Engineering Inc - May/June 2017 - 57

ADVERTORIAL

A&E Mergers
Best Practices: Driving Joint Success

ere you are: the documents have all been signed, and
ownership has officially shifted. The challenge of joint
success just got real.

Once ownership shifts following an acquisition, the mission should
become this: success of the joint entity. Regardless of how smooth
or rocky the negotiation, due diligence, and closure process was, it is
incumbent on both firms to quickly stabilize, and start to grow in the
"new normal" of joint operations.
But, how? After years of experience helping architecture and
engineering firms around the world streamline operations, I have
identified four steps that are critical to driving joint success postmerger. Let's walk through each.

PLAN: WHAT IS THE GAME PLAN?
Following a merger, it might seem easiest to dive right in to a straight
data conversion project to get your firms to one business system. But
with this approach, one of the two entities will likely end up suffering
major gaps in understanding, and possibly even capabilities.
Planning a program to address overall success vs. just systems
consolidation makes all the difference. It is better to first focus on
a plan for the alignment of the corporate structure, processes, and
people. Then, let the system integration tasks follow that lead.

COMMUNICATE: TALK TO ME.
Every good integration plan must also contain a solid communication
plan. Your people must be on board for the organization to
reach its full joint potential. Ensure there is clear ownership of the
communication plan for each company. Plans should address:
* What will happen when
* Participation of each entity and key roles
* Internal marketing for a positive change

by Eddie Shasek

4. Identify how the systems integration project needs to enable
the intended new process in the near and long-term
To build an integration plan that joins not only systems, but also
process, the fulcrum should be a business process catalog. This can
be leveraged when identifying the general approach to each process
area for each entity that will be integrated. Focus on elements of the
process that are most likely to be disconnected. You must define:
* What roles are involved and the level of
detail that is managed at each level?
* Is the process manual/paper based vs. automated
workflow, or even an email based process?
* Who has what access to data and decision-making
authority to execute the process efficiently?
* Is there a material difference in volume or other factor in one
entity driving the process differences that cannot be adjusted?

REFINE: YOU ARE NEVER REALLY DONE.
After go-live on your joint system with commingled data, the focus
should shift to finding the inevitable data issues in the details of
individual projects, billings, or other records. Plan to have some
project core team members transition into a temporary support group
accessible to the new users.
Resist the urge to add more functionality and customizations or to
kick off a Phase Two of implementation for at least a few months.
This allows for operational stabilization.
Be sure to reserve some ad hoc time from your software vendor's
consulting or technical staff to be available on-call or even on-site to
address any technical business interruptions quickly. Leverage the
experience of your vendor at this time, who should be your partner
during this process.

Remember: this is about getting the word out with no surprises. Be
sure to leverage many forms of communication beyond email to align
with what is typical and effective in your firm.

Understand your cost of down time and recovery plan should larger
issues surface in the weeks following your go-live date. And finally,
continue to ensure daily tasks are done prior to starting a second
phase of implementation.

EXECUTE: WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO HERE?

In taking these steps, you can help better ensure joint success post
M&A activity.

As previously mentioned, your systems consolidation process should
follow the lead of a process integration (or at least follow a detailed
analysis of overlaps and gaps in how the separate entities were run).
In this process analysis, be sure to:
1. Identify overlaps and gaps early
2. Identify adjustments by role and process
3. Clearly define what the recommended process is going forward

Eddie Shasek is a Project Director at
BST Global, the leading global provider of
enterprise business management software and
service solutions for engineering, architectural,
and environmental consultancies. For more
information, visit bstglobal.com.

http://www.bstglobal.com http://www.bstglobal.com

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