Creating Line-of-Sight to Accelerate Business and Synergy Results

Dec 16, 2014 | by ASATS team

Aon Strategic Advisors & Transaction Solutions has benefited from guiding our clients through some of the largest global mergers and acquisitions in the past two decades. Our clients rely on us to ensure that their deals succeed and that overall business and synergy objectives are met. This requires a relentless focus on planning and execution, particularly in realizing run-rate savings targets in headcount synergy savings.

A platform solutions approach

Using Aon TransAction Manager™, we help clients identify and plan up to hundreds of organization and headcount synergy cost savings initiatives and related cash impact by month, quarter and year. Once plans are established and prioritized, we work with clients to develop methods for measuring, tracking and reporting synergies captured. This involves mapping and designing new organization structures, identifying the duplicated roles and navigating contractual and legal limits on the timing of headcount reductions. In addition, making sense of data in multiple HR systems of record with workforce that is always in motion (new hires, terminations, etc.) adds a dynamic that can make measurement and reporting of results a seemingly impossible task.

Aon Strategic Advisors & Transaction Solutions has benefited from guiding our clients through some of the largest global mergers and acquisitions in the past two decades. Our clients rely on us to ensure that their deals succeed and that overall business and synergy objectives are met. This requires a relentless focus on planning and execution, particularly in realizing run-rate savings targets in headcount synergy savings.

A platform solutions approach

Using Aon TransAction Manager™, we help clients identify and plan up to hundreds of organization and headcount synergy cost savings initiatives and related cash impact by month, quarter and year. Once plans are established and prioritized, we work with clients to develop methods for measuring, tracking and reporting synergies captured. This involves mapping and designing new organization structures, identifying the duplicated roles and navigating contractual and legal limits on the timing of headcount reductions. In addition, making sense of data in multiple HR systems of record with workforce that is always in motion (new hires, terminations, etc.) adds a dynamic that can make measurement and reporting of results a seemingly impossible task.

Aon TransAction Manager takes synergy capture efforts to the next level by supporting organization mapping, design and tracking while also integrating with HR and Finance systems of record to organize all of the necessary data to make smart and informed decisions and ensure that the execution of headcount savings goes smoothly. Case in point--one large deal we worked on last year had an over US $350 million per year run-rate cost savings target. The business case for accelerating those cost savings was about 1.1 million dollars per day and clearly worthy of investment. Fortunately, we were able to utilize our leading consulting approaches supported by our unique Aon TransAction Manager technology platform to help this client achieve their savings target.

Driving correct leadership actions and accountability is a major factor of success

Using our consulting approaches and Aon TransAction Manager, our clients are able to measure the actual financial progress of headcount reductions far in advance of when systems of record are combined and business as usual processes are established; most importantly, we do this in a way that HR and Finance are in control of their own data. This is an important capability to have as leaders can be slow to act when there is no clear line-of-sight to their own progress against their synergy capture objectives. When potentially millions of dollars per day of run-rate savings are at stake, slowness is extremely costly.

Plan now, we are ready to start

Now is a good time to schedule a meeting with us to work with you to understand your synergy capture approaches and how we can help on your next deal. We have leading consulting approaches and our unique Aon TransAction Manager technology platform can help ensure deal success. By acting now, you will be well-positioned to ensure that your future deals will be supported by our leading consulting and technology synergy capture capabilities.