The WorkOut Consortium

Experts who deliver

Welcome to THE WORKOUT CONSORTIUM

Pre-engagement Assessment / Due-diligence

As a J Nelson Enterprise, LLC company The WorkOut Consortium consists of experienced executives and subject matter experts (SMEs) versed in rapid and significant improvement in both top and bottom line performance. Whether you offer products or services, we offer you experienced senior leaders with a history of successful delivery including Operations, Sales and Marketing, Finance, IT, Human Resources and Organizational Development, Supply Chain, Quality, and Product Development.

Additionally, we have resources dedicated to key areas such as branding, pricing, and product testing as well as can bring connections to external resources such as CPAs, attorneys, and intellectual property experts.

We offer customized project support, leadership training and coaching with flexible duration and intensity. It is based on client's need; not on a pre-determined set of programs.

Specializing in mid markets we differentiate ourselves in the following manner:

Fees can be tied to the delivered improvements.
You get more than one or two consultants: you get access to the cross-functional leadership skills responsible to deliver; not to leave you with a list of things to do and no way to do them.
We help access local, state and federal grants as a means to co-fund training and investments.

ASK AN EXPERT: Submit a question via 'Contact Us' and a member of the consortium will post a reply.

QUESTION:

What are some of the biggest problems in managing a merger?

ANSWER:

The over-arching problem faced in managing a merger is to overstate the benefits and understate the difficulties. Everyone can find the resources to help navigate the mechanics of the merger: tying the IT systems, physically moving sites if that is appropriate. But the many (or even few) others can harm the company.

First and foremost; assume that some percentage of the acquired customers will leave. There is rarely at 100% retention rate. The cost of switching is perceived by some customers as too high; but in as much as in their eye you have forced them to switch they will continue the switch but in the direction they decide. This will be a vulnerable time and to the extent you competitors find out (and they will) they will be even more aggressive in pursuing the sale. Over-plan and perform flawlessly. It is critical that no single order be missed.

In spite of the best intentions things just take longer than planned. Do not underestimate nor understate the time and activities needed for the merger to take place. Plan realistically and then put in a safety factor. Plan your safety stock, coverage, etc to this expanded plan. If you are availing yourself of external resources or experts, ask for their input as to historical experiences of plan-versus-actual.

Further, do not underestimate the hurdles to be overcome on the 'soft' side of the merger. Employees will be running scared and key employees will need attention if you want them to stay. If there is a name-change as part of the merger, losing it can be very hard for employees especially if there is high loyalty and/or the company has been around a long time. Productivity will take a hit. Ensure your HR functions and your management team addresses the emotional aspect of the merger and communicate, communicate, communicate. Recognize also the impact of any name-change and of loosing employees will have on the acquired customer base. This could further impact retention.

Lastly, and as mentioned above; Communicate! Communicate honestly and constantly. You and your team see the whole picture and the benefits. Your employees and customers will not, and will fill in any missing voids of information with their own thoughts. Most often they are not positive ones. It is too late to try for damage control; plan to avoid it.