[Greg Jessup]

We just recently began the integration of a large acquisition. Our company has a well established process and playbook for integration. Ownership felt it necessary to bring in a consultant to manage such a large undertaking. Do any of you have experience working with an outside consultant? Were they helpful? Tell me about how you feel the process went.

[Dustin Delewski]

I’ve experienced working with an outside consultant. I found them to be very helpful. In addition to getting assistance on the integration, I typically learn best practices from them. I see hiring consultants during an integration as a path to elevate the IMO’s collective knowledge in the process. To get the most from the experience of working with a consultant, it may be a good idea to get their thoughts on your integration methodology and inquire how they may do things differently. If you do uncover helpful nuggets of information during the process, be sure to document them in the integration playbook and share them with the broader IMO team.

[Sharon Hood]

I personally am an outside consultant myself and I’ve found my clients find us helpful to bring a 3rd party perspective that is not emotionally invested in the business. So many times my clients have done their processes the same way they’ve always done them and when M&A is in the mix, they get scared of the uncertain. I’ve found our role is to bring an external view and let them know it will all be okay going through the right process and methodology.

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