About the Course

A Stakeholder is a person, group or organisation that has an interest in an organisation because they are affected by its operations or can affect its operations. Stakeholders have an impact on every organisation, public or private sector – some are internal, others are external, but the higher priority stakeholders must be engaged, their expectations understood, and strategies developed, planned, and implemented to recognise and address their concerns. All groups of stakeholders must be identified and treated equitably as part of good governance. Stakeholder management involves hard and soft skills, with some understanding of human nature, culture and communications added, finished off with the ability to influence and negotiate with integrity.

This Stakeholder Management Masterclass training course will introduce the delegates to the relevant tools and techniques, as well as a leading standard, that will help them to engage and manage stakeholders effectively and efficiently, including learning the stakeholder management processes, developing an understanding of human behaviour and how to influence it, analysing and planning communication strategies, as well as using the techniques of principled negotiation and influencing without authority, to achieve the delegate's goals. This will be achieved with a mixture of short theory blocks, backed by many interactive exercises and role plays, to help the participants practice their newly learned skills in a safe learning environment.

Core Objectives

The delegates will achieve the following objectives:

• Explain the process flow, the processes and key documents involved in managing stakeholders
• Describe how to analyse the stakeholder environment, identify and prioritise stakeholders and recognise their expectations
• Create and promulgate communications that assist in engaging stakeholders
• Demonstrate an ability to recognise how personality and behaviours give an insight into how to best manage stakeholder aspirations and expectations
• Give examples of different types of culture and the impact it has on your stakeholders’ worldview
• Understand how to undertake successful negotiations using principled negotiation techniques

Training Approach

This training course will utilise various proven adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension, and retention of the information presented, including stimulating presentations supporting each topic and interactive trainer lead discussion sessions.

There will also be practical sessions where participants can practice and experience course-related activities through exercises, short video presentations, and small group work that will be used to facilitate learning.

The Attendees

Likewise, it will be valuable to the professionals but not limited to the following:

• Executives and Managers
• Junior Managers and Supervisors
• Professional Managers and Staff, including HR and Finance
• People involved in transformation initiatives
• Program, Project and PMO Personnel
• Anyone who needs to understand Stakeholders and Stakeholder Engagement

Daily Discussion

DAY ONE: PRINCIPLES, IDENTIFYING AND DEFINING STAKEHOLDER AUDIENCES

• Overview of Stakeholder Engagement and Management
• The Stakeholder Engagement Process and Key Documents
• Identifying Stakeholders
• Producing the Stakeholder Register
• Creating and Analysing Stakeholder Profiles
• Assessing Interests, Positive, and Negative
• Analysing the Gap between current Stakeholders and required Perceptions
• Selecting a Suitable Stakeholder Management Strategy

DAY TWO: PLANNING STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS AND MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

• Planning Stakeholder Engagement Communications
• Identifying and Delivering the Key Messages
• Creating Stakeholder Communications
• Planning and Managing Stakeholder Meetings
• Dealing with Stakeholder Objections
• Escalating Stakeholder issues for Resolution by Senior Management

DAY THREE: INTERPERSONAL SKILLS IN STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

• Empathy: How can it assist in managing stakeholder relationships?
• Trust: The Foundation on which Relationships are Built
• Influencing, Persuading, and Manipulating: Why they are different and the impact they have?
• Personality Factors Affecting Stakeholder Management
• Behaviours: Their relationship to personality and how to read them
• Influencing without Authority: How to do it?
• Emotional Intelligence: What it involves and benefits? 

DAY FOUR: NEGOTIATING FOR SUCCESS

• The Negotiating Environment and Backdrop
• Reservation points, zones of potential agreement and best alternatives to a negotiated agreement
• Differences between ‘Soft’ and ‘Hard’ Negotiation Techniques: Why are they important?
• Principled Negotiation, Hardball Tactics, and Important Choices
• Negotiation Protocols and Processes
• Negotiation Tools and Techniques
• Managing a Negotiation

DAY FIVE: SOCIETY THAT AFFECTS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT

• What do we mean by culture?
• National Culture
• Regional Culture
• Organisational Culture
• Business Unit or Division Culture
• Communicating with Different Cultures
• Negotiating with Different Cultures