Successful Acquisitions

SECONDMENT: EMBEDDED INTERPRETERS

I have found that the best way to get a handle on different cultures is through the use of secondment. This involves taking a few people out of the company that you have acquired and placing them in equivalent roles in your own organization. At the same time, you move a handful of people out of your workplace and plug them into the newly acquired company. Usually, this involves at least three people from each side, representing the sales, accounting, and operations departments. Of course, as appropriate, you may add individuals from other functional areas, but do not deploy fewer than three people. I have seen some companies exchange only one person with less than successful results. There is simply too much ...