Introduction to Stakeholder Management

Course description

Stakeholders have the power to be either a threat or a benefit to an organisation. This online course will thus focus on building fruitful relationships with them. You will learn the skills to analyse stakeholders and engage them productively by using effective communication techniques. In addition, the tips on managing conflicts will provide an effective management tool, making this a valuable course for budding managers and entrepreneurs.

The success of any business depends on the strength of its business relationships. What are constructive stakeholder management techniques? Which approach will help deal with stakeholders? Questions like these need clear answers if you wish to be an effective business leader, entrepreneur or manager. This course will teach you the management skills, tools and principles of stakeholder management. The introductory module will familiarise you with the standard concepts and three stakeholder theories. The benefits of stakeholder analysis, as explained in the course, will help you to master the skill of ‘stakeholder mapping’. It takes time to establish productive and positive relationships with the stakeholders of a business. We will reinforce the importance of building solid relationships with your stakeholders as you learn the role of trust and the principles of nurturing business-to-business (B2B) relationships.

Next, you will dive into the idea of stakeholder engagement. What is the importance of stakeholder engagement? What is the process of engagement? Engaging with stakeholders allows the business to plan for the future, minimise risks and enhance opportunities. As we guide you through the essential characteristics of engagement with the stakeholders, you will also learn about the core values for the practice of stakeholder participation. The engagement process of stakeholder management is made possible with effective communication. Certain influencing factors help us decide on our communication strategy and plan. For example, how important is the stakeholder? Do they want to be informed personally? Communication with stakeholders is essential and designing an effective communication strategy will be helpful because this is tied directly to the expected business benefits. You will learn to incorporate elements covering ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’.

One of the key elements of stakeholder management is monitoring. You will learn about monitoring and evaluating the stakeholder engagement process as you explore who performs evaluations and why. Finally, the focus will shift to conflict. You will pick up the framework of a critical skill of managing conflicts. There are disputes based on who knows about the conflict or when it appears. You will learn about the common conflict-handling styles before absorbing the essentials of mediation, conciliation and determination, along with designing conflict management strategies. Completing this course will enable you to demonstrate your stakeholder management skills. The success of any project delivery depends on such skills. There will always be a demand for professionals who can engage meaningfully with stakeholders. Entrepreneurs will also benefit from this course because they will take away essential skills such as effective communication, conflict management and stakeholder analysis. Take advantage of this free online course today and enrol.