Whether you’re a nonprofit, community group, foundation, agency, school (or somewhere in between), you have stakeholders: people who are impacted–directly and indirectly–by the success and outcomes of your programs and strategies.
You should have a plan in place for how you engage your stakeholders with the information you want to share. Before you can create your plan, let’s identify your three stakeholder types.
Step 1: Identify your stakeholders
Each stakeholder has a particular set of needs and wants, with levels of influence and varied interests. This can differ greatly across programs and strategies. Choose a program or strategy your currently implementing, and identify all possible stakeholders for that program or strategy. Next, break them down into these stakeholder categories:
Primary– A primary stakeholder is the group that most closely touches the program or strategy. For example, one of my past evaluation projects was for a local nonprofit. They wanted to conduct an internal evaluation to discover reasons for low volunteer engagement. Volunteers–both active and inactive–would be considered primary stakeholders.
Secondary– Secondary stakeholders are indirectly affected by the outcomes of a program or strategy. They serve as intermediaries. With our example above, the staff (both organizational and the clinic staff the volunteers worked for) can be secondary stakeholders.
Tertiary– Tertiary stakeholders are usually far removed from the impact of the program or strategy’s outcomes, but they can serve in an advisory capacity. In our example, the board of directors would be concerned a tertiary stakeholder.
Where you stakeholder falls depends on the program or strategy. In other words, a primary stakeholder for one program can turn into a tertiary stakeholder for another program.
Step 2: Use the Five Ws (and the H)
Now, let’s figure out how to engage your stakeholders based. And what better way to determine how to engage your stakeholders than using the Five Ws (and the H)?
WHAT do you want to share– Are you sharing findings from a recent report you conducted, the results of fundraiser, or the outcomes of an advocacy event you hosted? Outside of sharing something because it sounds interesting, determining what to share can set the stage for how you will engage with your stakeholders. Be strategic in the messages you will give, the approaches you will take, and how you will gauge and handle potential feedback.
WHY do you want to share it– Are you giving an update on a fundraising goal you surpassed for the fiscal year, or sharing a status update to a research study that received funding through a new donor relationship?
WHO is the stakeholder– You can center your engagement based on the stakeholder most impacted, or develop a strategy that targets your primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders. It may be easier to focus on the stakeholders most impacted.
HOW will you share this information– Similar to your WHO, you can identify three specific ways to share the information based on your primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders. Tailor how you share your information. Your funder may prefer reading the full report of an evaluation, while your executive director will be ok with the executive summary, and your program participants may like seeing the information displayed in an infographic.
WHERE will you share this information– Where you share and how your share is based on where your stakeholders are most likely to be. You can share information on your website, blog, newsletter or podcast. With social media being at an all-time high, many organizations are finding interesting ways to engage with their stakeholders. While reports and presentation slides are still the standard for some stakeholders, you can take information from those reports or those slides and share them using social media. Another note about social media: Utilize the standout features of each social media platform to engage with your stakeholders. Here are some examples:
- Facebook-Â Status update, links to reports, infographics
- Twitter- Status update, links to report, pictures, video, infographics
- Instagram- Pictures, video,
- LinkedIn- Status update, links to reports
- Pinterest- Infographics, links to reports
- YouTube- Video
- Snapchat- Video
- Google+ – Status update, links to report, pictures, video, infographics
WHEN (or how frequently) will you share– Whether on a weekly basis or quarterly, determine how often to share and engage with your stakeholders is important is getting and maintaining their support. You don’t want to bombard your stakeholders, but you also don’t want to be sporadic. Figure out a nice balance may take some trial and error. Also, knowing who your stakeholder is can also determine the frequency.
Key takeawayÂ
The more you understand your stakeholders, the better you’ll be at engaging them. By being strategic, you can optimize your stakeholder relationships and have them be the champions of your cause.
