- This topic has 7 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by
Manuela van Ulzen.
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August 13, 2021 at 1:48 pm #36327
Manuela van Ulzen
MemberWould be very interested if you have any experience with interviewing people during the due diligence. Does it work? Will people answer your questions or are the more reserved?
And do you have any good advice how to report the findings of a due diligence (so that it is easy to read and understand)?
Thank you 🙂August 14, 2021 at 9:14 am #38969Fahad AlQahtani
MemberYes interviewing people during due diligence helps and it works. It can bring different levels of information and insights specially if the interview selection was diverse and at different employee levels. I believe if the purpose of the interview is to gain knowledge, insights and more information mostly people will be open to share and support. Preparing for the questions prior to the interviews will help develop statistics and graph for reporting purposes.
August 16, 2021 at 9:18 am #38976Yazeed Albaiz
MemberInterviewing people during the due diligence does work. Just make sure to ask open ended questions and give space for the respondent to reply without rushing them to the next question. Also, try to keep asking why.
reporting the findings would be on a likelihood/business impact basis. Thus, riskier material findings are on top the report.
August 17, 2021 at 7:30 pm #38982Elizabeth Perlak
MemberI think interviews are extremely valuable. Not only can it help clarify and understand facts that may have been found through document research and other activities but it can also serve as an opportunity to test hypothesis and probe about more intangible aspects of the organization. It is one thing to review a company’s HR documentation and written value and mission statements another entirely to receive feedback and depth of adoption by the employees.
August 18, 2021 at 4:31 pm #38990Greg Kitchen
MemberAgree with what others have said, it gives a qualitative and/or subjective perspective on data and information received. Often you can triangulate answers based on asking multiple employees similar questions if provided vague (written) answers in the data room. The questions may not always be things the company wants to commit to paper.
August 20, 2021 at 2:26 pm #38994It is usefull but we definitely have to adjust responses for each employees’ motivations.
August 23, 2021 at 9:37 pm #39007Millie Manning
MemberIn addition to the qualitative value that others have referenced, I think interviews can improve the DD process in two other ways: 1. allowing for more dialogue beneficial to integration planning and 2. building relationships to get buy-in from the target company employees. Since integration planning should start during DD, asking open-ended questions and giving space for descriptions of the target company’s current processes will inform how the acquiring company structures their integration planning. Secondly, if key contributors at the target company are involved in the conversations before the deal closes, they will feel included in the DD and planning processes, making them more likely to advocate for the changes resulting from the integration.
August 27, 2021 at 9:35 am #39016Michel Kropf
MemberIn our last acquisition, retention of key employees was important and part of the conditional payment we made. So it was important to meet and interview those persons to see if there is a fit.
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