Picture this on your project: the community is outraged; media stories are damaging leader reputations every ½ hour news cycle and the project team are scrambling to avoid being unfairly blamed.
Engagement and reputation problems can usually be traced back to 3 main engagement planning areas which have been missed or poorly executed.
Apply these 3 tips to reduce the risk of reputation problems in engagement.
1. A proper impact analysis – complete a through impact analysis with your internal teams to be certain how your project impacts your stakeholders. Use this information to prepare your list of key issues and key messages.
2. Decide (and stick to) your negotiables/ non-negotiables – use this information to design your key messages so the community clearly understands what they can and cannot influence.
3. Design your data-driven decision-making process – agree in advance what data (survey results, 1-1 meetings etc) will be used to inform which exact project decisions. Use the information in your ‘close the loop’ communications back to the community when you tell them how their input influenced your project.
