ENGAGE | Change Management
The Benefits of Carrying out Stakeholder Analysis in Business Change
A huge part of successfully delivering and managing any type of business change is being able to align often disparate groups of people with different agendas and views around a shared vision and need for change.
To be most effective it is important to be able to identify those individuals who are key influencers and target your time and resources on getting those people on side and on message.
Conducting a stakeholder analysis will assist in baselining where key influencers stand in terms of their level of support for the changes you need to put in place – can and will they act as advocates or detractors and more importantly do you need them to change their position in order to help you succeed. It may well be that you do not need to have all the stakeholders on board and once you have assessed which individuals and groups of people are key critical to delivering a successful change, then you can build your change communications plan accordingly.
Why a Change Communications Plan?
Communications in support of business change should not be an afterthought. It should be well thought out upfront as part of your integrated project approach.
Following on from a detailed stakeholder analysis, a change communications plans should be set out and it should address the following areas:
- Who you need to influence and by how much in order to move individuals or groups to the desired position on the ladder of advocacy.
- The key moments throughout your project when you need to influence and communicate
- The most appropriate methods to employ for your communications depending on the audiences you wish to address. The communications channels you employ for office-based staff may not be appropriate for those working remotely. Additionally, if your programme is international, you will need to consider cultural influences.
- At each communication point and for each audience, who should deliver the message and how the message be nuanced in order to positively resonate with the audience.
- Finally, what are the measures and the feedback loops that need to be put in place to check that the communication has been received in the manner in which it was intended.
Business change can be a large-scale and daunting task to take on. An experienced specialist can usually help grease the wheels, reduce conflict and mitigate problems. Give me a call today on 01702 879548 or email enquiries@harley-west.com to find out more.
