stakeholder engagement Archives -

7 Benefits of Stakeholder Engagement

November 4, 2024February 25, 2025 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

How many times have you developed a stakeholder map for it to end up lost? You resurrect it when trouble hits or you’re required to demonstrate that you’ve ‘done’ stakeholder engagement. So what are some of the benefits of stakeholder engagement? Business is about relationships – whether you’re start-up or a large business, government, or an NGO. The success or failure of any policy or product starts and ends with stakeholders. Failure to engage can cost time, money and reputation, and lead to a great idea going nowhere. Engagement is an ongoing process throughout the lifecycle of your policy or product. In this post, I’ll be outlining some of the benefits, and pitfalls, of stakeholder engagement. I have also written about some of the key principles of stakeholder engagement here. What is stakeholder engagement? Stakeholder engagement is the process by which an organisation involves people who may be affected by the decisions it makes or by its implementation. It is more than just communication. Communication will only...

Key Principles of Effective Stakeholder Engagement

September 5, 2023December 27, 2023 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

I’ve seen the good and the bad of stakeholder engagement – from getting support and buy-in to heated exchanges that quickly turn nasty and result in reputational damage. Having outlined 7 Benefits of Stakeholder Engagement, I want to turn attention to some key principles. Keep these principles in mind when developing and reviewing plans. A good engagement plan will grow and adapt to reflect both inputs received as well as further steps to be taken. 'The single biggest problem in communications is the illusion that it has taken place' George Bernard Shaw Plan You need to be asking a number of questions when developing a stakeholder plan. These include but are not limited to: What is the purpose of engaging with stakeholders? What are your objectives? Do you want to provide information, consult, involve and/or collaborate? Who are your stakeholders and how are you assessing them in terms of relative importance? What does implementation look like? Are you running a consultation, a series of...

Value in real estate: Looking beyond the financials

June 27, 2022June 27, 2022 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

On 8 June, I had the opportunity to take part in a panel discussion at the FIABCI Congress, held in Paris. The topic for discussion was how do we add value in real estate while also improving the lives of end-users. Here I provide some of my thoughts on this topic. Context I view value through the lens of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations. I work with companies across the built environment to focus on how they create value. The end-user, whether this be occupiers, local communities, or employees, have to be very much part of the conversations on what constitutes value. Making the case The view of value in purely financial terms in real estate and the wider built environment is too narrow. Value needs to be considered in the context of the extent to which activities improve social, environmental and economic wellbeing. And this involves engagement from every discipline including for example, engineers, architects, designers, planners, builders, asset owners and managers. The priority...