[Julia]

PMI often involves managing multiple moving parts. What has been your approach to deciding what to integrate first?

[Lena Friese]

Hi Julia, I usually already be involved in the due dilligence phase and there we already see potential areas of interest. Based on experienced the most important parts are Finance, Commercial, HR, IT and change management. The involvement of our Change management department has significantly increase the success of the first 100 Day phase.

[Aishwarya Rai]

I find starting with HR and IT is crucial because people and technology are the backbone of the organization. If employees feel supported and IT systems are seamless, other areas like finance can follow more smoothly.

[Cristina Girtu]

Hi Julia,
I designed a process that doesn’t go in order by function but by phase. I have defined a phase that I call “Securing” where each department has some high priority tasks. Subsequently there is the pure execution phase of the integration but first I secure the target regardless of the function. For example, as regards finance, cash and banks must be managed immediately, for HR the key resources and those with particular needs or urgent needs must be managed, with the marketing department I immediately think about the internal and external communication of the acquisition, for the IT part we manage cyber security.
Cristina

[Eve Vandewiele]

Finance tends to go first because of financial reporting. HR and IT follow and we apply the approach for all of HR and our HRTS systems and programs to go at the same time. This is not an easy feat and requires a lot of change management, but we have found that the employee experience is a lot better for the acquired employees with that approach.

[Joana Pimentel]

Hi Julia,
i’ve always also focused on finance as a first go because of reporting necessities. Regarding all other functional areas, gap analysis can kick off simultaneously, as we move through design phase of the integration, identifying all needs required to be addressed. Implementation phase follows and that’s when we refine the process, establishing timelines that holistically embrace all areas and take into consideration all interdependencies between them.

[Jonathan]

Hi Julia,

I completely agree with Joana—finance tends to be the priority in my experience as well. For us, establishing clear financial reporting early on has been critical, both for tracking integration progress and ensuring alignment with the business case. Beyond finance, we’ve found it valuable to run gap analyses across other functions (marketing, IT, HR, etc.) in parallel. This allows us to map out dependencies and prioritize what’s most urgent without losing sight of the bigger picture.

One big lesson? Flexibility. It’s tempting to lock in a rigid sequence, but integration often reveals surprises, so being ready to adapt timelines and priorities has made all the difference.

Would love to hear how others approach sequencing in more complex integrations!

[Author]

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