Mergers and acquisitions are an excellent opportunity to improve your processes and streamline your operations. However, if you aren’t careful, confusion can consume both organizations. Process optimization during M&As is critical as it will determine the future of both organizations. How can you ensure that your M&As actually result in improvements for everyone? Here are some of the steps we take at Project Genetics to get the best results possible.

4 Keys to Process Optimization After Mergers and Acquisitions

1. Quantify and Contrast

Before you can even think about optimizing processes, you have to first understand how both organizations handle a given task. If both organizations involved have a similar process, you should quantify each step taken and map out the path each process takes through each organization. You may find that one is more efficient than the other, or you could discover an ideal middle ground that gets the best of both strategies.

However, you might be acquiring a company specifically because they can do something you cannot. In those cases, you should still break down the process to its key components. Perhaps there is something your existing infrastructure can do to improve it. You cannot transform what you do not understand, so process analysis is always an important first step.

2. Cull Unnecessary Redundancies

Optimization means you need to eliminate any unnecessary steps. In most M&A scenarios, there will be redundancies that can be removed. This could mean letting go of positions that no longer serve a clear purpose. You may need to reallocate human resources to other areas where they can be more useful. However, you need to be careful to avoid removing critical knowledge from your newly expanded organization.

Oftentimes the larger of the two companies will keep most of its personnel while shedding a significant number from the acquired organization. This may make sense if you intend to rely more on your organization’s processes. However, if you see value in the other company’s approaches, make sure you keep people who know that process inside and out. They will be valuable as you look to optimize later.

3. Implement Better Technological Solutions

M&As are the perfect moment to sit down and evaluate better solutions for your problems. Could your processes be improved by better tracking with data analytics? Has your merger necessitated cloud storage as a means to ensure smooth operation over long distances? Would a change in collaboration software help your new team integrate and speed up processes? Again, it’s important to take stock of what both organizations use and identify weaknesses that could be bolstered by a change in tools.

4. Unify Team Members

When two organizations merge, each knows something that the other doesn’t. In order to truly optimize your processes, the people on both sides need to come together and work in unison. Try to integrate new team members and encourage them to share knowledge with one another to reach that middle ground faster.

Projects depend on processes. Mastery of each small step in a larger process will lead to success for your grandest projects. If you need project delivery solutions and a more comprehensive understanding of your processes, contact Project Genetics to schedule a meeting. We’ll help your organization emerge stronger from M&As and prepare you for much greater success going forward.