M&A RACI Communications Matrix

In an integration, communications omissions almost always trace back to the same root cause: a lack of clear ownership. The RACI Communications Matrix fixes that problem before it can happen by assigning clear Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed designations to every major communications deliverable, across the Communications team, functional workstreams, the IMO, and the Steering Committee.

• The Communications team are Responsible and Accountable on the deliverables that define the integration's communications architecture — core strategy messages, the Day 1 and Week 1 communications plan, the 30-day plan, the 90-day cadence plan, and the Day 1 Manager and Employee Resource Guide. 
• FAQs are a shared responsibility: Communications owns the process and the approval, but workstreams generate the functional content for their areas. 
• Functional leaders own their Day 2 meetings. They're Responsible for making those sessions relevant to their specific audiences, adding business-unit context to the strategic framework that Communications provides. 
• The IMO is Consulted on communications strategy and Accountable for Day 1 and Day 2 agenda timing. 
• The Steering Committee stays Informed, with Consulting involvement on the key strategic decisions.

Two rules anchor the entire model: 

• The press release is the trigger. Nothing goes out before the announcement . 
• Intranet and email updates from workstream changes are a shared responsibility between Communications and the functions generating them, so the integration's communication channels stay accurate and current as decisions get made. 

Role clarity is the backbone of an M&A communication plan.