In our previous post, we defined stakeholders a people or groups who have a stake in a project or organization and who impact and actions can hinder or grow the organization or project. But, what is stakeholder engagement?
The Happiness Index defines Stakeholder engagement as the process where we generate buy-in from the business stakeholders and get them more interested in the business. It involves a company being responsible to all its stakeholders by ensuring they are involved with the activities of the business.
What does this mean for your business? If your stakeholders are unhappy with certain changes or policies your organization has made, they will push back. If your brand does not carry them along, they will not be invested in your brand. When there are issues with a project or policy, they will very likely be unwilling to reason with you. If your stakeholders are not properly managed, they will pose a threat to your organizations’ goals and objectives. How then can you improve stakeholder engagement with your brand or project?
Define your goal
Without a vision, the purpose of a thing will not be known. It is therefore important that you have a clear goal that your stakeholders can buy into. Once this goal is clear, involve your key stakeholders in the planning process, get their input and come to a mutual agreement about how to achieve your set goal. With this in place, you will have little or no bottlenecks with your stakeholders. Instead, you will get their full support and active engagement to birth the vision.
Understand their expectations
It is not just enough to involve your stakeholders in the planning process. You have to understand what their expectations for the project are. If this is not properly communicated, it will cause issues in the long run. Therefore, it is critical that you carry them along as the project or the formation of a policy unfolds. Listen to what they have to say, be sure to explain your expectations as well, reach a mutual ground and implement changes where necessary. When the stakeholders feel actively involved in birthing the project, they will fight to help the project reach its goal.
Build their trust
If your stakeholders doubt your credibility, you can literally kiss your project goodbye. In order to build credibility and trust with your stakeholders, be as transparent as possible. Do not give room for doubt and if there is any uncertainty about your brand, ensure to clear them up with facts and figures (where applicable). If you allow doubt to fester, you will not have a successful outcome and this will deplete your stakeholders’ buy-in and engagement.
Communicate and Invest in them
Not all your stakeholders will be your employees, board members, agencies or the government. Some of them may be your host communities where your facilities operate. They may not have a full understanding of what you do. So, it is important that you communicate your brand’s goals in the way each stakeholder group will understand. or In an ever more complex world communication is key to understanding. But that must be communicated in a way that your stakeholders understand.
It is also important that you get to know each stakeholder group. Dedicate some time to interface with them. In doing this, you can get first-hand knowledge of their pain points and how to ease them. This will encourage your stakeholders to reciprocate your effort and remain invested in your project or brand.
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