As the acquiring company, you will likely want to talk strategy or introduce your company. Any acquired employees will not be concerned with this on day one, the focus will go from “Do I have a job” to “Ok, I do, but how are my benefits or salary or bonus changing”. The focus will be on tactical items around comp and benefits. Have clear messaging on this so that you can move on to 1-1s and less tactical stuff.
Tailor the integration plan to the unique nature of the deal rather than simply adopting standard or existing processes.
Explore aspects of the acquired companies culture:
- How are/were decisions made?
- Do they have good management hygiene (One-on-Ones, Feedback, regular communication)
Set goals after close and a period has passed to evaluate integration opportunities. Update and re-visit goals as the integration progresses. As the acquirer you will gain more knowledge as the integration progresses and so the goals should be formed and turned accordingly1.