Keeping Stakeholders Happy without Compromising Progress

by Daniel Raymond · February 13, 2024

Effective communication with stakeholders is an integral part of the project management process. Stakeholders are vested in the project and likely to be involved in various aspects. Keeping stakeholders satisfied is crucial for the project’s success, as their feedback and support can help drive the project forward.

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Failure to satisfy stakeholders can lead to delays, misunderstandings, and project failure. Therefore, maintaining positive stakeholder relationships through effective communication is critical for project success.

Unhappy Stakeholders Cause Problems

First, you must understand how vital it is for your stakeholders to be satisfied – an unhappy stakeholder can cause many problems. These include:

Constant, unnecessary communication
Hindering the completion of core tasks
Constantly changing metrics of the project
Changing tasks in the middle of the project
Causing problems with supervisors or managers

How to Keep a Stakeholder Happy

So, given the importance of satisfying stakeholders, how do you do that? It’s one of the simplest and most challenging things you’ll face. There are several ways to do this, some of which are so simple that you might have overlooked them.

1. Communicate – Communication is one of the essential skills of a project manager. If you cannot regularly communicate the progress and performance of key areas within your project to the appropriate stakeholders, you’ll find that they’re not a happy bunch. Dedicated to keeping all relevant stakeholders apprised of essential milestones, progress, and results.

2. Actively Listen – If your stakeholders have essential concerns about the project (with any aspect of that project), they will speak up. However, if you’re not actively listening to them, it’s easy to let these comments “go in one ear and out the other”. They’re not talking to hear their voice. They’re trying to tell you something important, something that matters to them and to your project. Do yourself a favor and listen.

3. Know Their Roles – Any project will have a wide range of stakeholders involved. Different stakeholders will be engaged for different reasons; they all have different roles. Knowing their role in your project will help keep them happy and satisfied. For instance, upper management within your company wants to see progress and a few problems. Managers from the client company want to see progress and results that impact their success. Customers like to see results that matter to them or hear that you’re actively working on a task that will improve their experience. Know their roles and tailor your communications to match them.

4. Ensuring Agreement – Finally, you must ensure that all the stakeholders are on the same page regarding project goals. You can’t keep them happy if stakeholders view the project’s outcome differently. Goals must be firmly set and planned long before your project goes live, or there won’t be any satisfaction for anyone involved.

With the right steps and dedication to communication, you can satisfy your stakeholders and ensure your project runs smoothly.

Recommended article: Seven effective ways to keep stakeholders happy

Here are some examples of how to keep stakeholders satisfied

Regular Communication: Keep your stakeholders updated regularly on the progress of your project or business. Regular communication helps to keep stakeholders engaged and informed.
Transparency: Be transparent about your project goals, objectives, and outcomes. Share the progress reports, risks, and challenges with your stakeholders to keep them informed.
Meeting Expectations: Understand the needs and expectations of your stakeholders and deliver on them. For example, if you have promised to deliver a product within a specific timeframe, ensure that you meet that deadline.
Good Quality Work: Ensure that your work is of good quality. Quality work will help to build trust with stakeholders and demonstrate your commitment to their satisfaction.
Addressing Concerns: Address concerns or complaints from stakeholders promptly and take necessary actions to resolve them. This will help to build a positive relationship with stakeholders and demonstrate your commitment to their satisfaction.
Continuous Improvement: See stakeholder feedback and use it to improve your project or business. This will help ensure your stakeholders are satisfied and engaged throughout the project or business lifecycle.

Stakeholder satisfaction is essential for several reasons

Business Success: Satisfied stakeholders are likelier to remain loyal to a business and support its growth and success. They are also more likely to refer others to the business, which can help to increase their customer base and revenue.
Reputation: Satisfied stakeholders can help to build a positive reputation for a business, which can be beneficial in attracting new customers, investors, and partners.
Risk Management: Satisfied stakeholders are less likely to raise concerns or complaints that could lead to legal or reputational risks for a business.
Innovation: Satisfied stakeholders are more likely to provide feedback and ideas for improvement, which can lead to innovation and growth for a business.
Compliance: Satisfied stakeholders are more likely to comply with regulations and policies that a business implements, reducing the risk of non-compliance and associated legal issues.

Overall, stakeholder satisfaction is a crucial factor for the success and sustainability of any business or project. It helps to build trust, loyalty, and a positive reputation and can lead to growth and innovation.

How do we measure stakeholder satisfaction?

Measuring stakeholder satisfaction requires a systematic approach considering each stakeholder group’s needs and expectations. Here are some ways to measure stakeholder satisfaction:

Surveys: Conduct surveys to gather feedback and opinions from stakeholders. Surveys can be conducted in various forms such as online, phone, or paper surveys. Survey questions can be designed to capture stakeholders’ perceptions of different aspects of the business or project, such as quality of services or products, communication, and responsiveness.
Focus Groups: Organize focus groups to gather in-depth feedback from stakeholders. Focus groups allow stakeholders to share their experiences and opinions in a group setting, which can lead to deeper insights and understanding of stakeholder needs and expectations.
Interviews: Conduct one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders to gather detailed feedback and insights. Interviews can be useful in understanding individual stakeholders’ perspectives and help identify specific areas where improvements can be made.
Social Media Monitoring: Monitor social media channels to gather feedback and opinions from stakeholders. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can help gather feedback from many stakeholders in real-time.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS is a customer loyalty metric that can be used to measure stakeholder satisfaction. It involves asking stakeholders to rate their likelihood of recommending the business or project to others on a scale of 0 to 10. Based on their responses, stakeholders can be classified as Promoters, Passives, or Detractors, and the NPS score can be calculated.

The key to measuring stakeholder satisfaction is selecting a method appropriate for the stakeholder group and the specific needs and expectations of the business or project. It is also essential to act on feedback to continuously improve stakeholder satisfaction.

Process of achieving stakeholder satisfaction

Achieving stakeholder satisfaction requires a structured approach that involves understanding stakeholder needs, setting clear goals, and continuously monitoring and improving stakeholder satisfaction. Here are some steps to achieve stakeholder satisfaction:

Identify Stakeholders: Identify the key stakeholders for the business or project, including customers, employees, investors, suppliers, and regulatory agencies.
Understand Stakeholder Needs: Understand the needs and expectations of each stakeholder group. Conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather feedback and insights on stakeholder needs.
Set Clear Goals: Based on the feedback received, set clear and measurable goals for achieving stakeholder satisfaction. Ensure that the goals are aligned with the overall business strategy and objectives.
Develop a Plan: Develop a plan that outlines the actions required to achieve the goals. The plan should include specific actions, timelines, and responsible parties.
Communicate: Communicate the plan to stakeholders and ensure that they are aware of the actions being taken to address their needs and expectations.
Monitor and Evaluate: Monitor stakeholder satisfaction continuously using the selected metrics such as surveys, focus groups, and social media monitoring. Evaluate the results and make necessary adjustments to the plan.
Continuous Improvement: Continuously seek stakeholder feedback and use it to improve the plan and the overall approach to stakeholder satisfaction. Celebrate successes and share the plan results with stakeholders to show progress.

By following these steps, businesses and projects can achieve stakeholder satisfaction, increasing loyalty, positive reputation, and long-term success.

Recommended article: 17 Steps to Stakeholder Satisfaction