Stakeholder engagement is important for your project as well as the enterprise’s well-being. Typical activities for the buy-ins are regular progress updates, getting inputs, etc. However, the frequent replies are not so frequent anymore and you panic as the deadlines come closer. What have you done wrong? In this article at Project Risk Coach, Collin Gautrey shares some eye-opening facts about why stakeholder engagement is so painful.
Stakeholder Engagement Woes
Escalating a non-responsive stakeholder may only reflect badly on you. The management will think that you were unable to increase and maintain stakeholder engagement. Before taking the matter up with the higher management, try getting to the root of the problem:
- Before you panic, understand why the interest level of the stakeholders went down.
- Displaying a wrong attitude can turn away stakeholders. Though it is business, another way of increasing stakeholder engagement is adding a personal touch.
- Ask for the reason behind the delay instead of speculating. This will increase your chance to align your actions to enhance stakeholder engagement.
- When you find out the real cause, change your approach to maintain the buy-ins.
Real Causes from the Stakeholder Standpoint
- No Time: Stakeholders are busy people that simply are not getting the time to reply to your messages.
- Lack of Motivation: Motivation makes people find the time. Stakeholders handle several projects at a time. So, unless you give them the motivation to stay interested, they may not avail time to give you approval.
- Prior Experiences with You: Previous experiences influence or affect stakeholder buy-ins. Find out what made them less interested in your projects now. There might still be a ray of hope.
- Trust Issues: Are your personal blog posts stopping them from trusting you? For better stakeholder engagement, you can inform them that your personal views have nothing to do with professional commitment.
To view the original article in full, visit the following link: http://projectriskcoach.com/struggle-to-engage-stakeholders/
