Managing stakeholder relationships means identifying who matters, understanding their needs and influence, clearly engaging, and proving follow‑through on what you say.
Your stakeholders often have different interests and levels of influence, and their support affects scope, schedule, cost, compliance, and reputation. Project and organization leaders must align stakeholder expectations, build trust with stakeholders, communicate clearly and consistently, and record engagement to show how decisions were made.
In this guide, you'll learn how to map and prioritize your stakeholders, identify the purpose of your engagement, build a stakeholder communication plan, communicate effectively with your stakeholders, and understand why using Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) software is important to keep everything organized and auditable.
How do I manage a stakeholder relationship?
Stakeholder relationship management involves identifying, analyzing, engaging, and maintaining relationships with the people and groups that can affect or are affected by your project or organization. You must ensure you engage with them to understand their needs, expectations, and concerns and address them effectively throughout the project or organization's lifecycle.
Effective stakeholder relationship management relies on creating a stakeholder-specific communication plan that defines how and when you will communicate, sets and manages the team's expectations, and aims to build and nurture relationships with each of your stakeholder groups. By aligning your stakeholders' interests with your project or organization goals, you can meaningfully engage, strengthen trust with stakeholders, and be better equipped to support project success through proactive decision-making and collaboration.
What is a stakeholder?
A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that affects or is affected by a project, policy, or operation, and therefore has a legitimate interest in its outcomes. Stakeholders can be internal or external. They vary in influence, interest, and attitude, and may support, oppose, or remain neutral toward the work.
Identifying your key stakeholders early and understanding their priorities is essential to project and organizational success. Common ways to classify and prioritize your stakeholders include these stakeholder classification models:
- Influence/interest or impact/interest mapping (also known as Mendelow's Matrix)
- The Salience Model (power, legitimacy, urgency)
- Proximity and role (direct vs indirect, primary vs secondary)
Learn more about stakeholders and their importance to your project→
How to manage stakeholder relationships
If you recently stepped into a senior role and the question of "How can stakeholder relationships be managed in this large-scale project?" has been on your mind, here are steps you can follow to manage your stakeholder relationships more successfully:
Step 1: Identify your stakeholders
The first step in managing stakeholder relationships is establishing precisely who your stakeholders are. Think about who can affect your work or be affected by it. Identify internal groups (project team, sponsors, executives, operations, legal, IT) and external groups (customers, suppliers, partners, regulators, investors, local communities). In Indigenous contexts, distinguish rights-holders (for example, specific Nations, Elders, Knowledge Keepers) from other stakeholder groups and use their preferred terms.
How to identify your stakeholders:
Review the sources: project charter, business case, scope documents, contracts, risk register, organizational charts, regulatory requirements, and past consultation records.
Ask diagnostic questions:
- Who directly impacts the company or project's success?
- Who is interested in the company's success?
- Can the business continue without this individual, group, or organization?
- Who performs tasks critical to success?
- Who uses or tests the end product or service?
- Who makes financial decisions that affect the company?
Run a short mapping session: interview project leads and domain experts; add names from supply chain, community, and regulatory lists; validate with sponsors.
Segment with a power–interest matrix:
- High power, high interest: Primary decision-makers or authorities. Engage frequently, share detailed updates, involve in key decisions.
- High power, low interest: Sponsors or regulators who influence outcomes but do not need constant updates. Maintain the relationship; send concise, milestone-based briefings.
- Low power, high interest: Users, community members, or teams keen to contribute. Provide regular updates and invite feedback; their insights can prevent problems and improve outcomes.
- Low power, low interest: Peripheral audiences. Monitor and inform at major milestones to minimize future issues.
Create a stakeholder register:
Capture at least:
- Name/group, role/affiliation, internal or external
- Influence/power and interest ratings (with rationale)
- Objectives, expectations, known concerns
- Decision rights or statutory duties
- Preferred communication channels and frequency
- Accessibility or cultural considerations
- Related topics, locations, or projects
- Commitments made, current status, next contact date
- Owner on your team
Plan by stakeholder segment:
Different stakeholder groups need different communication plans. Use the stakeholder classification exercise to determine the depth and frequency of contact needed, the level of detail to share, and the input mechanism that will work best (workshops, briefings, surveys, one-to-ones).
Keep your stakeholder list current
Revisit the stakeholder list or register at each project phase. As the scope, context, or team members change, update the register and adjust your engagement approach accordingly.
Step 2: Identify the purpose of engaging with your stakeholders
Once you have categorized your partners, rights holders, and other stakeholder groups, define a clear purpose for engaging with each group. The purpose of engagement directs your plan, sets expectations, determines what information to share or request, and establishes how you will measure results. Different groups will be important to you for different purposes and, in many cases, require separate communication plans.
Why defining stakeholder engagement purpose matters
Defining a clear purpose for engaging with each stakeholder group aligns activity with outcomes by clarifying the decision, input, or change you seek. It also prevents noise by avoiding generic updates that do not serve your stakeholders ' needs, guides communication methods, and enables measurement by translating intent into specific, trackable objectives.
How to define your engagement purpose:
- Link to project phase: initiation, design, permitting, delivery, operations, or closure.
- Specify your objective: inform, gather input, co-design, obtain approval, resolve a concern, report progress (IAP2: inform, consult, involve, collaborate, empower).
- State what you need from them: information, feedback, consent, endorsement, data, attendance, or decisions.
- State what they need from you: timely updates, technical details, benefits information, schedules, impact mitigations, or grievance responses.
Examples of engagement purpose by sector:
- Government: explain alternatives, gather local knowledge, document consultation for approvals, agree on mitigation measures, and confirm implementation timelines.
- Energy and renewable energy: share project updates, gather community input, report on environmental monitoring, outline community benefits, and communicate safety, outage, or rate changes.
- Natural resource management (e.g. mining/forestry): discuss potential impacts, record and fulfill commitments, prepare a monitoring report, and advance Indigenous partnerships and benefits.
- Infrastructure and transportation: validate design requirements, hold advisory sessions, communicate route or phase changes, close the loop on public feedback, and confirm service levels and schedules.
Make engagement purpose measurable:
- Convert purpose into objectives and indicators.
- Objective examples: "Collect feedback from 70 percent of high‑interest community groups on Option B within 30 days." "Close 100 percent of safety-related commitments before permit submission." "Achieve a neutral or better sentiment trend over the next quarter."
- Examples of indicators are response rate, attendance, commitment closure rate, approval status, sentiment score, dispute volume, and time to resolution.
Translate engagement purpose into a stakeholder communication plan:
- Audience: which segment (power–interest category)?
- Content: what information they need versus what you need from them.
- Channels and cadence: meetings, town halls, email/SMS, surveys, workshops, one‑to‑one briefings.
- Roles and decision rights: who presents, who receives input, how decisions will be made and recorded.
- Evidence: what you will document (minutes, commitments, issues, outcomes) and how you will report back ("you said, we did" summaries).
- Risks and constraints: timelines, access needs, translation, and cultural protocols.
Record the engagement purpose in your stakeholder engagement plan and, in your SRM software (if you have one), link it to the relevant groups and activities so objectives, inputs, and outcomes remain visible and trackable.
Interested in stakeholder engagement? Explore more details here anytime →
Step 3: Create a stakeholder communication plan
A communication plan or strategy defines who to contact, what to share or request, how and when to communicate, and how to record and evaluate interactions. It aligns messages to stakeholder needs and project objectives.
Stakeholder communication plan components
What to include in your communication plan:
- Objectives: What should each interaction achieve (inform, consult, involve, collaborate, empower per IAP2)?
- Audiences and preferences: list groups and their preferred channels and frequency (weekly email, monthly meeting, quarterly briefing). Record accessibility needs, language, and cultural protocols.
- Key messages by audience: concise, plain‑language summaries customized to interests
- Channels and cadence: email/SMS, webinars, town halls, 1:1 briefings, community meetings, portals. Match channel to purpose and preference.
- Roles and approvals: spokespersons, reviewers, and response time targets (RACI/DACI).
- Two‑way feedback: how stakeholders ask questions or submit feedback (surveys, office hours, web forms) and how you will acknowledge and respond ("you said, we did " summaries).
- Records and privacy: what you will log (notes, commitments, issues), retention rules, consent, and data security (align with AA1000SE and privacy policies).
- Risk and escalation: sensitive topics, review steps, and a clear path for handling complaints or urgent concerns.
- Metrics: response rates, attendance, sentiment trend, time‑to‑response, commitment closure, and communications connection
Enable your communication plan in your SRM
Your stakeholders' profiles in your SRM can be updated to reflect the communication you will use with them. You can then log communication commitments to ensure you do what you committed to in your plan, automate reminders for other team members involved, track your outreach with stakeholders (emails, meeting notes, phone calls, etc. ), and generate reports to demonstrate timely, responsive communication.
Best-practice principles for stakeholder communication plans
- Relevance: Share only what the audience needs for them to decide or act on.
- Predictability: Set a schedule or cadence for communication and stick to it.
- Accessibility and inclusion: provide translation if needed, alternative formats (information sheets, videos, etc.), and ensure accessible venues and tools.
- Consistency with flexibility: maintain core messages while adapting depth and format to each stakeholder group.
- Transparency: plan to explain the basis for decisions and show how input influenced outcomes.
Access a concise communications strategy guide to relate with stakeholders →
Step 4: Implement your stakeholder communication plan
Your communication plan can be implemented when there are clear team roles and responsibilities, a predictable cadence laid out, and a two-way dialogue to take place. The goal is consistent execution, timely response, and visible follow‑through.
Prepare the communications team
- Brief everyone on objectives, key messages, roles, and decision rights (use a simple RACI/DACI).
- Set escalation paths for sensitive topics and define approval workflows.
- Create templates for updates, minutes, "you said, we did" summaries, and reports.
Launch the communication cadence
- Schedule touchpoints by audience preference (e.g., weekly email, monthly briefing, quarterly forum).
- Ensure accessibility and inclusion (plain language, translations, accessible venues/formats).
- Publish a calendar so participants know when and how they will hear from you.
Communicate and listen to your stakeholders
- Deliver timely updates, explain the basis for decisions, and invite questions.
- Keep the dialogue open: acknowledge inputs promptly, capture suggestions, and respond within agreed timeframes.
- Use multiple channels (email, meetings, webinars, surveys, office hours) to reach different groups.
Manage commitments and concerns.
- Log every commitment and concern with an owner, due date, status, and next step.
- Provide regular progress updates until items are closed.
- Share concise summaries showing how feedback influenced actions.
Monitor and report
- Track response time, attendance, sentiment trends, commitment closure rate, and dispute volume.
- Produce brief dashboards for sponsors and community/rights‑holder updates for transparency.
- Maintain an auditable record of interactions, materials, and outcomes.
Review and adjust the plan
- Revisit your plan regularly (e.g., monthly, quarterly).
- Update audiences, preferences, and priorities as projects evolve or new participants join.
- Refine messages, cadence, and channels based on feedback and performance data.
- Document lessons and incorporate them into the next cycle
Enable the plan with SRM software
- Store stakeholder profiles, communication preferences, and accessibility needs; record outreach with them.
- Automate reminders for tasks, commitments, and follow‑ups; set alerts for overdue items.
- Link people, organizations, topics, locations, and decisions to preserve context.
- Generate reports for leadership, regulators, and community updates.
- Use role‑based permissions, version history, and secure storage to protect data and privacy.
Align stakeholder relationship management with established standards
To keep your stakeholder relationship management consistent, accountable, and credible, you can follow principles from IAP2 (inform, consult, involve, collaborate, empower), AA1000SE (inclusivity, materiality, responsiveness), or PMI practice guides (governance, risk, communications).
Learn more about implementing Jambo stakeholder relationship management software →
Nurture relationships with your stakeholders
How to nurture relationships with stakeholders is an important consideration for any successful project. Building strong stakeholder connections starts with clear and intentional communication. Customize your messaging to each stakeholder, consider what information they need, how often they should receive updates, and which communication channels they prefer. By providing consistent and transparent updates throughout the project, you establish trust and show stakeholders that they can rely on you for timely and accurate information.
As the project progresses, continuously monitor stakeholders to identify changes in their influence, opinions, or grouping. Address any resistance to change by actively engaging with those with concerns, holding meetings, answering questions, and highlighting the project's benefits. Sharing critical information early, especially about issues or changes, makes stakeholders feel involved and valued. Inviting their input when making decisions helps build ongoing support and ensures that stakeholder relationships remain positive and productive.
Find out more tips on how to nurture relationships with stakeholders →
Next steps: Explore Jambo Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) software
If you're evaluating tools to manage your stakeholder relationships closely, SRM software may be the way to go. Consider a short discovery call with the Jambo sales team. In about 15 minutes, we'll discuss your needs and determine if Jmabo is the right tool for you. Book a demo.
