Merging companies is a complex process in which many factors need to be taken into account. One of the most important aspects is human resource management. However, HR issues are often not given sufficient consideration during purchase negotiations.
The experienced people & culture consultant Michaela Gottwald provides valuable insights into why human resources should be focussed on at an early stage and what challenges HR management faces in post-merger integration.
At the end of October 2021, Compleo Charging Solutions AG concluded an agreement with the energy group E.ON on the acquisition of innogy eMobility Solutions GmbH. This includes the takeover of the entire workforce and all customer relationships of ieMS as well as the subsidiary of ieMS in the United Kingdom. The consolidation as a wholly-owned subsidiary has been ongoing since 01.01.2022. Compleo is thus implementing the integration of ieMS and its software services for electromobility into the Compleo Group. Consultants from noventum consulting GmbH in Münster are supporting the process by managing and coordinating the IT & HR post-merger integration and developing a target operating model.
Pandemic and lockdown have presented many PMI projects with unexpected challenges. Communication structures had to be reorganized, the cooperation with some suppliers was put to the test and last but not least the collective exodus into the home offices turned out to be a paradigm shift for the project organization. The PMI consultants of noventum consulting have accompanied such a project in the early Corona period and have gained some surprising insights.
When two companies merge, two technical worlds usually become one. Higher efficiency, scaling effects and the basic idea of "one company - one system" are the guiding principles of any integration. Since a large-scale IT integration cannot wait for every side event, smaller special applications are often dragged along and end up in isolation. This pragmatism helps at first, but subsequently causes problems and leads to a dead end.
The merging of companies, the outsourcing of parts of a company or the transfer of individual core processes to a service provider - corporate IT is directly or indirectly involved in all these complex processes. Sometimes it is even the direct and exclusive scene of the action. As different as companies are, as varied are the necessary steps they have to take on their way to each other or away from each other.
The "FinSAP16" project team was able to proclaim the successful merger of two different SAP systems in early 2016, on-time, and flawlessly. Fiducia & GAD IT AG, the service provider for information technology within the cooperative finance group FinanzGruppe, is going to be working with an ERP system that – as "Best of Breed" – had already before the merger successfully replaced the SAP systems of Fiducia and GAD.
The integration phase subsequent to mergers is a huge challenge. Often, its success decides about the failure or success of a merger. For many years already, noventum consulting has been supporting the manifold planning and operational aspects of this critical project phase in the IT, financial, insurance, energy, and other sectors. Carsten Fröning, Director, consultant at noventum since 1997, and responsible for the topic „Post merger integration“, provides information about this important milestone in the PMI lifecycle of a company.
The integration phase subsequent to mergers or outsourcing deals is a huge challenge. Its success often decides about the failure or success of a merger. For many years already, noventum consulting has been supporting the manifold planning and operational aspects of this critical project phase from the IT perspective.
