Creating a Post-Acquisition Integration Checklist

Mergers and acquisitions are extremely stressful for HR because the department must perform a ton of tasks to make sure the business move goes over without a hitch. This is where a post-acquisition integration checklist can seriously come in handy.

Not only does a post-acquisition integration checklist give you a general idea of what you need to accomplish before you need to accomplish it, it also helps keep you on track during the process itself.

It is said that most mergers or acquisitions fail to meet their business goals because of a clash of cultures. So, if you want to give the move it’s best chance for success, HR has a lot of work to do to integrate teams. But where should you start?

That’s what we’ll cover today in this blog. These are the top items that need to be incorporated into your post-acquisition integration checklist, though it should be noted that your organization may have more or less items on its list. You can use this sample as a starting point, customizing it before taking action.

A post-acquisition integration checklist is a document that you can keep on file during a merger or acquisition that details all of the steps you need to take to ensure that you integrate the two teams in the best way possible. This tool serves to minimize business disruption by providing a structured timeline of tasks and responsibilities throughout the integration process.

By integrating both teams and creating a new, stronger one, your business will hopefully receive a boost. On the other hand, like we mentioned above, failing to integrate teams properly is a big reason why these sorts of business moves fall short of their goals.

Given that the stakes are rather high, it makes sense to have what you need written down in advance so you can use it when you need it. Proper planning goes a long way in situations like this so don’t try to skip it.

Let’s move right into the core of this article: what you actually need to have on your post-acquisition integration checklist.

The best way to think about creating your checklist is to break it down into sections, which is what we’ll do here so it’s easier to think about.

The first part of the checklist is all about hiring processes with the first item on the list to develop a new hiring process for both the short term (for immediate needs) and the long term (for overall strategy).

These hiring elements are critical because they create consistency in how new talent is brought into the organization and ensure that hiring practices align with the newly formed company culture. Most organizations should aim to have hiring processes standardized within the first 30-60 days of integration.

You also need to note to prepare for these new hires by creating documents such as, onboarding documentation, benefits overviews, and new-hire packets. Remember, the name of the game here is to ensure that those joining your team will be ready and able to perform their jobs without a bunch of friction.

You’ll also need to develop compensation packages and benefits plans if they are changing during the merger or acquisition.

This section can look something like this:

• Develop a new hiring process
  • Short term for immediate needs
  • Long term overall strategy
• Prepare for new hires
  • Onboarding documentation
  • Benefits overview packets
  • New hire packets
  • Create a plan for onboarding union workers (reach out to unions)

It’s a sad fact, mergers and acquisitions cause a ton of redundancies. It’s just the nature of the move. You have to be able to clearly identity which departments have these redundancies and develop a clear system to start offboarding them or moving them to different roles.

So, the first step in this section is to make sure that you have a process in place that can handle a large amount of turnover. Not only will you – most likely – have to lay some people off, others may leave on their own accord because they don’t want to deal with all of the stress and changes.

In this process, you also need a way to entice your top performers to stay. A merger or acquisition event is like chum in the water for talent poachers. Always make sure that you top performers know that they are valued and have a place inside the new organization. Consider implementing retention bonuses, clear career advancement opportunities, or special projects to keep valuable team members engaged.

This section of the post-acquisition integration checklist can look something like this:

• Identify and make a plan to eliminate redundancies
  • Prepare severance documents
  • File WARN Act notice if needed

One of the biggest reasons mergers and acquisitions fail is not because of systems or processes, but because of people. When two organizations come together, they bring different values, communication styles, leadership approaches, and ways of working. If these differences aren’t addressed early, they can quickly create friction, disengagement, and turnover.

That’s why culture and change management deserve a dedicated place on your post-acquisition integration checklist. HR plays a critical role in helping employees understand what’s changing, what’s staying the same, and what the future organization will stand for.

Start by assessing the cultures of both organizations. This will help you identify similarities you can build on, as well as gaps that need to be addressed. From there, leadership should define the desired future-state culture and reinforce it consistently through policies, communication, and behavior.

This section of the checklist can look something like this:

• Conduct a cultural assessment of both organizations
  • Leadership styles
  • Decision-making norms
  • Communication preferences
  • Core values and behaviors
• Identify cultural similarities and potential points of conflict
• Define the desired future-state culture for the combined organization
• Develop a change management strategy to guide employees through the transition
• Train leaders and managers on how to lead teams through change
• Identify culture champions or integration ambassadors to reinforce new norms

During a merger or acquisition, employees look to leadership for clarity and reassurance. If leaders are not aligned, confusion spreads quickly, slowing productivity and increasing anxiety. This makes leadership alignment and governance a critical part of any post-acquisition integration checklist.

HR should work closely with executive leadership to establish clear ownership of the integration process. Employees need to know who is making decisions, how decisions are made, and where to go with questions or concerns. Without this clarity, even well-intentioned integration efforts can stall.

This is also the time to ensure that leaders are delivering consistent messages. Mixed or conflicting communication from leadership can undermine trust and create uncertainty across teams.

This section can include the following items:

• Establish an integration leadership team and define roles
• Clarify decision-making authority and escalation paths
• Align leaders on key messages before communicating with employees
• Provide managers with talking points and FAQs to support employee conversations
• Train leaders on managing uncertainty and employee concerns

Set regular leadership check-ins to monitor integration progress

While the people-focused items on the list are all no-brainers, you need to also help keep everything running on an organizational level.

For example, your IT team will likely have to onboard a ton of people into the different systems that your business uses, such as creating new email accounts, giving proper security access, and things of that nature. You will have to work closely with the IT team to make sure this all goes well because it can directly impact a worker’s ability to perform their role.

Data security considerations are paramount during system integration. Ensuring proper data transfer protocols, maintaining confidentiality during the transition, and implementing appropriate access controls will protect sensitive information during this vulnerable period.

At the same time, you need to keep the org chart updated with new hires so that people can understand the chain of command at the organization, helping keep things from becoming too confusing.

This is a simple section, but it’s very important if you want the merger or acquisition to go well. It can look, simply, like this:

• Develop new org chart
• Partner with key IT stakeholders to create a process and timeline for merging HR systems (and others that need to be added for employees)

Mergers and acquisitions come with significant legal and compliance risks, especially when it comes to employment law, benefits, and data protection. While some compliance considerations may seem routine, overlooking them can lead to costly penalties, lawsuits, or reputational damage.

HR should partner with legal, finance, and compliance teams early in the integration process to identify potential risks and ensure all requirements are met. This is particularly important for organizations operating across multiple states or countries, where regulations may differ.

This section of the post-acquisition integration checklist can look like this:

• Review employment contracts, offer letters, and union agreements
• Align HR policies and procedures across both organizations
• Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal labor laws
• Address international employment regulations, if applicable
• Review benefits plans for compliance (ACA, ERISA, COBRA, etc.)
• Assess data privacy and security requirements (GDPR, CCPA, and others)
• Partner with legal counsel to document compliance decisions

Again, one of the most important tasks HR has is to make sure that the integration is running smoothly. And for this to work out, you need to have clear performance goals on the books so that the teams understand their responsibilities, who their manager is, and what is expected of them.

This will seriously help your team get back to working at full capacity.

The first thing you need to come up with is a review process. This could be using KPIs or other performance metrics – it largely depends on how your business operates.

For new hires or people in new roles, you’ll also need to have a proper plan to train and develop them so that they can completely perform their new roles. Without training, how are people supposed to meet their goals and deadlines? Again, this is something that is specific to your organization and you will have to meet with teams and leaders to understand what needs to be done.

Finally, you need to make sure you have a way to communicate to your staff members in a way that they will notice. Create a proper communicate pipeline so that you can quickly get the word out about HR changes and things of that nature.

Poor communication is a giant problem when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, attributing largely to the failure rate of the business move. By communicating efficiently with your staff and keeping them in the loop, you will likely retain those you need to retain without a bunch of headaches. No one likes being kept in the dark.

This section of the post-acquisition integration checklist can look something like this:

• Create a performance review system
• Create a training and development plan
• Develop a communication plan for communicating all HR policy changes to employees and stakeholders

Even the most carefully planned integration can struggle if employees feel overwhelmed, unheard, or disengaged. Monitoring the employee experience throughout the post-acquisition process allows HR to identify issues early and make adjustments before they become larger problems.

Employees are more likely to stay engaged when they feel informed and supported. Creating structured feedback loops shows employees that leadership cares about their experience and is willing to act on their input.

This section can include the following checklist items:

• Conduct employee pulse surveys at key milestones (30, 60, and 90 days)
• Monitor engagement, absenteeism, and turnover trends
• Identify morale or burnout risks early
• Provide access to employee assistance programs or mental health resources
• Create anonymous feedback channels for employee concerns
• Share survey insights and actions taken with employees
  

Post-acquisition integration can quickly become overwhelming if everything is treated as an immediate priority. A phased approach helps teams focus on the right tasks at the right time, reducing confusion and improving execution.

Breaking your integration checklist into time-based phases provides structure and allows progress to be measured more easily. While timelines will vary by organization, most integrations benefit from a 30/60/90-day framework.

This section can look something like this:

• Define Day 1 priorities
  • Payroll and benefits continuity
  • System access and security credentials
  • Initial employee communications
• Outline first 30-day priorities
  • Org structure and leadership alignment
  • Hiring and redundancy planning
  • Policy and process alignment
• Establish 60–90 day priorities
  • Performance management systems
  • Training and development plans
  • Cultural integration initiatives
• Identify ongoing integration activities and review milestones

Finally, it’s important to define how you will measure the success of your post-acquisition integration. Without clear metrics, it can be difficult to understand what’s working and where adjustments are needed.

Establishing measurable goals allows HR and leadership to track progress, demonstrate value, and continuously improve the integration process. These metrics should be reviewed regularly and shared with key stakeholders.

This section of the checklist can include:

• Define key integration success metrics
  • Retention of critical and high-performing talent
  • Time-to-productivity for new or transitioned employees
  • Employee engagement and survey scores
  • Progress toward cultural alignment goals
• Track system and process integration milestones
• Schedule post-integration reviews and lessons learned sessions
• Adjust integration strategies based on data and feedback

This sample post-acquisition integration checklist has a lot of the high-level, key items on it that almost every organization will need to consider when merging teams together. However, you will need to adapt the sample to the needs of your organization because these lists are never one-size-fits-all.

Also, make sure you work closely with your teams to understand their needs. A merger or acquisition is hard on everyone, but no one has to go it alone. Have an open communication plan to keep things flowing between departments and lean on each other to make sure the move is successful.