-productive to highly productive. Using the High Performance Integration Assessment, we survey various work groups and departments to determine which level is given a unit of working on for the sake of reducing roadblocks to working together, while shifting to the next level of productivity. As work units move to higher levels of integration, cycle time is reduced, quality improves and most importantly, employee satisfaction and morale are greatly enhanced.

Our consultants temporarily join your acquisition team to support the integration and motivation processes. Typically we advise the executive team while working closely with the project manager.