Great Study on Best Practices for Successful M&A's

Tower Watson did a great study of M&A's and came up with these great best practices:

1. Very successful companies used these M&A processes and governance policies:

• Identified integration managers
  
• Communicated approval authority early in the deal process
  
• Updated periodically their internal M&A processes and tools
  

2. During the due diligence review of human capital matters, very successful companies:

• Established a timeline of events
  
• Sought out specific human capital related synergies
  
• Had a summary description of their own cultural attributes
  
• Established staffing needs and a selection process
  
• Had pre-determined opening positions on how employee programs and policies
  would be integrated
  

3. During the integration planning stage (pre close, before Day One), very successful companies:

• Put a process in place to monitor employee attitude and engagement
  
• Had an integration plan template available before Day One (date of deal closure)
  
• Had a plan in place to help employees cope with changes
  
• Created a planning template or process to address a list of integration issues post closing 

Here is the link to the Study (2012 Human Capital Risk in Mergers and Acquisitions Study Report - Towers Watson)