Stakeholder Engagement Resource

3 Key Stakeholder Engagement Considerations

Stakeholder communications are so important during any change effort. They
inform, introduce, confirm, surprise and elicit emotions and actions from
stakeholders in and
around the project. From my experiences, these are three key areas of
considerations for stakeholder engagements.

1. AUDIENCE - Stakeholder strategies

Know your audience. Tailor your messages to stakeholders depending on who they
are, what information they want and how they w i l l r e sp o n d t o t h e m. l t
t h i s p e r f e ct , b u t i f t h e y a r e i mp o r t a n t e n o u
never worked with a stakeholder, it might be a good idea just to ask them about
these considerations. In my experience, they are usually grateful for the
opportunity to explain themselves instead of being forced into awkward
conversations/situations because the wrong assumptions were made (guessed)
about them.

Below are some Stakeholder considerations and strategies that could be

helpful depending on their level/rating.

Support for For Neutral Against

Change
Reinforce, Sell, promote, Calm, ease,
reassure, bolster, excite, reassure,
inspire, invite more confirm, pacify,
encourage support appease,
continued support conciliate
Level of Engaged Somewhat Disengaged
engagement engaged
Maintain, make Increase, build Intensify, foster
it easy to keep up, reach out right
engaging (right (new environment to
channels, right methods, new engage
messages, right channels, new
timings) avenues)
Degree of Impacted Somewhat Not impacted
impact on them impacted
Emphasise your Demonstrate Explain your
actions to address your attention to efforts to address
the seriousness of their impacts impacts on
their impacts others

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Level of interest Interested Somewhat Not interested

interested
Maintain, make it To increase Do / say
easy to stay interest, something
interested (right experiment with drastic to capture
tone, right types messages, time
of messages, right tones, timings, and attention
content) avenues, (unconventional
channels, topics, channels,
subjects messages,
subjects) followed
up with
reassuring more
conventional
messages to
maintain the
interest
Leadership style Leader Influencer Participant
Provide Provide Provide
opportunities to opportunities to opportunities to
elicit leadership elicit influencing elicit participation
skills skills skills
Participation Advocate Collaborator Opponent
style
Take advantage Provide Dedicate an
(in a good way) of opportunities to appropriate
t h e st a ke work with member of the
natural willingness members of the team, senior
to sell and team and other management
promote the stakeholders, or arbitrator to
change, maintain maintain their resolve
their willingness willingness to conflicts,
to do so maintain their
do so willingness
work with
dedicated
resource and
not obstruct the
change efforts
Amount of Long standing Some history Brand new
shared history history
Call on shared Remind Establish a
history, stakeholders of mutual desire to
especially the shared history create a shared
triumphs, and focus on history to work
galvanise building on that together to
support by in the turn problems
reminiscing future towards into victories
about how former more successes
problems turned and victories
into victories

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Attitude towards Like change Ambivalent to Resist change

change change
Provide Partner with Foster an
opportunities to innovators and environment
lead, influence early adopters where concerns
and innovate to demonstrate are safe to be
different changes positives about aired and taken
on the embracing change seriously, partner
change effort with peer trainers
and peer
advisors to help
coach
through change

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2. INFORMATION - new or routine?

When the message being communicated is new, there needs to be some

extra clarification. When information being shared is routine, then less
clarification is required, but the formatting becomes more important.
Information should b
presented in a predictable and repeatable format to help stakeholders take it
in quickly and easily as well as to compare it with the other routine
information.

Below are considerations to bear in mind when sending out a

message/communication. Note that most of the considerations are the same for new
a n d r O u t i n e i n f O r ma t i O n . F O r b O t h , t h e r e a
r e
i n f O r ma t i O n , . MO St O f t h e cO n Si d e r a t i O n S a r
e
back!

New Information Routine Information

Provide more clarification Provide information in
. Background (where did this predictable format
come from) . wh a t , S t h e Sa me
. Impact of the information (to . wh a t , S d i f f e r e n t
people, to the departments, to . wh a t , S b e e n d O n e
the business, to the . wh a t , S St i l l t O
processes, to the systems, . wh a t , S t R G, rtth t
etc.) u like)
. Consequences (good and bad) . wh a t , S n e X t
. Even more details available, . When the next message will be
if required
Offer information via several channels Offer information via several channels
(face-to-face, written, group or (face-to-face, written, group or meeting
meeting announcements, FAQs, announcements, FAQs, Q&As)
Q&As)
Arrange for the ability to follow up and Arrange for the ability to follow up and
ask questions ask questions
Create and manage a forum for Create and manage a forum for
questions and concerns questions and concerns
Dedicate a designated point of contact Dedicate a designated point of contact
to field questions and concerns to field questions and concerns
Furnish and maintain mechanisms in Furnish and maintain mechanisms in
place to capture and deal with place to capture and deal with
objections (e.g., escalation objections (e.g., escalation
routes, conflict resolution routes, conflict resolution
procedures, procedures,
arbitrators, etc.) arbitrators, etc.)
Prepare follow up Prepare follow up
communications prepared to communications prepared to
address questions, address questions,
concerns and objections concerns and objections

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3. EXPECTED RESPONSE - Passive or active?

When preparing stakeholder co mmu n i ca t i o n s, i t , s b e st t o co

expected responses are going to be and then PREPARE for them. As with the
co n si d e r a t i o n s a b o u-t N et wh e o r ‘ lrNoFuOtRi MnAeT?l , O,N y o u r
b
consideration is the after effects of the communication and how you are going to
deal with them.

Most Change Managers get primed to brace themselves for active negative
responses, but it is equally important to be ready for actively inspired stakeholders.
Have jobs for them to participate and collaborate on ready to go. And take care
that
j u st b e ca u se a s t a ke h o l d e r , s i n i t i a l r e a ct i o
they can change. Remember to take your communications are not being received
in isolation. Analyse and anticipate the cumulative effect your communications as
well as those of communications being received from outside the Change Effort
(e.g.,
o t h e r co mp a n y wi d e me ssa g e s, o t h e r p r o j e ct s,

Below is a guide of how stakeholder could respond to positive and negative news.
A n t i ci p a t e t h e r e a ct i o n s y o u , l l r e ce i v e f r o m

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Passive response
Satisfied.
No need for further
information at this time
Positive news Message filed (literally or
figuratively) under reassured
Any further mention of the topic
will be in informal settings and
words and tone will be positive
and upbeat
Annoyed.
l t , s b a d , b u t
i expected
Message filed (literally or
Negative news figuratively) under troubled,
apprehensive, and/or nervous
Any further mention of the
topic will be in informal settings
and words and tone will be
negative, pessimistic and
depressing
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Active response
Inspired.
React, click, call, speak out,
follow up, perform,
organise, send, participate,
solve,
prepare, apply, join the
cause and contribute
Provoked.
Speak up, rebel, actively
resist, complain, argue,
escalate,
persuade and cajole others,
agitate, thwart, misguide, be
or act aggressively, go quiet
and disengage entirely
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