De terughoudendheid om de vrijages tussen bedrijven te vroeg openbaar te maken, soms versterkt door beursgenoteerdheid, maakt dat het bericht dat bedrijven besluiten samen te gaan, altijd een soort van "out of the blue" komt. Deze week nog: Telefoongids en Gouden Gids. En Randstad en Vedior, bij wie de mededeling overigens werd ingeleid door zo'n opvallende run op de aandelen, dat de beurswaakhond én de pers wakker werd.
Als zo'n bericht je als medewerker bereikt -doorgaans als eerste via de pers- dan gebeuren er automatisch twee dingen: je Pavlovt in vragen over de consequenties er van op je eigen continuïteit en het vooruitzicht dat de "nieuwe baas" er mogelijk nieuwe ideeën op nahoudt, verlamt je productiviteit.
Daarnaast moet er bij het fuseren met een voormalige concurrent een knop om in je hoofd. Je moet gaan houden van iemand waarvoor je tot op dat moment iedere denkbare traproede hebt losgelegd. En voor commerciële afdelingen geldt voorts, dat de fusie doorgaans onmiddellijk tot excuus wordt gebombardeerd waarom targets niet worden gehaald. Het vervangt met grote graagte "argumenten" als 9-11, de open brug of het rode stoplicht die daar doorgaans voor worden misbruikt.
Klanten hebben zo hun eigen reacties. Als zij gebruik maken van beide fusiepartners -zoals bij voornoemde bedrijven nog als eens gebeurt- dan verdwijnt met de versmelting ondermeer hun onderhandelingsoverwicht, om bij beiden de beste prijs te realiseren.
Fusiecommunicatie is dus van evident belang om de "schade" op deze fronten zo veel mogelijk te beperken. Zeker tegenwoordig, waarin er zoveel belangen, regels en NMa voorwaarden moeten worden bevredigd dat fusieprocessen steeds langer duren. Daarbij is het dilemma, dat er sprake is van tegengestelde belangen. Het "strategische belang" van de fusiepartners, met in de longtail aandeelhouders, beursanalisten, pers e.d. waarin men niet te vroeg met de billen bloot wil (of zelfs mag) en het operationele belang, waarin de bovengenoemde schade tot een minimum beperkt dient te worden.
In praktische zin is het dus altijd schipperen geblazen. En dat "fact of life" zul je simpelweg moeten aanvaarden. Maar uiteindelijk geldt de wet: People, not money, make the wheels turn. Hieronder treft u de 7 sleutels tot succesvolle fusiecommunicatie, genoteerd door Bill Fitzgerald, voormalig HR baas van America Online en thans partner in het toonaangevende adviesbureau Organizational Transitions.
A recent study by the human resource consulting firm Watson Wyatt found that 75 percent of mergers are disappointing or outright failures. Additionally, productivity drops 50 percent in the first four to eight months after the merger. It is no wonder a pending acquisition creates anxiety and pessimism.
My business partner and I were once executives at America Online, where we led integration efforts for a number of key acquisitions, and we believe there are "seven key levers" that need to be pulled simultaneously to realize the investment in an acquisition.
• Leadership. Leadership during an acquisition has two very important components.
The first deals with setting direction. This includes a motivating vision for the future, a clear mission with key strategies, and attainable goals for the next three to six months. Leadership also needs to be focused full-time on the integration and not distracted with other responsibilities. Having a strong executive as "integration leader" is critical.
In addition, leadership has the responsibility for building the new organization. This includes the identification of other strong leaders who can lead integration teams and discover synergies. The real value of an acquisition is mined by these teams. All of this requires a well-thought-out and well-executed plan.
• Teams. Integration teams are the vehicle for discovering the synergies of the merged companies. These teams focus on strategy, process and people. They ultimately determine how work gets done once the integration is completed.
The teams also facilitate relationship-building so employees from the acquired company get to meet and work with employees from the other company. This creates a bridge back to the "mother ship" and a way to access resources, tools and insider information people in the acquired company need as they learn new ways of working.
• Culture. The clashing of company cultures often is cited as a major reason integrations fail. However, too much focus on culture can act as a distraction and significantly slow integration.
There are two aspects of culture that are really significant: How work gets done and what matters to customers. It is important to understand how the two companies differ on these dimensions and what requires attention.
Trying to change culture for the sake of change is bad business. Dealing with matters of culture in the context of getting work done and satisfying customers results in meaningful change that is easier to accept.
• Speed. It is important to maintain a constant sense of urgency.
Decisions during integration will never be perfect and you will make mistakes, but the key is to keep moving the ball forward with the belief that mid-course corrections can be made. CompuServe was our first major acquisition and our ability to move quickly enabled us to launch a new mission before the naysayers had time to build support.
Spelling out what will change and what will remain the same as quickly as possible also is very important. Ambiguity can seriously damage the integration if it lingers.
• Retention. Retention of key talent and those employees who "own the code" is of utmost importance. Locking them up early in the process and making them disciples of the deal is critical.
The rest of the employees need clear answers about immediate assignments, the importance of their contribution, what they will be paid and whom they report to.
The other key to retention is experiencing success -- quickly. Success gets attention, and it generates excitement and optimism.
• Communication. Any voids in communication from the leadership will usually result in paranoid thoughts and negative predictions. Ongoing communication prevents distractions and keeps people focused on doing their jobs.
Communication also can create buy-in. Being attentive to what is said, who says it and how often helps facilitate integration. The key is knowing what the consumer needs to hear. In a number of acquisitions we set up mechanisms where employees could raise questions and get answers.
• Results. A common variable in our most successful acquisitions was a focus on post-close outcomes that were well understood and motivating. Meaningful results with clear benefits for the consumer and the enterprise become the context for all decision making.
Getting people engaged on meaningful projects early in the deal process contributes to a smooth integration. In one acquisition we had everyone's attention on meeting a tight schedule and introducing a new product, and this provided the focus we needed to overcome any bumps during the integration process.
Integrating acquisitions is such a challenging task because the seven levers have to be juggled simultaneously, but when done successfully, the results can be very rewarding.
Bill Fitzgerald, formerly a vice president of human resources for America Online, is a managing partner in the Northern Virginia consulting firm Organizational Transitions, which works with acquiring companies. E-mail:Wfitzer@aol. com Phone: 703/729-6110
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