What is needed to have a good stakeholder dialogue?
How can you be certain that you will reach all the intended stakeholders?
Motivate and instigate them for your corporate social responsibility (CSR)?
Stakeholders dialogue is an important part of ISO 26000. Being a marketing and
communication expert, I am offering my help to target and enhance this in the
most efficient and effective way to achieve your goal.
Blog 1, the first of the four blogs, is an
introduction. Blog 2, clarifies and includes recommendations as to how you can,
as a Project, CSR or Communications manager, prepare a stakeholders dialogue
for a more control result! Blog 3 - helps you – as a
project, communications or CSR manager – to actually communicate with your
stakeholders in an off-line stakeholders dialogue. However, an on-line dialogue
is, of course is nowadays another option.
Six insights for a
focused off-line dialogue
To ensure the necessary
trust within a relaxed atmosphere whilst 'harvesting' the desired result - the
following six insights are detailed:
1. Acclimatization
Make sure the
stakeholders have the room and time, to introduce and express themselves and
their own expectations, to set the dialogue in motion.
Why? Relationships need
to develop and are more important than content.
2. Frameworks for interaction
Ask or choose a moderator
as spokesperson to lead the dialogue in the right direction. Once the request
for a meeting has been made - set some ground rules. The most important rule
being - to listen to one other! It is also good to set
the agenda and establish certain matters, with regard to mobile phones, toilet
location, coffee and/or breaks for smoking.
3. Presentation
As a
presentation is a part of the stakeholders dialogue - here are a few quick
tips: to prepare, read Lianne Ebbink's blogs, a Dutch presentation
professional, 'Being in the Room', coupled with 'Toast Masters' or refer, on YouTube,
to 'TedX', for inspiration.
4. Tools and Methods
Assuming you
have already studied the composition of the group and the space available (see
blog 2), put this knowledge to good use by giving participants space to,
express and articulate their CSR interests. Provide a balanced programme. Start
with the expected 'harvest' yield, then select appropriate divergent and
convergent methods. This can be achieved within smaller groups being brought
together. The number of tools is numerous - from 'hot seat' presentation, story
telling, mind mapping, brainstorming, interviews to 'energizers' and
relaxation! A good moderator knows how to 'drop' a level of high energy flow
and get the stakeholders back 'on track' to maintain an interactive one.
5. Confirmation of Agreement
Specify, list
and confirm agreement at the end of a dialogue.
- Which CSR
issues contribute to the sustainable development for all stakeholders;
- What are
relevant to your own organization and of those stakeholders;
- Which
agreements are made about actions, tasks and planning;
and
- Has the right focus has been found!
6. The importance of
informal dialogue
Plan enough
room for an informal break(s) or time: e.g. coffee, drinks or a buffet lunch.
Make sure enough time is given to digest the previous dialogue(s), to build on
and enhance relationships. Never underestimate this - an environment, which
gives an important opportunity to 'target', brainstorm and exchange ideas, will
be a great asset!
Practical examples
In the book 'De
implementation van MVO. Praktijkcases en tools voor ISO 26000'*
(* Translation -
Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility with Examples and Tools of
ISO 26000' -> English book can be bought soon) there are nine listed cases
described - among which is:-
Alliander
Case 3 about
Alliander - specialist when it comes to complex private energy grids and
installations - (page 102 - 113, the most relevant part being on
pages 112-113), describes a number of lessons that can be attributes to
'communication and dialogue':
1. Assist
business units, by translating Alliander's CSR policies and priorities;
2. Use CSR
language when talking about CSR;
3. Give
attention to suppliers and even more to the dialogue undertaking joint internal
chains and processes.
4. Exploit the
knowledge of potential chain managers involved in core procedures, in shaping
the CSR processes.
Maasvlakte
'Stakeholdermanagement bij Maasvlakte 2'* (N.B. This is not from the ISO 26000 book!)
Chairman,
Thomas Louden, asked the following question in a Dutch interview:
‘The process of
stakeholders being directly involved in the planning takes time.
Did the time,
involved, finally pay off?’ To which Feenstra replied: ’It does take time and
energy but it dissipates the time traditional litigatation would have cost!’
Online dialogue
– also an option
Gemeente Amsterdam
During the
construction of the Amsterdam's Noord/Zuid Line underground station, many
mistakes were made. The continuing controversy and the subsidence, of several
buildings on the Vijzelgracht, ensured that the construction of the 'Line' was,
in places, between September 2008 and August 2009,
temporarily halted! Ultimately, a committee advised that, the Noord/Zuid Line,
had to be finished! The Amsterdam's City Council decided to have better information
and contact with their stakeholders, as one of their improvements. These is why
the City Council went on to incorporate and include, online dialogue through
Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.
Imtech promotes GreenTalent
'From a
sustainable concept to fly larvae' also relates to online dialogue with
stakeholders via a creative communication concept. It answered Royal Imtech's
questions, as how you can involve stakeholders in future challenges? How can
you work with them in terms of sustainability and co-operation? Last but not
least, - how can you become a more accessible expert?
Please
feel free to contact me if you have any questions, requests or comments related
to this blog or the next –and last- blog about this subject.
