Stakeholder Engagement Strategies, Essay Example

This paper elucidates on the various engagement strategies that stakeholders employ in order to manage their company, operations and productivity. The engagement strategies that are focused upon in this paper are focus group interviews, brainstorming/nominal group technique and moderated discussion.

It is a known fact that companies, no matter how successful they maybe, sometimes struggle in fighting off the pressure of applying and engaging in a strategy that can help boost and promote the core activities of the business. One of the most effective strategies that can be utilized is the focus group interviews. This method allows at least 6 to 12 stakeholders to discuss the issues, explore attributes and concerns that a company may have. This is a face-to-face meeting where evaluation and recommendations are gathered through an intense collaboration of the stakeholders involve (Eden & Ackermann, 1998). Another strategy that can be used is the brainstorming/nominal group technique. This allows for the creativity of the stakeholder to flourish in an open discussion necessary for the evaluation required. Ideas and thoughts are being welcomed to gather as much information, questions, answers and analysis to gain a collective comprehension of the issues at hand. Lastly, moderated discussion is one technique that can be utilized when gathering all the stakeholders involve is not possible. Conference calls, video, and online-based communications are the primary tools used. In this technique, though, the people involve must plan ahead of time to make sure that the guides for discussion, the topics, issues and concerns are very-well laid out. Stakeholders are given ample time to read and study the documents presented in advance. In all these three strategies, a moderator is needed to ensure that all parties are heard, right issues are tackled and collaboration is achieved.

The outcomes of the implementation of these strategies are dependent on various factors such as the stakeholders’ experiences or the lack thereof, their relationship with each other and the number of the potential stakeholders. According to Freeman (1984), challenges are always present in stakeholder engagement strategies. But it has to be kept in mind that there will always be a strategy that is the right fit for any company and business.

References

Eden, C. & Ackermann, F (1998). Making Strategy: The Journey to Strategic Management. London: Sage.

Freeman, R. (1984). Strategic Mangement: A Stakeholder Approach. Marshfield, Mass.: Pitman Publishing