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Integrating the New Organization

Managing the Post-Merger Integration Process

Successfully integrating two or more organizations after a merger requires many things, but above all, it requires strong effective leadership, a plan, and a commitment to ongoing evaluation and adaptation. Leadership comes from the board and from within the staff, but it also must come from the Executive Director. This is the person to whom all others will look, and who must make sure that both the integration process and the programmatic work of the organization continue to move forward in tandem.

An integration plan is also essential. Nonprofit leaders with experience in integrating two or more organizations are more likely to cite the need for a plan than almost any other factor for success in integration. In a series of interviews we conducted with nonprofit leaders who had been through a merger, those who had a plan said it was a key factor for success. Those who didn’t have one were likely to identify a formal plan as something they wish they had developed, and would recommend doing so to others.

Lastly, an organization and its leadership must be proactive in evaluating progress throughout the integration process. It must regularly revisit its desired outcomes and outcome targets, and measure progress against them. A thoughtful leader will be responsive to such ongoing evaluation, and adapt both the integration plan and the organization’s trajectory accordingly.

Using an Integration Team

While in many small organizations the Executive Director takes the lead in creating and overseeing the implementation of an integration plan post-merger, this is often not the best model. The Executive Director has many other responsibilities — not least of which is setting the tone, both internally and externally, for the entire integration process — and often cannot afford the time and attention to detail required to manage the integration process on his or her own. Instead, we recommend that the Executive Director serve as the overall leader of the integration process, but delegate the primary responsibility for the process to an Integration Team. The Integration Team, reporting to the Executive Director, is then responsible for:

• Leading the development of an integration plan for all aspects of the new organization, and setting overall objectives, policies, and a budget for integration;
• Establishing planning, coordination, tracking, and reporting mechanisms for the process of organization-wide integration;
• Acting as focal point for all decision-making and dispute resolution related to the integration process;
• Functioning as the “hub” for communication around the successes, challenges, and status of the integration process to staff, board, volunteers, and other key internal and external stakeholders; and
• Maintaining the “meta-view” of the integration process, and keeping others focused on the big picture: mission, vision, and desired outcomes.

Who should be on the Integration Team?

Ideally, individuals on the Integration Team should possess the following attributes:

• The ability to lead the organization in balancing integration activities with everyday business needs in order to keep productivity up.
• The ability to focus on, and get others focused on, the big picture — and those big-picture objectives that are most critical in the first year.
• Skill at achieving real progress while forging good relationships. You cannot afford to sacrifice good relationships for progress.

Beyond this, it is wise to include one or two board members (if more than one, consider including one from each of the pre-merger organizations) and several senior managers on the Integration Team. Remember, this is the group that will be overseeing the entire integration process. It is important that they are “in touch” with all of the various departments and key constituencies within the organization. They must not only communicate to these groups, but also hear from them, and be alert for signs of unease or discord throughout the organization.

The Integration Team does not work alone, either in creating the plan or in implementing it. Instead, it draws upon and works with staff — and even volunteers — throughout the organization. The Integration Team is the “home” for the plan, and has ultimate responsibility for it, but it must solicit, encourage, and reward involvement at all levels if the integration process is to be truly successful. For each integration area (board, staff/volunteer, program, etc.), appropriate staff should form “sub-teams” or working groups to flesh out the integration plan for their area, and focus on the details of the integration process. This work should feed back to the Integration Team, which must ensure that all integration activities both fit together and advance the overall integration process.