Whilst a cause for celebration, signing the deal is more often than not the easy part. The hard part of signing a deal is integrating, taking control, realising value and navigating one of the most challenging change initiatives most companies will experience.

This article, Post-deal dilemmas, looks at ways organisations can unlock the value from a deal. There are not only hard and soft issues to contend with following the merger, there’s also the need to ensure focus remains on business as usual. It covers:

• steps organisations can take to increase the likelihood of integration success
• communicating clearly, with integrity and empathy to facilitate change – and importantly, make time to listen
• creating a governance strategy so roles are clear, results are tracked and business leaders are accountable for integration success
• considering cultural sensitivities to align the two merging organisations perspectives, processes, and ways of working.

An integration plan that is approached with absolute rigour – planning the detail, articulating what is going to happen and what it will mean – will significantly increase an organisations chances of integration success and realising deal value.