What leaders need to know: A roadmap for healthcare M&A integration | Viewpoint

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions continue to move forward, with large transactions on the rise.

Kathy Gersch

Just the first few months of this year saw four mega-mergers involving UCI Health, University of Minnesota, Northwell Health, and HATCo. At the mid-year mark, leaders are wondering what’s next as the newly formed organizations navigate their next steps.

This critical juncture – integration – raises questions regarding leadership, benefits, financial, cultural, and technology unification. In today's tech-driven healthcare landscape, seamless integration of critical systems is paramount to ensuring the continuation of exceptional patient care and building unified teams.

The day-to-day adjustments care providers and operations managers alike will need to make as integration begins must be taken as seriously as the impact of higher-level enterprise-wide changes.

To navigate the integration process successfully, healthcare executives need to take deliberate steps to best align their people with the vision for the newly combined organization. Below are three key ways to best do so.

1. Enable leadership at all levels

A successful integration of healthcare organizations – regardless of whether they are big or small – is a massive undertaking that requires support and advocacy from employees across the organization. M&A presents opportunities for teams to rally and leaders to help create something unique from the merger of two organizations.

Part of this is ensuring that all employees, whether on the clinical side or administrative side, are enabled and empowered to lead without feeling like their efforts are bottlenecked or shut down by complex processes. When organizations function more ‘diagonally,’ there is greater agility and ability to effectively address any concerns or roadblocks that arise as processes evolve following the close. And, when team members feel empowered to lead, it enhances their level of engagement within their role, enables them to think in more innovative ways, and makes it possible to capitalize on new opportunities.

The ability to share ideas, identify roadblocks, and suggest solutions knowing that each person’s insights will be valued regardless of title becomes a tremendous asset as cultures blend and organizations change. It is central to fostering trust among teams of all types and levels.

2. Enlist a volunteer army

Leading large organizations through the integration process is a major feat – and one that requires “champions” of the process along the way to maintain morale, productivity and ensure there isn’t a dip in the quality of care or revenue from productivity declines. By enlisting these champions, or creating what we call a “volunteer army,” you are generating buy-in for the newly-blended organization from the ground up.

Having these champions who understand the vision and the role they play in bringing it to life is a huge piece of the puzzle. Similar to empowering leaders of all levels, having this volunteer army of folks willing to raise their hands, maintain a positive and productive outlook, and who understand the value of doing so will help maintain and increase morale during what can be a stressful transition.

3. Communicate clearly, and often

Perhaps the most critical aspect of the entire process, two-way communication is a powerful tool for leaders both during the M&A process and into the post-close integration.

The most important thing to be aware of during the process is transparency – by being proactive and direct about what is happening and when (of course around the required legal confidentiality), you can dispel rumors and any unnecessary stress from the start.

Clear communication about the organization’s direction, and how each team member’s role is essential in bringing the future-state to life will keep folks in "thrive” mode, avoiding a frenzy or shift into “survive” mode, which ultimately causes burnout and lower levels of patient care.

Each stage of the merger and integration should be clearly defined so that employees and their managers know what to expect and when to expect it, taking each step in stride to maintain morale, evolve culture, and keep teams engaged and productive.

Especially during the integration process, sharing who the senior leadership team will be, how the brand will or will not change, and what the day-to-day impacts will be, can help each employee understand and process how this will or will not directly affect them.

The outcomes – and success – of healthcare mergers and acquisitions depend on the effectiveness of the integration process. Bringing together personnel, systems, and cultures to form a net-new organization requires leaders to be intentional and thoughtful.

By enabling leadership at all levels, enlisting a "volunteer army" internally, and prioritizing clear and frequent communication, they can navigate this milestone while maintaining exceptional patient care and team engagement.

Despite the inevitable change and pain points, having an empowered workforce rallied around a shared vision can help capitalize on the opportunities at hand, rather than the challenges.

With leadership teams’ commitment to the core mission and vision, the potential benefits of healthcare M&A can be fully realized.

Kathy Gersch is the chief commercial officer of Kotter.