Post-merger integration or PMI is the process of combining and rearranging businesses to materialize potential efficiencies and synergies that usually motivate mergers and acquisitions.
Even though culture clash between companies can cause integration problems, only 4% of the executives in a survey by Pritchett, LP reported that their organizations include culture-specific questions in their due diligence checklists.
GE Capital conducts a cultural assessment of prospective candidates against metrics such as trust in existing managers, language barriers, and operating processes to then facilitate a culture work out session between both sides.
[6] Achieving successes early in an integration can help build confidence in a deal and quiet skeptics.
[7] Common problems that may be encountered during post merger integrations include resistance to change, divided loyalties, issues with employee trust in leaders, blurred roles and responsibilities, unclear reporting relationships, communication tangles, job insecurity, unusual employee turnover, and infighting.