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Integrating the New Organization

The Use of Teams in Integration

In our work on integration of organizations that have negotiated a merger (or other strategic restructuring that requires a high level of organizational integration), we have learned that the utilization of an Integration Team can be an essential element in the overall management of the integration process. The role of the Integration Team is to:

• Develop the plan for the integration of the new merged organization.

• Oversee the process of organization-wide integration including: planning coordination, tracking, and reporting.

• Drive the process of integration: developing time frames, establishing expectations, evaluating the process, and making necessary adjustments.

• Be the center focal point for decision-making.

• Provide a venue for the resolution of disagreements on integration.

• Structure communication to staff, board, volunteers and key stakeholders on all aspects of integration planning, including successes, challenges, and the status of the process.

• Be aware of end points in order to reinforce participation by celebrating closure on intermittent steps and finalization of the integration process.

Who Should Be On The Team

The selection of appropriate Integration Team membership is critical to the success of integration planning and implementation. The question of who should be on the Team depends on the staff size, organizational structure, and skills of the potential participants. A healthy Integration Team will include individuals from throughout the organization representing all departments and levels. The Team needs staff members who can see the big-picture, while, at the same time, attending to the many details. Members need to have the ability to incorporate the history, culture, and dynamics of each organization — envisioning the future of the new organization, without dwelling on potential losses.

Selection of appropriate board members is also important. The organizations should involve members who have the respect of the merged board, are able to commit the time and energy necessary, and have the ability to effectively communicate to the full board the progress and challenges that arise during the process.

Appropriate attributes and skills for membership include: integrative and inclusive by nature; ability to maintain the long view while attending to detail; skills in mediating disagreements and guiding consensus. Members also need to have credibility; they should, by their nature and reputation, command the respect of their peers and other staff.

Use of Teams as A Tool to Advance Integration

The involvement of an Integration Team in the process of creating the plan and in ongoing meetings and communications will have a significant impact on the vision of integration for the staff and board. As such, the Team becomes a tool to advance the integration of the organizations by modeling the integrative work the organizations are developing. The Integration Team will be carefully watched by the entire organization. To the degree that the Team can successfully integrate the input and participation of members from both organizations, it will model organization-wide staff and cultural integration.

Use of Teams to Advance Organizational Development

In addition to advancing the integration of the two formerly separate organizations, the development of an Integration Team may also establish the structures for the working styles that are to be ongoing within the new organization, thereby advancing organizational development. For example, the use of teams in the integration process may be used for the establishment of team-based management as a general working style. This is especially the case within larger multi-program, multi-site organizations.

Likewise, the development of communication styles and processes during the integration process may be used as a model for the development of a healthy approach to communication throughout the organization as a whole.

The entire integration experience should be utilized to advance the organizational development of the merged organization with an eye to creating a greater whole and developing an internal attitude of organizational health and growth.