Principles of Stakeholders Engagement

Stakeholders Engagement is the practice of influencing a variety of results through consultation, communication, negotiation, compromise, and relationship building.

The success of a project depends on how the stakeholders view it. Their requirements, expectations, perceptions, personal agendas and concerns will influence the project, shape what success looks like, and impact the outcomes that can be achieved. Successful stakeholder engagement is an essential part of professional project management.

However, stakeholders’ engagement is not a one-man job of a project team. It’s the responsibility of everyone to understand their role and to follow the right approach to communication and engagement. Good project teams have clarity about stakeholder engagement roles and responsibilities and what is expected of people involved in the project.

• The success of a project hinges on how well you understand the people you will be working with and relying on throughout the phases of the project lifecycle. Sharing information with stakeholders is important, but it is equally important to first gather information about your stakeholders to avoid a bottleneck.
• Communication is pivotal when handling a project and it determines the overall outcome of the project. Across all sectors and sizes of project, ineffective or insufficient communication is at the root of project problems such as unclear objectives, misunderstanding the problem, poorly coordinated teamwork and ineffective risk management. Good communication requires relentless and time-consuming effort to ensure the intended message is understood and the desired response achieved.

Developing relationships result in increased trust and where there is trust, people work together more easily and effectively. Investing efforts in identifying and building stakeholder relationships can increase confidence across the project environment, minimize uncertainty, and increase the speed of problem-solving and decision-making.