Onboarding acquired agencies and transferring teams
When a recruitment group acquires an agency, or a team transfers in under a contract win, technology is usually the least planned and most immediately visible part of the integration. On day one people need phones that work, a CRM they can reach and an email address that does not bounce. This page sets out the technology side of that process, in the order it actually has to happen.
- Phones, identity and CRM access working from the first morning
- Day onePhones, identity and CRM access working from the first morning
- Existing numbers ported so inbound enquiries keep arriving
- Numbers keptExisting numbers ported so inbound enquiries keep arriving
- A documented pattern you can run again on the next deal
- RepeatableA documented pattern you can run again on the next deal
- A technology due-diligence checklist to run before completion, not after.
- Number porting planned around the acquired entity’s notice periods and contract dates.
- Identity, devices, CRM and phone access provisioned to a standard build.
- Clean handling of recordings, data separation and access revocation.
Technology due diligence before completion
These are the items that cause cost or disruption after a deal, and all of them are discoverable beforehand.
- Every telecoms and connectivity contract, with end dates, notice periods and auto-renewal clauses.
- Whether any “phone system” agreement is in fact an equipment finance or lease agreement that survives the deal.
- Which numbers the target actually holds, and whether they are held in the target’s name.
- Whether legacy ISDN or analogue lines are in use, which must migrate before the January 2027 PSTN retirement.
- CRM licences, data ownership and what happens to historic candidate data.
- Call recordings held, where they are stored, and under what retention and lawful basis.
- Microsoft 365 tenancy arrangements, and whether tenants will be merged or kept separate.
- Device estate: age, ownership, encryption status and whether anything is under finance.
Day-one priorities
On the first morning the only question anyone asks is whether they can do their job. We sequence accordingly.
- What must work
- Inbound numbers answered
- Why first
- Existing clients and candidates must not hit dead air
- What must work
- Consultants able to make calls with correct caller identity
- Why first
- Revenue activity cannot pause for an integration
- What must work
- Email and identity working
- Why first
- Everything else depends on it
- What must work
- CRM access, with the right permissions
- Why first
- Consultants cannot work from memory
- What must work
- Recording and access policy applied
- Why first
- Governance should not lag the go-live by months
- What must work
- Reporting aligned to the group
- Why first
- Management needs comparable data from the start
Want this looked at on your own setup?
A review is free, there is no obligation, and you keep the written summary either way.
Transferring teams
Where a team transfers in — a contract win, an RPO arrangement, or a lift-out — the technology needs are similar but the data boundaries are stricter.
- Provisioning to a standard build so a transferring consultant is working within the hour, not the week.
- Clear separation of data between the transferring team and the rest of the group where required by the arrangement.
- Numbers and DDIs assigned, published and routed before the first day rather than during it.
- Access rights scoped to what the arrangement permits, and reviewable.
- A documented offboarding path for the end of the contract, designed at the start.
Employment aspects of a transfer, including TUPE obligations, are a matter for your employment advisers. What we cover is the technology: identity, access, numbers, devices and data separation.
Common post-deal mistakes
Every one of these has a straightforward preventative measure.
- Letting an acquired brand’s numbers lapse, then discovering old adverts and directories still point at them.
- Running two phone platforms indefinitely because nobody owned the migration, and paying for both.
- Leaving ex-staff of the acquired entity with live access to recordings and CRM data.
- Merging reporting without agreeing metric definitions, so group figures are not comparable.
- Discovering an equipment finance agreement mid-migration, after the budget was agreed.
- Forgetting the analogue lines running alarms, lifts and door entry at the acquired office.
Acquisition technology checklist
- All telecoms, connectivity and IT contracts with dates and notice periods.
- Full number inventory, with the holder of record for each.
- Any finance or lease agreements bundled with technology.
- Legacy line audit, including non-voice devices on analogue lines.
- Call recording inventory, storage location, retention and access list.
- Microsoft 365 tenancy plan.
- Device inventory with ownership and encryption status.
- Leaver list and confirmation that access has been revoked.
Frequently asked questions
Can we keep the acquired agency’s phone numbers?
Almost always, provided they are held in the acquired entity’s name and the contractual position allows a port. This matters commercially: those numbers are on job adverts, directories and email signatures you do not control.
How quickly can an acquired office be onboarded?
Cloud voice and identity can be provisioned quickly, so day-one working is realistic. The constraint is usually number porting and the existing supplier’s notice period rather than any technical step, which is why we start with the contract audit.
Should we merge Microsoft 365 tenants?
It depends on timing, data volumes and whether the acquired brand continues to trade separately. We will set out the options with the trade-offs rather than defaulting to a merge because it sounds tidier.
Do you help with the client security questionnaires that follow a deal?
Yes, where our services are in scope. Larger clients often re-run due diligence after an ownership change, and we provide the data-handling, retention and access documentation you will be asked for.
Related recruitment guides
Planning an acquisition or a team transfer?
Bring us in before completion. A short technology due-diligence exercise is far cheaper than discovering a finance agreement or a lapsed number range afterwards.
- Full audit of every line, number and contract you hold
- Honest view of what your CRM will and will not integrate with
- The call data you are not currently seeing, including missed inbound
- A written summary — yours to keep either way