Synergy Best Practices

  • Assign accountable owners and then hold them to a plan and do the proper follow-up. Otherwise, initiatives will be de-prioritized.
  • Make sure that planned deal benefits that require further analysis by assigned accountable owners are reviewed and revisited.
  • Follow up on agreements on planned measurement approaches and their timing.
  • Ensure initiatives are supported and linked to integration related projects.
  • Motivate via existing employee performance assessment and incentives within the organization when possible. This includes putting special incentives in place when required.
  • Avoid over-measuring or losing focus on key operational metrics.
  • Benefits/Costs-to-Achieve may need to shift between functional owners.
  • Changes in the market, business, etc. may require a reevaluation of the benefits and costs.
  • IMO will need to manage cross-functionally to ensure costs are not simply shifted to other parts of the business.

IMOs Role in Synergy Realization

IMO office supports synergy tracking:

  • Providing processes and tools for achieving planned acquisition benefits
  • Identifying participants in the process and their roles and responsibilities
  • Identifying and capturing “quick win” synergy opportunities

Work with the business division and acquired company’s management leads to evolve concepts into actionable plans including an:

  • Approach
  • Schedule
  • Accountable owner
  • Defined and scheduled benefit measurement approaches

M&A Synergies

  1. Assign synergies to accountable owners and then hold them to a plan 
  2. Follow up on agreements on planned measurement approaches and their timing 
  3. Ensure initiatives are supported and linked to integration related projects 
  4. Manage cross-functionally to ensure costs are not simply shifted to other parts of the business
  5. Work with the business division and acquired company’s management leads to evolve concepts into actionable plans including an approach, schedule, accountable owner, defined  and scheduled benefit measurement approaches
  6. Engage the owner (the person or function responsible for the synergy) in definition of approach, schedule, benefit measurement methodology, investments required, and other tracking priorities
  7. Assign accountable owners and then hold them to a plan and do the proper follow-up. Otherwise, initiatives will be deprioritized
  8. Make sure that planned deal benefits that require further analysis by assigned accountable owners are reviewed and revisited
  9. Follow up on agreements on planned measurement approaches and their timing
  10. Ensure initiatives are supported and linked to integration related projects
  11. Motivate via existing employee performance assessment and incentives within the organization when possible (this includes putting special incentives in place when required)
  12. Avoid over-measuring or losing focus on key operational metrics
  13. Reevaluate benefits and costs due to changes in the market, business, etc. 
  14. Manage cross-functionally to ensure costs are not simply shifted to other parts of the business ...

Related Presentations