The Stakeholder Engagement Manual Volume 2 - AccountAbility

Analyse and Plan the Engagement
P2: SETTING STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR ENGAGEMENT
SUGGESTED METHODOLOGY M2:
SETTING STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR ENGAGEMENT
Th e purpose of this activity is to clarify your overall reasons for stakeholder engagement
and how they relate to broader strategic business objectives.
Th e examples highlighted previously illustrate some of the business benefi ts that
engaging with stakeholders can generate. However, it is important to identify the
possible benefi ts that it can deliver for your specifi c company or project in your specifi c
situation. Getting involved in wrong engagements can lead to a misuse of resources and
distract you from more pressing priorities.
To be eff ective, stakeholder engagement must be relevant to and aligned with your
own business strategy. Setting strategic engagement objectives is a useful step towards
developing robust approach to stakeholder engagement and to evaluating success.
• Consider strategic business objectives, either for the company as a whole or for
the department or project which is the focus of analysis. Where such objectives
are not explicitly set, make sure you agree some key strategic objectives with the
team responsible for the department or project. Strategic business objectives could
for example be:
– “To gain 10% annual sales increases in region X for the next fi ve years.”
– “To meet our majority of customers’ expectations for responsibly produced goods.”
– “To secure our long-term license to operate in countries that host our sites.”
– “To identify and make use of new opportunities in less developed countries.”
– “ Ensure that our products meet all current and future regulatory requirements in the
European market.”
– “To minimise negative social impacts resulting from the closure of production sites.”
• Facilitate a discussion around these objectives, specifi cally focusing on the
implications these have for your relationships with stakeholders.
Consider the questions below, and capture the most important answers in Template 2.
– How do these overall business objectives relate to our broader stakeholder groups?
– What are the external drivers for stakeholder engagement for us? (and what are the
risks of failing to engage?)
– What are we trying to accomplish through stakeholder engagement? What would
success look like?
– Why is this important to us? How does it support our business objectives and
strategies?
Examples are given in summary Template T2.