Stakeholder mapping
How to use
Knowing who your stakeholders are and how you might maximise their involvement is a key tool for any manager. It is particularly important if you are contemplating some kind of time-limited project or change process.
Stakeholder mapping has been around for some time and there are many forms, but the basic idea is to construct a rectangular matrix to map the position of stakeholders according to their interest and influence (see, for example, Mind Tools). This can help you to identify who you need to spend more time with, or develop a good relationship with, to increase your chance of achieving your goal successfully. The process involves the following three steps.
Step 1: Identify your stakeholders
List all the people, organisations or groups who are affected by your project, might have an influence over it, or have an interest in it.
Step 2: Map your stakeholders
Some stakeholders will have a particular interest in what you are doing; others may not really care. Some will have the power to block what you are trying to do; some will have the power to advance your project. So, the next step is to map your stakeholders accordingly.
For example, if you were trying to implement a change in a hospital ward to ensure particularly vulnerable patients were properly hydrated, the ward manager is likely to have a high level of power in helping to achieve your goal but may need some persuasion as they may have more pressing interests to attend to. Patients on the ward may have a high level of interest in seeing the change implemented, but little power themselves. Nurses and healthcare assistants working on the ward are likely to have a high level of power over whether the change is implemented successfully and a high level of interest in getting it set up. The matrix for this scenario is shown below.
A person's position on your stakeholder map then gives you an indication of how you have to work with them, as follows.
- High-power, highly interested people must be fully engaged. These are the people to collaborate with and work in partnership with.
- High-power, less interested people need to be closely involved and consulted, to ensure you take into account their needs and concerns.
- Low-power people with a high interest need to be kept well informed and should be able to give you feedback and ideas.
- People with low levels of power and less interest in the project should be kept informed about what is going on, but don’t expect them to become heavily involved.
Step 3: Engage with your stakeholders
Stakeholder mapping is about identifying and starting to understand your most important stakeholders. You should then use the knowledge gained to plan how to engage with each stakeholder in the best way as you advance with your project. The task is then to communicate with the right stakeholders in the right way at the right time.
Using the interactive tool
Create a title for your map in the ‘Title’ box. Type the stakeholder name in the coloured ‘post-it’ box on the left-hand side, then click ‘Create Note’. Drag the note on to your stakeholder map and then repeat the process as necessary. You can amend a note by selecting it, typing a new note in the box on the left and then clicking ‘Update Note’. To create another map, click the ‘File’ button and add a new title. Your old map will be automatically saved, and will be visible on a drop-down menu whenever you click on ‘File’.
References
Mindtools (2013) Stakeholder Analysis: Winning support for your projects [Online], www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm (Accessed 8 January 2013).