Challenges/ Barriers to Stakeholder Integrated Plan Development

by Michael Caso, Managing Partner

As I stated in my last post, gaining agreement on the need for an integrated Stakeholder Relations plan is easy to accomplish.  However, there are significant challenges and barriers to accomplishing a truly integrated plan that satisfies the needs/objectives of all internal partners, as well as the external stakeholders targeted for engagement.

Having sat on “both sides of the desk,” at a Pharma company creating cross-functional planning and engaging stakeholders and, now in an agency supporting the needs of clients in developing integrated plans, I can provide some unique perspectives.  There is saying indicating that “your ability to be objective is in direct proportion to your distance from the problem.”  Internal stakeholders are “close to the problem,” having a number of individual objectives that may not be compatible with those of their colleagues.  Therefore, there are some benefits in employing an independent third party to facilitate the creation and coordination of cross-functional planning meetings.

One way to identify and address barriers/challenges to the development of an integrated Stakeholder Plan is through the creation of a cross-functional planning workshop.  These types of programs are called different names in various organizations, but at Omni-HC, we refer to them as Vision Workshops.  The word Vision addresses the need for a long-term “view or perspective” on the various internal and external stakeholders regarding mutually beneficial collaborative opportunities. 

Key steps in the creation and execution of this Vision Workshop include:

• The identification of the cross-functional team
  • Who are they?
    • What departments, which individuals?
• The creation of a Stakeholder Engagement Survey
  • For internal Stakeholders
    • What are their expectations/objectives and needs for external engagement over the next 1-3 years?
    • What are the specific roles/responsibilities identified for external stakeholders?
  • For potential External Stakeholders
    • What are their goals in collaborating with Pharma companies?
    • What type of responsibilities (prioritized) are they interested in performing (research, consultation, education)?
    • How much time are they willing and able to allocate?
    • What are their preferences for mode of communication?
• Cross-functional Planning Meeting(s)
  • Sharing of survey results
  • Identification of cross-functional gaps
  • Identification of opportunities to mitigate gaps
  • Creation of consensus complimentary Stakeholder Engagement objectives for next 1- 3 years
  • Creation of a visual depiction or map of achieving these evolving objectives over time with specific milestones
  • Agreement on the frequency and mode of cross-functional team interactions

Having completed this Vision exercise, we are now better prepared to develop the Stakeholder Relations  Integrated Plan.  The tools and techniques for accomplishing this next important task will be the subject of my next blog.