BPI Technique - Stakeholder Analysis- SA

Description

Identifies all the individuals and groups (stakeholders) who have influence over the progress of the BPI program and will be affected by its results. The Stakeholder Analysis provides a way of identifying the current level of support for change among these individuals and groups, and the degree of influence that they have upon the change process.
The Stakeholder Analysis needs to be client-specific, because each organization has its own set of stakeholders. In some organizations, for example, unions, external lobby groups, government regulating bodies, industry associations and other external bodies play quite a different role than they do in other organizations.

A Stakeholder Analysis is a very valuable starting point in the development of a Communication Plan. Once the Stakeholder Analysis is completed, the project team is able to develop an integrated suite of communication strategies that take full account of the concerns and interests of stakeholders.
It is important that the Stakeholder Analysis is revisited at key points in the BPI program, particularly in the Migration Plan and the Implementation Plans. The regular use of Stakeholder Analysis provides the project team with a way of monitoring shifts in the commitment and influence patterns among stakeholders.

Identify all internal and external stakeholders. Include stakeholders who will be directly affected by the changes (e.g. employees and customers), and groups who will be indirectly affected (e.g. the customer’s customer, unions), or who have a political or emotional stake in the outcome (e.g. lobby groups).
Ascertain their current level of commitment to, and influence over, the change.
Chart their respective positions on a Stakeholder Analysis grid.
Determine the preferred/most effective means of communication of particular individuals and groups represented in the Stakeholder Analysis.

Ensure that sponsors accept the findings of the Stakeholder Analysis. Facilitate this by involving them in the process, and seeking advice and information from them on their experience with the various stakeholder groups in the past.
Realize that stakeholders will align differently upon different issues associated with the BPI program. For example, a design group within manufacturing will feel differently about a proposal to outsource design, than they will to proposed changed to a manufacturing process that has minimal direct impact upon their work and job security. Revisit the analysis, whenever there is a shift in the actual content or focus of the proposed change.

Don’t rely on one set of opinions about the support and influence levels of stakeholders. Talk to several well-positioned people or groups, and try to get a more complete view. Realize that support and influence levels will change over the course of a change process due to a range of factors, including how well the change has been handled, and what shifts have occurred in the formal and informal power structures within the organization.

The following is a selection of materials from a presentation on the findings of a Stakeholder Analysis undertaken for a manufacturing, retail and distribution company.