MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS

MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS

1. Identify stakeholders
2. Update the planning sheet with information from the power/interest grid.
3. Think through your approach to stakeholder management.
4. Work out what you want from each stakeholder.
5. Identify the messages you need to convey.
6. Identify actions and communications.

WHY IS THIS RELEVANT?
Understanding power and interest is a key element of communication and engagement.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY STAKEHOLDERS

The course text outlines who are stakeholders and offers a list of examples (Hannagan & Bennett, 2007, P.154) .

The Pathways to Management and Leadership (2008, P.22) noted that stakeholders may be divided between contractual (paid) and non- contractual (unpaid). This could be looked upon as internal (employed) and external (not-employed).

The concept of internal and external stakeholders is particularly interesting in the context of customers. Customers are a stakeholder and they might be internal- customers (eg a department who relies upon the products or services of another) or external- customers (eg a person or business who is buying or using the products or services provided by the organisation.)

Primary and secondary stakeholders are not the same as internal and external stakeholders.

Primary stakeholders are directly involved in the issue, potentially the people who will “make it happen or resist it happening” or the people who will be “directly impacted [good or bad]”. Secondary stakeholders are not directly involved (people on the side-lines, spectators, commentators), and might be impacted even if they are not the target of the changes.


Bibliography:
Hannagan, T., & Bennett, R. (2007). Management: Concepts and practices (5th ed.). Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.
Pathways to Management and Leadership (2008) CMI (ISBN 0-85946-338-9)


RANKING AND PRIORITISING STAKEHOLDERS

Given the sheer range of potential Internal and External, Primary and Secondary Stakeholders it seems sensible to prioritise and focus our effort and attention to those that are really important for the task at hand.

If the task, project, product, service really needs IT, HR, Finance, Marketing etc., then these stakeholders may be a higher priority than others. The organisational constraints (of time, skills, knowledge, raw materials, land, or money) may influence which stakeholders need to be considered and/or involved.

You might also consider stakeholders in the context of who is, or needs to be Accountable, Responsible, Consulted or Informed.

COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS

You might then use different methods of communicating and engaging with these stakeholders (meetings, email, surveys, workshops), and getting the information from them to your business, department, the focus-group, quality circle or project team (by updates, briefings, feedback etc.)

Some methods of communicating and engaging are more effective than others, and the some methods of communicating might be inappropriate for certain situations. It is therefore important to consider the most appropriate and effective timing and type of communicating and engaging