In technology acquisitions, you're often buying the team as much as the technology. Understanding team capabilities, dynamics, and retention risk is critical.
Team Assessment Dimensions
1. Capabilities
- Technical skill breadth and depth
- Domain expertise
- Leadership experience
- Learning agility
2. Organization
- Team structure and reporting
- Role clarity and coverage
- Hiring velocity and backfill capacity
- Geographic distribution
3. Culture
- Engineering values and practices
- Decision-making processes
- Collaboration patterns
- Innovation orientation
4. Risk Factors
- Key person dependencies
- Retention risk indicators
- Compensation competitiveness
- Cultural fit with acquirer
Red Flags
- Recent departures of key technical leaders
- High turnover in critical functions
- Concentration of knowledge in few individuals
- Significant contractor dependency for core work
- Outdated compensation structures
Key Takeaway: Plan for retention programs before close. The best technical talent has options and may leave if they feel uncertain about the acquisition.