stakeholders
The purpose of this assignment is to identify key stakeholders within your organization who are affected by, have influence over, or have an interest in solving the problem you are attempting to address with your action research project.
Stakeholder analysis requires you to examine a number of variables in relation to each individual or group you have identified. Use the “Stakeholder Brainstorming” resource provided as a tool to assist you in completing the “Stakeholder Analysis” Excel spreadsheet.
In the analysis, list titles and groups of stakeholders. Do not list names of specific individuals. It is important to note the role each stakeholder has in the problem and in solving the problem. Determine whether or not the individual or group has a negative, indifferent, positive, or very positive predisposition about the problem.
Within the “Stakeholder Analysis” spreadsheet, there is a tab labeled “Current-State Matrix.” Study the terminology related to influence and support and think about how each block describes the feelings a stakeholder may have about the problem and proposed solution. For example, there may be a group or individual that has a high degree of support with regard to solving the problem. If you know such person or group also has a high level of influence in how the problem is solved, it is important to think about how you will approach this person or group in terms of seeking information and presenting potential solutions. Taking time to rank the level of influence and support for each stakeholder is critical as you proceed, because it may have a large role in determining whether or not specific problem solutions can be implemented.
Take the time necessary to conduct research that will help you determine possible stakeholder reactions and issues related to potential solutions. Think about the motivation, drivers, and expectations of exchange for each stakeholder, the problem, and the proposed solutions. Finally, consider the role of the stakeholder, including when the stakeholder needs to be involved in the change effort, any stakeholder management activities, and stakeholder deliverables and timelines. If a stakeholder will ultimately end up having a designated role in implementing the solution, the ability to articulate the role, scope, and timeframe will be of utmost importance.
Complete the “Stakeholder Analysis” spreadsheet and submit it to the instructor along with a 500-word summary of your findings. In the summary, discuss the following:
- Summarize stakeholder attitudes about the identified problem and support your summary with specific data from your collection tool.
- Summarize stakeholder attitudes or experiences related to previously implemented problem solutions and support your summary with specific data from your collection tool.
- Summarize stakeholder ideas for potential solutions and support your summary with specific data from your collection tool.
- Who are the stakeholders you will seek to act as sponsors to support you in the implementation of a problem solution? Provide specific reasons why these stakeholders are key to implementing a solution.
- Who are the stakeholders that will likely be directly affected by solving the problem? Provide specific ways these stakeholders could be directly affected by solving the problem.
- Who are the stakeholders who could pose potential roadblocks to solving the problem? Provide specific reasons why these stakeholders could pose potential roadblocks and what those roadblocks could be.
Current-State Matrix
| INFLUENCE | Negative | High | Positive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Negative Support/ | Moderate | Positive Support/Moderate Influence (Plan) |
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| Negative Support/ | Low | Positive Support/Low Influence (Maintain) |
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| SUPPORT |
Stakeholder Template
| Name of Stakeholder | Description of Stakeholder | Role of Stakholder | Level of Knowledge in Program | Available Resources, Information, Influence, Money, Staff, Technology, etc. | Level of Interest | Level of Support | Level of Influence | Action Plan for Stakeholder Engagement | Level of interest | ||
| Example: Call Center Manager | Leader of the Call Center in Phoenix | Project Sponsor | High level of knowledge | Funding of project and internal resources from call center | Maintain regular communication with stakeholder on progress and updates. | ||||||
UnderstandingStakeholders
What is a stakeholder? According to Cambridge Dictionary “A stakeholder can be an employee, customer, or citizen who is involved with an organization, society, etc. and therefore has responsibilities towards it and an interest in its success.”
While this definition appears generally broad, the stakeholders involved with an implementation can be numerous. This section reviews different types of stakeholders, introduces tools for both stakeholder identification and analysis towards both priorities and stakeholder support.
There are two different types of stakeholders, internal and external. Internal stakeholders are those involved day to day in the program. These are individuals associated with the actual project or specific problem. External stakeholders are those outside of the organization who are influenced or impacted by the project or issue. There may also be external stakeholders that may be part of the project depending on the issue.
There are many different stakeholders and it is important to understand the interest and influence of each. The first step is to brainstorm and identify all the potential stakeholders. Figure 1 is an example of a stakeholder diagram depicting the target audience call center quality issue. The second ring of circles represents the individuals or
organizations
that have a direct connection with the interests of the primary stakeholder impacted by the initiative. The other rings around the secondary group are tertiary stakeholders who have a direct connection with the interest of the secondary stakeholders in support of the primary stakeholders.
The key purpose of this brainstorming tool is to ensure that you have not missed a stakeholder group. First you must revisit the problem statement to ensure that you have the focus of the issue. Below the example problem statement is an example of brainstorming for internal and external stakeholders.
Problem: Many call center representatives are not achieving quality standards, thereby contributing to the overall low-quality rating (9
2
%) for the call center. Through data and process evaluation, it was determined that the training time for call center representatives is 30% less than other similar call centers, which may contribute to lack of skills training. In addition, the online tools available to the call center representatives are not updated frequently with procedural changes and do not contain all required information necessary for representatives to perform their job. The low quality over the past 6 months has resulted in a 2% decrease in customers and a $550,000 loss in annual revenue. Decreased employee satisfaction in the call center due to the issue has contributed to a 5% increase in voluntary attrition, which costs the business $80,000 annually. There is an opportunity to improve quality and reduce both customer and employee attrition by addressing the skills training and resource issue in the call center.
Figure 1
Once the stakeholder individuals or organizations are identified, they require analysis for interest and support. The other critical aspects of this analysis are to understand what the stakeholder is contributing and identification of an action plan. Reference the “Stakeholder Analysis Template” in the course materials for an example.
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Call Center
Employees
Customers
Human
Resources
Training
Group
Call Center
Leadership
Employee
Immediate Family
Customer
Organizations
Employee
tertiary family
Organization
Leaders
Other internal
organizations
HR Leadership
Curriculum
Team
Local
Businesses
Stakeholders
Customer
Families
Recruitment
Staff
Training
Team