Business Journals Leadership Trust is an invite-only network of influential business leaders, executives and entrepreneurs in your community. Original article posted here.
Ensuring your stakeholders are consistently informed and pleased with your performance is a vital part of a business leader’s responsibilities. In doing so, you’ll maintain their support and keep them on board with your company’s initiatives.
To help you achieve this, we asked the experts of Business Journals Leadership Trust how to keep stakeholders in the loop and satisfied. Here are their recommended strategies and why each is so effective.
1. Send satisfaction surveys.
In addition to communicating with our clients and referral sources by way of useful and informative monthly newsletters, blog posts, videos and e-blasts, our firm sends out a satisfaction survey at the conclusion of each matter, seeking our clients’ feedback. This not only keeps our clients in the loop and satisfied with our services but also helps maintain top-of-mind awareness. – Stuart R. Morris, Esq., CPA, B.C.S., Morris Law Group
2. Communicate constantly.
The key to keeping stakeholders in the loop and satisfied is through constant communication. On several projects, I meet with the project team on a weekly basis and with project stakeholders on a bi-weekly basis to measure our progress, review issues and discuss any corrective actions that may be needed. This has proven successful on multiple assignments in my 33 years of experience. – Jerry Ramos, Ramos Consulting, LLC
3. Control your message.
The key can be as simple as a regularly published company newsletter that is thoughtfully planned and strategically circulated. You control your message by reporting company activities that reinforce why your stakeholders benefit from your presence. Stakeholders likely will share the newsletter, but only to prove they made a wise decision doing business with you. – Daniel Swindall, Blackstone Security Services, Inc.®
4. Be consistent and predictable.
Consistency and predictability are key. My stakeholders feel in the loop because they have come to expect regular update communications from me at the same time every month. This allows everyone to be on the same page, easily contribute and engage with the progress of the organization as things evolve. – Rhiannon Samuel, Viante New Mexico
5. Send regular status reports.
As consultants and certified project managers, we have a reputation for creating the weekly status report. While this may seem like a check-the-box item, we use this at Golden Source Consultants as our opportunity to share our wins and make sure our client sees the value in the work we do. Make reporting simple and regular and you will reap the benefits! – Jordan Lofton, Golden Source Consultants
6. Communicate your ‘people’ metrics.
Right now the world of work and business is determined by a lot of internal factors revolving around the health of your organization’s culture. Ensure that you communicate not only what everyone in your workforce typically reports on in terms of your standard key metrics, but also really emphasize your people metrics to share what you are doing to keep the health of your workforce intact. – Keri Higgins-Bigelow, livingHR, Inc.
7. Ask for their feedback.
Creating open lines of communication is key to not only keeping stakeholders informed but also ensuring they’re regularly providing feedback and suggestions to improve products and services. To achieve this, I suggest holding regular meetings to ask stakeholders what kind of problems they’re facing, what they’re working on right now, as well as any big goals they have that your team could impact. – Natalie Ruiz, AnswerConnect
8. Provide a ‘big picture’ overview.
I like to use a single “big picture” overview. This includes high-level data, insight into the data, the implication of what it yields in, and what action, if any, they should take or what action you are taking. This is very effective because we spend too much time showing the data but not enough time showing what it actually means for them. – Gene Yoo, Resecurity, Inc.
9. Maintain regular check-ins.
My stakeholders are employees and clients. I check in with all 30-plus clients no less than bi-annually, communicating weekly and monthly via email as well. I’ve built in weekly and monthly check-ins with employees since Covid-19 hit, improving overall engagement and satisfaction. – Kent Lewis, Anvil Media, Inc.
10. Overcommunicate.
We have never had a client complain that we are overcommunicating to them, ever. Chase them down if needed to passionately report back on an assignment given. Clients often delegate with the expectation that you will do the leg work for them, so don’t be shy about communicating status updates back to them with accuracy and passion. – Jared Knisley, Fizen Technology
11. Keep your best customers informed.
People that buy from you are more likely to buy from you again compared to new prospects. When you launch a new product or service, be sure to let your best clients know first. It could be an amazing opportunity for both of you. – Keith Woods, KB Woods Public Relations
12. Invest in reporting dashboards.
Invest in in-depth reporting dashboards on key metrics across your company. Giving stakeholders access to these allows them to quickly glance over important metrics and data which helps to better understand the team, project or goal’s status. Businesses can also use dashboards to measure their team’s performance in one location, helping keep everyone on the same page and important tasks aligned. – Scott Scully, Abstrakt Marketing Group
13. Maintain management quarterly meetings.
Having quarterly meetings for management to review the previous quarter and set goals and objectives for the next quarter with who has ownership is a great start. After these management meetings, schedule your quarterly stakeholders meeting to give them a reflective and forward-thinking update for the next quarter. Schedule more time for the annual meeting as there will be more to cover! – Matthew Palis, Infront Webworks
14. Utilize data and AI.
Companies that tailor stakeholder engagement using data and AI understand what “happy” means to the kind of workers they hire. The same data allowing brand loyalty programs and marketing firms to obtain customers is available for keeping stakeholders satisfied. Employers using data and AI to tailor employee engagement decrease ghosting, attract top talent and increase retention. – Wesleyne Greer, Transformed Sales
15. Keep sharing numbers.
Communication goes a long way in any relationship. Providing regular reports and analysis of current progress and performance will keep stakeholders in the loop and informed. Their pleasure will likely be derived from the numbers on the page, and if all goes to plan, those numbers will be stellar! – Rachel Namoff, Arapaho Asset Management
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