Do you have a division or line of business that is being prepped for spin-off, IPO or sale? Are you in charge of IT at the group being spun off? If so, are you finding your counterpart at the remaining company being uncooperative?
Unfortunately this is a common situation that IT Directors and similar level professionals find themselves in during interesting economic times. The goal of the business should be to make the split as cost effective and quickly as possible. To meet that goal, both sides should expect their respective IT Departments to work together to complete the split or integration timely. Do this happen? Nope. Not always.
As a consultant, I have witnessed too many antagonistic divestitures. It’s disappointing to watch as people who used to be friendly with each other, put roadblocks in place and try to cause the other to fail.
Some thoughts why this happens:
Some see it as a threat to their fiefdom or a sign that they have somehow failed because they will have a smaller garden when the process is finished. Or, maybe they’re jealous that you get a small group and essentially get to start from scratch and build everything new with little to no legacy systems to support. Right, no legacy systems – we all wish for that, don’t we?
How to survive the process:
You may decide to have a 3rd party involved to act as a mediator during contentious times. The primary benefit to this is that the 3rd party can act as the ‘bad guy’ when insisting on certain changes or cooperations between the two groups.
It’s important to choose the right person or group to act on your behalf and in concert with you. The chosen 3rd party needs to have a solid understanding of the technologies in use by the business so as to know when the one group or the other is attempting to buffalo them or otherwise throw up roadblocks.
The 3rd party should also have a clear understanding of your business. Having experts that have worked in your industry, using the same or similar apps as your current group allows for a smoother migration and less stress on users of IT systems.
Both groups within the business need a clear understanding of who is doing what as well as which group will retain which assets and systems.
Communication is key:
Communicate with your users. They know you are splitting, but do they know why, when or how? Keep everyone informed to the level that the split affects them directly. Part of this process may require the use of a Change Management consultant. They specialize in helping business manage and roll out disruptive changes to processes.
Do you have to use 3rd parties to help with a Divestiture or other business breakup? Of course not, but it can make life easier and less stressful for all concerned.
-- this post originally appeared on LinkedIn --