Stakeholder consultation is a process of engaging with stakeholders to gather their input and feedback on a decision or issue. There are many different types of stakeholder consultation, each with its own advantages and limitations.
Advantages of Stakeholder Consultation
- Improved decision-making: Stakeholder consultation can help to improve decision-making by providing decision-makers with a wider range of perspectives and information. This can help to ensure that decisions are made in a more informed and inclusive way.
- Increased support for decisions: Stakeholder consultation can help to increase support for decisions by giving stakeholders a sense of ownership over the decision-making process. This can help to reduce the likelihood of resistance to decisions.
- Enhanced relationships: Stakeholder consultation can help to build and enhance relationships between stakeholders and decision-makers. This can lead to more cooperation and collaboration in the future.
Limitations of Stakeholder Consultation
- Time-consuming: Stakeholder consultation can be time-consuming, especially if a large number of stakeholders are involved.
- Costly: Stakeholder consultation can be costly, especially if it involves travel and accommodation expenses.
- Complexity: Stakeholder consultation can be complex, especially if there are a large number of stakeholders with different interests and perspectives.
- Unpredictable: The outcome of stakeholder consultation can be unpredictable, as it is difficult to know how stakeholders will respond to consultation efforts.
Choosing the Right Type of Stakeholder Consultation
The best type of stakeholder consultation for a particular situation will depend on a number of factors, including the nature of the decision or issue, the number of stakeholders involved, and the resources available.
Focus/Workgroups
Focus and workgroups can be excellent at getting information and sharing ideas, however, they can be influenced by bias or a chairperson or brand power. This type of consultation would not be of use in my industry but would be useful for improving some types of products, for example in food and drink products, and marketing material.
Surveys and Opinion Polls
In my role I am responsible for collecting surveys from customers at job completion. This can be an excellent method of measuring overall customer satisfaction, if it is completed in manner which does not make the customer feel obliged to answer a question in a positive manner when they actual had a negative experience i.e. under duress of an employee watching them complete the form. However, when obtained correctly, they can be an excellent method of collecting honest information direct from the shareholder.
Web 2.0 tools events/roadshows
Social media has become an important method for most organisations to communicate directly with customers and obtain feedback. However, organisations must be incredibly careful how they present online as it is very easy to inadvertently insult a person or group by posting information or opinion deemed inappropriate or offensive. It is also very easy for an organisation to quickly consider to be poor if comments and ratings begin to plummet.
Such an example is hotels and Tripadvisor which have been identified as ‘terrible’ by users of the website; 10 years ago, people who have been none the wiser before booking a room. Another example is the way in which the Conservative Party ran their social media campaign at the 2017 General Election which was described by many experts as “shambolic” and “chaotic” and which experts also believe was partly responsible for the party failing to appeal to the younger voter.
Individual meetings/roadshows
Individual meetings and roadshows can be useful in taking information directly to stakeholders – particularly customers – usually to a location where customers are already focused on a sector. Such an example might include my organisation having a stall at the annual contamination expo held at Earls Court annually where thousands of people from the asbestos industry meet. This method is also very useful for brand awareness and gathering information on potential new customers. In addition, new ideas and concepts can be obtained.
Whilst one-on-one meetings don’t generally require a large outlay except for travel expenses, roadshows can be expensive. They usually require at least one day and one employee, and the cost of holding a stall or buying tickets can also be prohibitive. However, this should be considered with the offset of the change to improve a network of people within the same industry.
Conclusion
Stakeholder consultation is an important tool for improving decision-making and building relationships with stakeholders. When choosing the right type of stakeholder consultation, it is important to consider the nature of the decision or issue, the number of stakeholders involved, and the resources available
Businessman, camping enthusiast, Formula One fan and Real Ale drinker.
