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It鈥檚 widely understood that about (Actually, the divorce rate has fallen in recent years.) What鈥檚 less well-known is that, as with marriage, a roughly similar proportion of corporate mergers and acquisitions鈥斺�攁lso fail to fulfill the hopes of those who enter them.

What鈥檚 the reason for the iffy prospects for M&A success? In a nutshell: It鈥檚 placing your trust in hope instead of doing your homework.

In my experience, few companies do mergers and acquisitions well. Too many lack a proactive workforce integration plan. Once they come to an agreement they tromp on the throttle and race ahead.

A far better approach is doing the homework before plunging in. Preparation allows a company to begin with a CEO message (written or recorded) and an all-hands with the new group: This is our vision, this is who we are. Here鈥檚 why we bought you and want you to join in our mission.

Transition tools

Then deploy other transition tools.

Here鈥檚 one: Create a guidebook of the acquiring company鈥檚 values and culture鈥攅.g., how we navigate through everyday life, how we expect work to be done, how we interact with colleagues and clients. What do we encourage and celebrate?

Here鈥檚 another: a cross-functional integration team that works with the company being acquired so its people can learn how the acquiring organization does its work, who does what, who鈥檚 in charge of what, and where we go from here. The team comprises people from different departments in both organizations who don鈥檛 normally work together every day. On this team, they collaborate to smooth integration by familiarizing the new people with the acquiring company鈥檚 culture and way of operating. They also promote teamwork.

One more helpful tool: Regular meetings with key people鈥攖he heads of HR, of strategy and of each major department. This helps employees know what to expect.

And these last five tools:

• Statements of company mission and strategy.
• A 鈥渨hat it鈥檚 like to work here鈥� video.
• A training program that helps people understand how to lead in the new organization, and how to incorporate desired behaviors into everyday work.
• Quarterly integration days鈥攑articularly helpful for people working remotely.
• Walking the talk鈥攖he best tool of all because it demonstrates that we actually do live by our stated values.

The purpose of all this is to actively integrate new team members into the organization鈥攔ather than just hoping they鈥檒l somehow, as if by osmosis, become integrated.

Experience has taught me a few more things about approaching the integration of two previously separate workforces鈥攂eyond, that is, the value of solid planning and preparation.

Vetting

First, when bringing aboard a new group of people, it鈥檚 critical to vet them individually. That鈥檚 not just to determine who鈥檚 appropriate for a given job, but even more critically to see who鈥檚 appropriate for a healthy, high-performance culture.

We’re not just laying bricks. We’re building something we believe in. We’re building a cathedral. The ability to do the job and move the organization鈥檚 mission forward is key. Assessments can be a useful tool in this.

If the acquired company is one in which a toxic, destructive, aggressive-defensive culture prevailed鈥攚here it was 鈥渕y way or the highway鈥� and employees had to avoid, conform and always seek permission鈥攙etting can determine if acquired employees are ready to participate in a highly functioning, constructive team dynamic or if they鈥檇 rather keep operating as before.

Acquiring companies should seek not the 鈥渒now it alls鈥� but the 鈥渓earn it alls鈥濃�攑eople with a beginner-like open mind.

I鈥檝e found that while companies want to acquire a whole team, they sometimes end up keeping only a few people and letting go of those whom they later determine don’t fit.

Sometimes an acquisition leads to a situation where intellectual property being sought resides in the heads of employees who don鈥檛 fit the new culture. Then, rather than keeping them for the long term, arrange to purchase their knowledge, paying them an incentive to get colleagues up to speed and saying goodbye with a nice bonus once the knowledge is transferred.

Keeping basic human needs in mind

If you don’t understand the basic human needs鈥攃ertainty, challenge, connection and significance鈥攐f the employees you鈥檙e bringing on board, you won’t be too effective at keeping the talent you鈥檝e just invested in through the acquisition.

• Everyone needs some amount of certainty鈥攅.g., 鈥淚鈥檒l be paid on Friday.鈥�
• People need varying degrees of challenge鈥攆eeling stretched. They burn out when doing the same task again and again.
• They need connection, at least some of it face to face. The lack of human connection during COVID raised levels of depression, anxiety, alcoholism and domestic violence.
• Finally, people need significance. They need to know they鈥檙e part of something bigger than themselves, that they鈥檙e building a cathedral, not just laying bricks.

There, in a nutshell, are some basics to keep in mind when contemplating a merger or acquisition. The bottom line comes down to this: 鈥淗ope,鈥� as in hoping that success will follow plunging ahead, is a four-letter word. 鈥淧repare鈥� and 鈥渧et鈥� are not.

is the founder and CEO of , a collaborative group of management consulting professionals committed to transforming organizations into high-performance workplaces through customized educational and coaching programs.

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