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Analyzing potential stakeholder resistance

As you begin a project to improve a process, managing people's expectations will be vital to both actual and perceived success.

Managing change is the process of aligning people's interests with an improvement project. The purpose is to help your organization accept, adapt to, and integrate changes that must be made to improve performance. Managing the people, or “stakeholders,” who are impacted by the change directly will affect the likelihood of success.

Stakeholders are individuals and groups who have the ability to influence or are impacted by the direction and success of the project. At the University, stakeholders may include students, faculty members, process owners, suppliers, team members, administrators, grantors, and regulators.

Proactively managing project stakeholders' expectations will help to minimize resistance and gain the necessary support to make implementation of improvement solutions successful. Stakeholders tend to respond in predictable ways to change. The goal is to manage the change process in a way that levels expectations, reduces disappointment, and delivers results faster.

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Steps to take

1. List the project stakeholders. Remember that stakeholders include any person or group that can influence or is impacted by the direction and success of the project.
   
   
2. For each stakeholder, determine the following factors by using a three-point scale.
   (1 = low/opponent , 2 = medium/neutral, 3 = high/enthusiast)
   • level of impact that the project may have on them (1-3)
   • level of influence they carry within the organization (1-3)
   • level of current support for the project (1-3)
   This scoring will be used later in this exercise to develop a map of current stakeholder relations.
   
   
3. For each stakeholder , assess the following.
   • reasons for resistance
   • actions that may help address their needs
   This analysis will become useful when you develop your communication plan.
   
   
4. Assign an identifying number to each of the stakeholders. Place each stakeholder identifier within the appropriate shape based on their current level of support:
   
   
   
   
5. Using impact of change as the x-axis, level of influence as the y-axis, and low (1), medium (2) and high (3) as the units of measure, place each stakeholder on the graph. This graph will provide a quick and clear illustration of the current level of support that each stakeholder is expressing, cross-referenced against the impact the change will have on them and their ability to actually influence the outcome.
   
   
   
   
6. Use the graph as a way to prioritize your stakeholder-relation efforts. Pay careful attention to those stakeholders that fall into the upper right quadrant--highly influential and highly impacted by the change. Strive to ensure that these stakeholders are at least neutral if not supportive.
   
   
7. Use the information gleaned from this graph as well as details about why particular stakeholders may have resistance as the basis for your communication plan.
   
   

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Without an analysis of stakeholders, a project's success will be at risk. Problems may include

• unrealistic expectations
• stakeholder concern about impact on them personally that can impede progress
• a rumor mill that becomes the main source of information
• strong resistance to the project driven by fear and confusion

Some tips to remember when analyzing stakeholders

• Keep it simple and manageable.
• Secure visible senior leadership support.
• Plan for plenty of time up front to identify and communicate with stakeholders.
• Use a group to do this exercise. More insights are better than a few.
• Identify issues early, get them out in the open, and resolve them.

Proactive interaction with a project's stakeholders will inform your overall communication strategy, identify key issues to be addressed throughout the project, and promote ultimate success.