Undertaking new business projects requires effective communication with relevant stakeholders. But stakeholders vary from coworkers and suppliers to consumers, the press and more. How do you find the right ones? Simple. Conduct a stakeholder analysis.

This article covers the ins and outs of a stakeholder analysis, including templates, vital steps, examples and FAQs.

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Table of Contents

• What Is Stakeholder Analysis?
• What’s a Stakeholder Analysis Template?
• How To Conduct A Stakeholder Analysis
  • Identify
  • Categorize
  • Persuade
  • Maintain and Repeat
• Stakeholder Analysis Examples
• FAQs
• Conclusion

What Is Stakeholder Analysis?

A stakeholder analysis is a process that helps you find and classify company stakeholders based on their interest levels, influence and participation in specific projects. This analysis is often deemed an effective project management tool.

You also understand the best approach for involving and communicating with specific stakeholder groups.

Stakeholder Examples

Merriam-Webster defines a stakeholder as a person involved with or affected by a course of action, particularly within a company or enterprise.

Some examples of stakeholders include:

• Executives
• Marketing
• Your boss
• Consultants
• Government
• Lenders
• The press
• Analysts
• The public
• Interest groups
• Your family

What’s a Stakeholder Analysis Template?

A stakeholder analysis template is a tool you use to conduct an adequate assessment of the most vital stakeholders for your next project.

Most stakeholder analysis templates look like the screenshot below. You have a graph with influence on the y-axis and interest on the x-axis with four quadrants that say:

• Monitor
• Inform
• Keep Satisfied
• Actively Collaborate

Some templates are more intricate, but the one above gives the perfect visual of what a stakeholder analysis brings. For example, if Stakeholder A has low influence and interest, you should monitor them.

If Stakeholder B has high influence and interest, you should actively ask this stakeholder to collaborate on this task.

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How To Conduct an Analysis

Here are a few tricks for performing an efficient stakeholder analysis.

Identify

Take time to think of and list potential stakeholders for a specific project. Remember that stakeholders are involved in or have some relationship with your company and can be affected by new assignments or courses of action.

Categorize

After drafting and revising your list from the previous section, it’s time to categorize your stakeholders with your template.

For example, your CEO is highly influential and could be interested in your project, so you’d want to collaborate with them actively.

Your department leaders for HR, accounting and marketing automation could have a low influence but have a high interest. In this case, you’d inform them about the project and let them participate at their discretion.

Persuade

After organizing your stakeholders, it’s time to implement action and strategically communicate with them about the project to win support. Some questions to think about and better understand your stakeholders include:

• What motivates them? What do they want for the company and why?
• What other priorities does this stakeholder have, and how can you align or ensure the project doesn’t discourage them?
• Who influences their opinions about you, your team and general topics? Should you attempt to persuade these people as well?
• How will you deal with their opposition if you can’t win this stakeholder’s validation?
• Do you have other stakeholders who could support you if this one doesn’t advocate your project?

Maintain and Repeat

Knowing how to persuade stakeholders is half the battle. Once the vital stakeholders give you their green light, it’s crucial to maintain communication about progress throughout the project’s duration to solidify trust and garner additional help if needed.

Stakeholders can come and go for numerous reasons, such as death, moving to a new company or position, or retirement. It’s best to manage all members at the beginning and end of projects or significant milestones to keep your registry fresh.

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Stakeholder Analysis Examples

Here are a few examples of completed stakeholder analysis templates.

Example 1 with ClickUp

You can use ClickUp to fill out your matrix for a broader view of stakeholders, their needs and level of importance to a specific project.

As shown in the screenshot below, each offers a status for a specific stakeholder.

“Negative Support” shows that Stakeholders 3 and 1 (CFO and COO) don’t back a specific project. However, the President and CEO in the “Positive Support” queue offer high support.

ClickUp offers better visualizations with color-coded queues, labels and more to weed out vital stakeholder support for any project or protocol.

Example 2 – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) created a stakeholder matrix for radioactive waste.

As you can see in the screenshot below, there are four essential groups: Host Community, Media, Politicians Currently in Power and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Each group has unique answers for Key Concerns, Existing Communication Methods, More Effective Communication Methods and Key Messages.

Showcasing stakeholder concerns across the board allows you to understand how they feel about safety and how best they want to communicate this problem.

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FAQs

What is stakeholder analysis?

A stakeholder analysis is a process that helps you determine and arrange company stakeholders according to their interest levels, influence and participation in projects. It’s considered an effective project management tool.

What are examples of stakeholders?

Some stakeholder examples include:

• Executives
• Marketing
• Your boss
• Consultants
• Government
• Lenders
• The press
• Analysts
• The public
• Interest groups
• Your family
• And more!

What is a stakeholder analysis template?

A stakeholder analysis template allows you to evaluate current and vital stakeholders throughout your company.

Some templates are more intricate than others, but templates use a graph to measure influence and interest. Depending on a stakeholder’s power and engagement, you must monitor, inform, keep satisfied or actively collaborate with them.

Why do we need a stakeholder analysis?

A stakeholder analysis allows you to keep track of specific company supporters. You can also determine which stakeholders will support you for particular projects or causes.

What are the essential steps in stakeholder analysis?

Some essential steps in the stakeholder analysis process include:

1. Identify
2. Categorize
3. Persuade
4. Maintain and Repeat

How can I understand stakeholders?

Not all stakeholders will support your projects. That’s OK. But the best way to interpret stakeholders is by asking some critical questions, such as:

• Who influences their opinions about general topics, you, your team and more? Should you consider persuading this person, too?
• What drives them? What do they want for the company’s future, and why?
• Do you have other stakeholders in mind to support you if this one isn’t an advocate?

These and other questions will help you determine the best approach for support or understanding if a particular stakeholder is on your side.

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Conclusion

A stakeholder analysis allows you to determine and keep a current repository of existing stakeholders and helps you understand how to approach them for support. Some may be in favor, and others may disagree with your methods.

The deeper your analysis, the better insights you’ll have for current and upcoming projects.

How has a stakeholder analysis helped you and your business? Let us know in the comments!