Chapter 3 Stakeholder Management

Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change , 3e Tilde Publishing

Chapter 3

Stakeholder Management Strategies for continuous engagement

© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Chapter overview

1. Identifying stakeholders2. Mapping power and interest3. Planning stakeholder management 4. Manage stakeholder engagement5. Control stakeholder engagement

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Identifying stakeholders A vested interest (positive or negative) in the

project Drive decision making and related activities A mix of champions, workers and protagonists Roles, responsibilities, egos, personalities and

agendas Stake in the process and/or result

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Mapping power Positive power –

o running political interference, endorsing the decision-making procedures, supporting the change control process, modelling appropriate behaviours, supporting SMEs and other team members, escalating appropriate issues, responding promptly to all communication requests, approaching all performance variations in a collaborative manner

Negative power – o short circuiting agreed procedures, circumnavigating change control

processes, bullying other stakeholders, creating disruption, being critical and judgemental, not attending meetings, undermining the project manager’s authority, having a track record for raising issues and complaining, completing work poorly, ignoring instructions and directives, not following through on information requests, white-anting’ the project

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Mapping interest Positive interest –

oadhering to new operating procedures, attending training workshops, demonstrating visibility and involvement, contributing ideas and feedback, reading the handover documentation, promoting the change to other stakeholders, demonstrating appropriate change agent behaviours

Negative interest – oPassivity, public apathy and indifference, malicious

compliance, constant challenging and questioning, outright non-compliance, conscious activity leading to damage and disruption

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

The power and interest matrix Minimal effort

oLow interest, low power Keep informed

oHigh interest, low power Manage closely

oHigh interest, high power Keep satisfied

oHigh power, low interest

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Planning stakeholder management Name and position Roles and responsibilities Information needed Ideal format/media Required frequency Persons responsible for managing

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Manage stakeholder engagementManaging engagement means more than simply running through and ticking off the line items in the stakeholder management plan. It means using the plan to increase the chances of delivering the project to plan and, ultimately, of project success. It will involve: gaining ongoing commitment to the success of the project ensuring goal achievement with negotiation and communication anticipating future problems and associated risk clarifying, resolving and/or escalating issues anticipating reactions to different situations updating change register/log and their impact

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Control stakeholder engagement gaining stakeholder buy-in identifying what has led to low/high engagement nominating periodic review timeframes knowing what it is you actually want to measure assessing if what information needs have changed determining what the percentage of work/project is complete determining what variations have been approved determining what issues are still current revisiting the project communication register recommending corrective/reinforcing changes documenting and circulating the amended plan.

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Review questions1. Define what is meant by the term ‘stakeholder

management’. 2. What is it important to identify the stakeholders in

any project?3. What information would a stakeholder plan contain?4. What are examples of different stakeholder

engagement strategies?5. Why does the process of stakeholder management

need to be controlled?

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Group learning activities Challenge the notion that all stakeholders contribute

equally throughout the project Develop a list of the key stakeholders in a workplace

project Identify additional characteristics that define project

stakeholders Discuss the challenges in engaging with stakeholders Evaluate the effectiveness of either the RACI or PARIS

matrix in managing stakeholders

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© 2014 Hartley, Project Management: Integrating Strategy, Operations and Change, 3e Tilde Publishing

Assessment options Create a stakeholder management matrix identifying

the key stakeholders and how they will be managed Develop a rating score/descriptor to scale project

stakeholders For each of the four stakeholder management

strategies, develop a number of ‘practical’ strategies of what these would look like in the workplace

Short answer questions Multiple choice questions

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