Stakeholder Engagement Strategies
Organizations use the stakeholder engagement process to listen, inform, and collaborate with their existing stakeholders. It helps organizations to actively take into account the desires and needs of anyone with a stake in a business or organization. Stakeholders are individuals or groups directly or indirectly impacted by a key decision or project. It also includes those who might have the interest or ability to influence the outcome of such activity, either negatively or positively.
Stakeholders might include locally affected individuals, communities, formal and informal representatives, and local and national authorities. Politicians, civil society organizations, groups with special interests, and the academic community are among many other potential stakeholders. There are stakeholders who by their stature or knowledge can contribute positively to the success of a project by, for example, acting as honest brokers or mediating relationships.
The first rule of stakeholder engagement is to share information consistently across various media channels. Your stakeholders need to know why the organization exists and its core purpose. Internal stakeholders need to know where you want to take the organization so that they can align their work with that direction and goal. Similarly, external stakeholders need to understand what value the organization or project provides for the clients and community.
Toward that goal, use all available means of communication such as meetings, email, newsletters, and messaging tools. Endeavor to reach all stakeholders, because if any feel left out, they may not give their support, and you may have some disengaged and unhappy stakeholders in your hands. When stakeholders know what is happening and how they are expected to contribute, they become more committed and engaged.
With a vision of what you want the organization to achieve, the stakeholder engagement process becomes more purposeful for all involved. What you want to achieve through stakeholder engagement will, of course, depend on both your organization and the industry. For example, common purposes in the education sector include enhancing student enrollment, academic performance, teacher training, and school development.
If you have many stakeholders, it is important to categorize and prioritize them by their level of interest and influence in a specific issue. If, for example, a particular stakeholder carries significant influence, you might want to reach out more personally in communications. If, on the other hand, a stakeholder is not involved with or interested in a particular issue, you may want to limit the frequency of communication to perhaps just monthly or quarterly updates.
To improve your stakeholder engagement, you may want to give them more options to provide feedback. Stakeholders want to be heard, and many look for the opportunity to voice their opinions. Make this easy for them. For example, online engagement channels such as e-surveys and questionnaires can increase accessibility and help lower engagement barriers.
Although in-person meetings may demand more of your or your staff’s time, they offer both you and the stakeholders the opportunity to learn from each other. The tone of voice and body language are two things that you cannot evaluate through online surveys and multiple-choice questions. In addition to the online feedback, try connecting with stakeholders in person, particularly those who are resistant, so that you can also benefit from their perspective. Also, this is an excellent way of resolving potential areas of conflict or misunderstanding.
