Of all the things a project manager must manage—timelines, budgets, change orders, and so on—the expectations of stakeholders may be the most critical. After all, the completion of any project is dependent on stakeholders completing what they are supposed to do, and stakeholders also determine whether a project is a success or failure.

A project stakeholder, according to the Project Management Institute, the leading authority on project management standards and PM certification, is “…an individual, group, or organization who may affect, be impacted by, or perceive itself to be affected by a project decision, activity, or outcome.” This covers anyone who works on or makes choices about a project, including senior executives, internal team members, and outside contractors, to mention a few. Managing and engaging stakeholders are frequently complex and difficult, particularly on large projects, but the suggestions below can help any project manager avoid misconceptions and keep their projects on track.

Timelines And Objectives

When managing project stakeholders, a project manager must first ensure that all stakeholders completely understand the project’s ultimate goals and deliverables. This may appear to be an unnecessary or redundant step in the process, and yet many project managers discover too late that some stakeholders, particularly those who were not included in initial meetings or communication systems, have an incomplete or incorrect understanding of what the project is intended to accomplish. For example, if you are working on a carbon disclosure project you need to make sure you let them know how long your plan to work on it to completion and what your overall goal is. 

For the same reasons, project managers should always make it a point to properly communicate the deadlines for tasks and final outputs, so that stakeholders may organize their work correctly from the start.

Meetings

Most corporate initiatives entail hundreds of meetings, starting with a kickoff meeting and concluding with a wrap-up of things to learn review months or years later. Between the two, project stakeholders must be informed about which meetings they must attend and which they can safely avoid. Every meeting-related communication should include the time, venue (virtual or real), and a brief summary of the meeting’s purpose and objectives.

Responsibilities And Tasks

Employees in large firms frequently work on many projects at the same time, causing them to manage a constantly shifting set of duties and deliverables. To keep on track, team members in this type of context require precise definitions of their tasks. Clarizen, a robust project management application, can help project managers assign tasks and interact changes to scattered team members and other stakeholders.

Resources And Technology

In recent times, project managers have prioritized the technical tools they employ to manage project information and communicate with stakeholders. Because not all stakeholders would be familiar with the latest project management software, project managers should take the time at the start of each project to inform stakeholders about the tools they will be utilizing. Fortunately, cloud-based project management software is simple to acquire and use, so stakeholders can usually start making use of its capabilities with minimal training.

These four tips should help you to communicate with your stakeholders better. Do know any other tips that could help? Share some in the comments below.