Business transformation in a fundamental change management strategy that could be a bold shift that will change radically business operations. Business transformation could be divided into three subcategories: operational transformation, strategic transformation and the so-called “core business transformation”. New technologies are now a common reason why leaders are considering business transformation as the next step that they should take to grow their business.
It is also wise to consider that any “core business transformation” goes along with certain objectives and high potentials because from the other side there are certain costs associated with such business transformations. ERP and system implementations (which might be considered also as digital transformation) along with post-acquisition integration are two very common types of core business transformation. Here it comes another trending aspect of business transformation: post merger integration.
Post-merger integration highly involves complexity. It is only successful if proper planning and implementation are on-time and correctly executed. Around 50% of mergers and acquisitions across the globe tend to underperform or fail even on the short term. “Connecting” two organizations or two different so-called entities, with different management styles, cultures, structures, and processes can be challenging.
Post-merger integration is a sort of business transformation as both entities should radically transform in nature, culture, management, and leadership styles to co-exist together as one. Setting sensible and realistic goals is the first step to move forward with core business transformation. Speed and agility are two necessities that cannot be omitted or overlooked. Post merger integration includes a group of specific actions which are planned and implemented a while after the integration happens. It is all about a core business transformation and an operational transformation at the same time, as a new operating model should be designed, almost from scratch for most cases.
This new design should embrace a new, larger company, determining its future success and growth. The goal of post merger integration is to have an agile and strategic core management team within an organization that will put into practice innovative and effective change management practices, cultural integration and talent acquisition tasks. However, above all, what is essential for this core business transformation is to have open and effective communication patterns across the entire organization. After achieving all the above and after ensuring that post merger integration is successful, the next challenge for many organizations is succession planning.
Succession planning is a rather “painful” yet extremely important 12 to 36 months procedure that any large organization applies in practice, when the right time appears. It is not about a pre-selection process of the most appropriate people from the inside or outside the company that can become the future leaders of the organization. It is all about the right “preparation” for future leadership. The HR department of any organization should look at the succession planning process through four different lenses while preparing for such bold shifts in regard to the company’s leadership. Looking at the most important job skills, the right knowledge, the key social relationships, and the most relevant organizational practices are key steps to move along the succession planning “ladder”. Moreover, employee engagement is another critical element of the successful succession planning effort.
The current leadership of an organization along with the HR department should encourage employees to develop themselves throughout the years with the prospective of filling key roles within the company in the future. It is certain that several people are not planning to stay within a company “forever”, which is why promoting all the open perspectives and potentials that are in front of the employees for the future might grow engagement and boost retention. Succession planning was not considered so important back in the past, but as business transformation is becoming more common nowadays, succession planning is now at the core of a company’s strategic operations in order to make sure the future of the organization will be promising.