The location, scale and nature of an Organization’s action determines its Stakeholders, who expect to be recognized as such when the effect of an Organization’s action on them is direct or immediate.
For Organizations to identify Stakeholders, managers should answer the following questions:
Who are the users of our products or services? o Who participates in the design or production process?
To whom do we report our activity?
Who does it most affect the development of our activity?
A fundamental technique in all the implementation of the Corporate Social Responsibility Plan is the seriation of Stakeholders. The use of the mapping technique is recommended, as a form of visual representation of the variety of relations, direct and indirect, of the Organization, its proximity and strength, and the establishment of priorities should be considered, according to the following criteria:
Link Organizations to which the Organization has or will have obligations (legal, operational, financial);
Influence Organizations that have a direct involvement in achieving the objectives set by the Organization, whether positive or negative;
Proximity Organizations with which there is direct interaction;
Dependency Organizations that are directly or indirectly of the Organization;
Representation Organizations that formally or informally and legitimately claim representation from other individuals.
Step-by-step Stakeholders Involvement
Reasons for Stakeholder Involvement
By contemplating the involvement of Stakeholders, the Organization will be able to better understand the impacts of its actions, thus allowing it to adjust its values, principles, mission, strategy and adopting actions that lead to greater organizational success.
The reasons for Stakeholder involvement determine the form of Stakeholder involvement and expectations, which may change over time.
However, it is important to establish the role of each Stakeholder in the overall context of the Organization:
What is the role of Stakeholders in the Organization: is it consultative or participatory?
Is the Organization prepared to make the changes as a result of Stakeholder involvement?
Is the action required of the Stakeholders adjusted to their degree of influence?
Planning the Stakeholders Involvement Process
At this stage it is crucial to establish the objectives of the involvement, i.e. what the Organization and the stakeholders want and need, and to develop a plan.
The involvement plan should:
Describe each stakeholder group and all subgroups and identify individuals ensuring that they are representative of the group in which they belong;
Describe existing engagement processes within the Organization, as these can be used as a basis for developing a more systemic approach;
When the existing involvement process takes place in a certification or crisis context, it should include representative interlocutors with legal and/or moral authority as privileged interlocutors in their group;
Describe the group's capacity to engage in specific issues within the Organization's scope of action;
Contemplate the possible need for participation resources with possible recourse to facilitators;
Stipulate for each stakeholder group the most appropriate engagement approach (group or individual interviews, studies, meetings, advisory boards, or others). The approach chosen should: reflect the objectives of the involvement, the capacity of the Stakeholders, the costs involved, time constraints and available qualitative and quantitative information;
Assess the need to involve the help of a professional facilitator in the process.
Start the dialogue
A spirit of respect and openness will increase the opportunities for mutual benefit. Therefore, Stakeholders, when invited, should be informed of the degree of influence and commitment.
4- Maintaining dialogue and fulfilling commitments
In the absence of a standard approach for each stakeholder group, it is fundamental to the engagement process that both parties agree on the approach and the resulting outcomes. Dialogue should be maintained in accordance with the process that has been agreed.