Why stakeholder engagement reporting is important and how to make it easier

Stakeholder engagement is a critical practice for many organizations. It can foster strong relationships, help build trust, improve reputation, and drive long-term success.

However, one significant hurdle to effective stakeholder engagement is reporting on the work that occurs. Collecting and consolidating stakeholder engagement data into reports can be practically impossible, especially when that data is scattered across multiple systems or locations.

This hinders organizations from fully leveraging the benefits of their stakeholder engagement and, at worst, results in noncompliance and stalled or cancelled projects.

In this blog post, we'll explore the challenges of stakeholder engagement reporting and offer some practical ways to make it easier. We'll also discuss the importance of centralized data management, how reporting can improve stakeholder relationships, and list the reports you can create when your stakeholder engagement data is organized and accessible. 

The importance of stakeholder engagement reporting 

Whether driven by regulatory requirements or internal demands, stakeholder engagement reporting is essential to your overall engagement strategy. 

The reports you need to create will depend on your specific goals, regulations, and stakeholders. You may require comprehensive reports detailing every interaction with your stakeholders or more focused reports highlighting key metrics such as the frequency and reach of engagements, the number of stakeholders engaged, and the success metrics for each engagement initiative. 

Here are some examples of reports you can make with your stakeholder engagement data: 

• Reports that prove compliance with regulations and laws (i.e. Pre-Application Engagement reports, Pre-Consultation Assessment reports, Indigenous Record of Consultation logs, etc.). 
• Reports for obtaining authorizations, approvals, licenses, or permits (i.e. applications for exploration or development). 
• Reports illustrating that adequate engagement occurred. 
• Reports that help to secure social license to operate. 
• Reports that insure against risks like non-compliance or act as a legal backstop for contentious projects in case of public hearings or lawsuits (i.e. all records of engagement for public hearings, litigation responses, etc.). 
• Reports that help satisfy public interest and requests for information (i.e. FOIP requests). 
• Reports to be used in ministerial requests for information (reports for briefings, internal memos, session binders, etc.). 
• Reports informing project progress, overviews or successes for managers and decision-makers. 
• Reports informing stakeholders and communities of how their feedback influenced project decisions. 

You can also leverage engagement data to inform and enhance broader corporate initiatives. For example, elements of your stakeholder engagement data can be incorporated into more extensive corporate reports or be included as part of certification submissions, such as: 

• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) 
• ESG reports 
• Sustainability reports like CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ) reports 
• Sustainability certifications like: 
  • Canadian Standards Association (CSA) 
  • Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) 
  • Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) 

These reports provide a valuable opportunity to demonstrate your organization's commitment to transparency and accountability while highlighting key achievements and areas for improvement. By incorporating stakeholder engagement data into reports, you can: 

• Meet the requirements of certifications more effectively. 
• Showcase the impact of your stakeholder engagement efforts on business outcomes. 
• Highlight successes in meeting regulatory requirements or achieving certification standards. 
• Demonstrate a strong governance framework prioritizing stakeholder needs and your commitment to meaningful engagement. 
• Enhance your reputation among stakeholders and investors. 
  

The power of stakeholder engagement reporting for building trust and strong stakeholder relationships 

Stakeholder engagement reporting can do more than just provide information. It can also demonstrate your commitment to meaningful engagement and collaboration with your stakeholders. For example, creating reports for your stakeholders as part of an engagement follow-up strategy can establish a feedback loop that fosters trust and understanding. 

Regular external reporting throughout your project lifecycle has numerous benefits. It ensures everyone is informed and on the same page, regardless of their role or level of involvement. This approach helps you better understand stakeholder needs and concerns, enabling more effective communication and collaboration. As a result, you can make more informed decisions that drive long-term success. By reporting on your work to your stakeholders, you can also confirm a commitment to listening to their perspectives and concerns, addressing their needs and interests, and fostering a collaborative environment.  

These approaches to external stakeholder engagement reporting can help build trust and credibility with your stakeholders, leading to more effective engagement strategies, stronger relationships, and better outcomes for all parties involved. 

Common pain points in stakeholder engagement reporting 

As mentioned, stakeholder engagement reporting can be challenging despite its importance. Managing everyone's contributions to engagement projects (team members, field staff, contractors, etc.)  and the large amounts of data involved can be overwhelming. On top of this, data often exists in various locations, such as emails, spreadsheets, and notepads, making gathering all the necessary information for reports extremely difficult. 

Several common pain points can further complicate the reporting process: 

• Gathering data from different sources can lead to errors or gaps in data.  
• A lack of standardized processes means that reports may vary significantly in format, content, and quality.  
• When team members move on, they often take their knowledge and data with them if it's not stored in a central location, resulting in missing key information in reports. 
• When reports are disjointed and difficult to understand, it can lead to confusion and mistrust among stakeholders or managers.

Ways to make stakeholder engagement reporting easier 

To make stakeholder engagement reporting easier, consider implementing some standardized processes and utilizing some tools made for stakeholder engagement. Here are a few options to explore: 

• Automate your data collection: Use tools to automate data collection and reduce manual errors like forms and email integrations. 
• Standardize what goes into your reports: Develop standardized and required fields for communication records in your engagement tracking system so that the inputs for your reports will be more consistent. 
• Eliminate internal silos with technology: Leverage a cloud-based platform like stakeholder relationship management (SRM) software to create a centralized location for all data to be stored. 
• Leverage secure AI-powered tools: Utilize secure AI-powered tools that make data management more effortless. For example, Jambo's AI Summarize tool creates clear and concise summaries of communication notes with just a click of a button. 
• Create reusable report templates: Develop report templates that can be easily rerun to save time and ensure consistency in reporting. 

How Jambo simplifies stakeholder engagement reporting 

Jambo is powerful stakeholder relationship management (SRM) software teams use to centralize stakeholder information and engagement data. With Jambo, teams can create detailed profiles of their stakeholders and key contacts, quickly log all interactions with them, track feedback and issues raised by them, record commitments made to them, and then simplify reporting on everything we just mentioned. 

Jambo makes it easy to log all your data with features like:

• Easy data integrations: Free add-ins and a public API allow Jambo customers to seamlessly integrate Jambo with popular tools like Outlook, Zapier, ArcGIS Pro, and more. 
• Automatic communication summarization: Jambo Secure AI tools like AI Summarize make summarizing communication notes automatic. 

With all stakeholder engagement data in one place, generating comprehensive reports or helpful summaries is just a few clicks away. 

Why stakeholder engagement reporting matters 

Effective stakeholder engagement reporting is crucial for organizations looking to build strong relationships, drive long-term success, and comply with regulatory requirements, so you must ensure you can easily report on your data.

To facilitate easier stakeholder engagement reporting, you can automate your data collection, leverage technology made for stakeholder engagement, use secure AI-powered tools, and create reusable report templates.

Don't underestimate the importance of effective stakeholder engagement reporting. By making it a priority, you can take your organization's engagement strategy to the next level and achieve greater success in the long run.