Project managers have a lot of responsibilities in managing many projects. They lead and manage many components of many different projects, including the people with a stake in a project known as stakeholders. On the stakeholder front, managing self-explanatory conversations with stakeholders where you identify what they want, and give them what they want, also means figuring out what their expectations are and managing their project aspirations, which may be unrealistic.
So if you are the project manager you must know how to study and work with stakeholders so you have better performance results in delivering quality more than what is expected in project management.
This article discusses what it means to manage project stakeholders, why it is important, and how to manage them effectively. This guide also elaborates on some tips that will help you to work better with project stakeholders. After reading this guide properly, you will complete all your projects successfully and keep everyone happy.
What is stakeholder management?
Identifying people or groups that care about a business or project, understanding their interests and possible effects, and cautiously working with them are all included in stakeholder management.
Customers, workers, investors, suppliers, and residents are all stakeholders. The process begins by determining who these people are and how the project will affect them. If a project is to succeed, the requirements and expectations of stakeholders must be controlled.
Figuring out your stakeholders’ priorities, wants, and identities should be done with time. It helps in developing a sound plan for collaborating with them. The project can go on without a hitch if its goals agree with the stakeholders.
In short, proper stakeholder management works to everyone’s advantage.
Why does stakeholder management matter?
Project stakeholder management matters a lot. It helps project leaders to ensure that their work collaborates with what the people involved want. When a project fulfills all these needs then it leads to success. Stakeholders are often responsible for project success so it is essential to keep them updated about how the project moves ahead. Making sure that stakeholders are satisfied increases the future success of the business and results in maintaining the good name of the company. Having good communication with stakeholders can help the project go smoothly and earn trust for later projects.
4 key steps to follow to manage stakeholders in project management
Project managers need to ensure project quality as well as stakeholders expectations. Managing stakeholders is the important job of a project manager. Now the question is how to manage them effectively. Below we have mentioned the 4 important elements that every manager should follow.
1. Analyze stakeholder’s profiles
A project manager should consider how the outcome of the project will impact all involved. In a diverse group, this involves conducting a stakeholder analysis. Stakeholders can be numerous individuals, including account managers, customer managers, marketing managers, operations managers, service managers, finance personnel, and technical teams. The project manager lists all of these individuals first. Next, they develop a stakeholder matrix, which is merely a simple table. This table indicates what every stakeholder wants and what the project team will provide to them. This makes it possible for everyone to know what every individual wants from the project.
2. Collaboration with stakeholders
A project manager must be familiar with the language that stakeholders understand. Managers should use the stakeholder’s language during meetings and conversations. This ensures that project managers know everyone’s problems and find solutions to solve them. Project managers have to work closely with stakeholders and update them about every minor decision about the project. Working together and exchanging information with stakeholders helps managers to set goals and achieve them on time. It also makes sure that everyone is interested in attaining project goals. Good communication and teamwork with stakeholders are key to a successful project.
3. Setting and managing expectations
Project managers should have clear plans about how to handle stakeholder expectations. Understanding both the fair and unfair demands of the people involved in the project is important. Managers have advised meetings with key decision-makers to manage different choices and views from various groups.
The project manager often has to juggle conflicting demands. For example, the sales manager desires that the product be launched urgently, even if it’s not perfect, while the design manager desires that the product be perfect. Determining the best approach for the project means the project manager has to find a middle path between these two conflicting wishes.
4. Partnerships
Establishing a strong relationship with all parties involved in the project is key to the success of the project. When project leadership indicates they prefer to work with those involved in the process, those involved are more likely to trust and cooperate with the project. The goodwill built helps significantly when an issue or change comes up. If I involve these people in decision-making during a project, it will help them feel like they have helped its construction and further allow them to come up with new and better ideas.
The project leadership’s ability to continue to create strong team collaboration will strongly impact the completion and outcome of the project. In summary, working constructively and positively with all the persons connected to the project will contribute to the successful completion of all the planned targets. Good collaboration and trust are the foundations of success in any project.
Additional tips for effective project stakeholder management
Below we have mentioned some additional tips that help project managers to effectively manage stakeholders.
1. Build your project management skills
- Leadership: Be confident, share the objectives of the project, and encourage every member of the team.
- Communicate: Write clear reports and make frequent conversations with stakeholders.
- Organization: Make good plans, complete everything on time, and keep alert about everyone involved in the project.
- Technology: Update your knowledge of various project software to make work easier.
- Problem-solving: Having the ability to find instant solutions to various problems.
- Adaptability: Always ready to change plans according to project requirements.
2. Communicate clearly
- Communicate changes to stakeholders in a single, primary manner.
- Report progress regularly.
- Develop positive relationships by communicating frequently.
- Create a strategy to control the way you interact with stakeholders.
3. Use project management software
- Utilize tools to leverage and organize tasks and people.
- Have a clear view of all stakeholders with ease.
- Send automated updates to keep everyone in the loop.
By developing and excelling at these skills and tools, you will be able to better manage your projects and stakeholders and succeed with your projects.
Oxford Training Centre helps to polish your stakeholder’s management skills
Oxford Training Centre provides an in-depth Stakeholder Management training course program for project managers. This course will allow you to develop essential communication, negotiation, and influencing skills to engage stakeholders. You will build your skills to connect, plan, and maintain effective stakeholder relationships to achieve project success in complex environments through expert delivery and real-world practice.