The Integration Manager

The integration of a newly-acquired company into the buyer is an extremely complex affair, and so requires the services of a single talented manager to achieve.  This integration manager only serves in the role until the main integration targets have been met, and then moves on to other projects.  The integration manager is responsible for the following tasks:

While the preceding bullet points appear to indicate a rigid job description, it usually begins as an extremely sketchy one and gradually fills out over time, as the integration manager learns more about the tasks to be completed and the types of problems to be overcome.  By keeping his job description relatively fluid, the integration manager can shift his efforts into a variety of areas, as needed.

The integration manager is always an employee of the buyer.  This is because he must have direct links to the more powerful people within the buyer’s organization who can support the integration effort.  In addition, he must have an in-depth knowledge of the buyer’s key processes, and who controls each one.  This allows him to directly access those individuals within the buyer’s organization who can most readily assist with and support him in achieving integration goals.  If he were to come from the acquiree, there would be no such support network, and he would also have no knowledge of the buyer’s organization.

Because the integration manager has such strong ties into the buyer organization, he can also assist acquiree employees in locating their counterparts.  He can also educate them about how a variety of buyer processes function, such as annual personnel reviews, pay change procedures, and the budgeting cycle.  Further, if reports are available that might be of assistance to the acquiree, he can arrange to have them fitted to the acquiree’s specific needs, and sent to them on a predefined distribution schedule.

The integration manager’s role between the organizations also works in the other direction.  He can educate the buyer’s management team about the acquiree’s culture and any idiosyncrasies that may impact relations between the two companies.  Also, whenever he feels there is a need for closer links between the entities, he can arrange for social events where he brings together specific groups of people.

Though this person comes from the buyer, he cannot have a “bull in a china shop” mentality and forcibly impose buyer practices on the acquiree.  Instead, he must have a singular ability to appreciate and work with the acquiree’s culture.  This requires extraordinary listening skills, as well as the ability to determine how integration goals can be achieved within the confines of cultural issues.

The integration manager is extremely independent, and must be able to operate with almost no supervision.  By working in this manner, he can make snap decisions on-site, without having to run them up through the buyer’s management structure for approval.

The integration manager should be appointed during the early stages of the due diligence process, as soon as it becomes reasonably likely that a purchase transaction will occur.  By doing so at any early stage, the integration manager can fashion an integration plan by modifying the buyer’s standard plan to allow for target-specific issues that are uncovered during the due diligence process.

A common problem that the integration manager is responsible for monitoring is the bureaucracy accumulation effect (BAE).  Normally, the procedures and related forms of the buyer will be imposed on the acquiree, which results in a large number of information requests arriving on the desks of the acquired employees, right in the middle of what may be a difficult integration process.  Though each request may not require much time, the sudden onslaught of requests from multiple buyer systems can appear overwhelming.  The result is usually a righteous sense of indignation by the acquiree’s employees that they are being nagged with insignificant trivia, while also being asked to achieve multiple difficult goals.  The integration manager cannot entirely eliminate BAE, but is in an ideal position to monitor the amount of information requests being made upon the acquiree staff, and can work with the originators to delay or entirely eliminate these irritants.

Finally, being an integration manager involves that person’s physical presence at the acquiree location.  The designated person cannot manage the integration process long-distance, from his office at corporate headquarters.  Given the extraordinary amount of time needed in face-to-face meetings with acquiree employees, the integration manager must spend nearly all of his time on-site.  This requires a commitment to live near the acquiree for the duration of the integration process.  Further, because some issues will require the participation of the buyer’s management team, he should be prepared to make numerous trips back to corporate headquarters to consult with senior management.

In brief, the integration manager occupies the central role in an acquisition.  The individual must have sufficient heft within the buyer’s organization (as defined by experience, skill, and leadership ability) to coordinate all aspects of the integration effort.  This is an extremely involving role, requiring more than a normal working day, dealing with a broad range of conflicts, and necessitating living away from home for long periods of time.  Consequently, a high-grade integration manager should be treated as a prized asset.