Are you struggling to engage stakeholders effectively in your projects? In this episode of our pain point series, we tackle the crucial topic of engaging stakeholders and how early conversations with internal stakeholder groups can streamline your process. We’ll share real-world examples, such as a project that faced months of delays due to the need to integrate union labor, and an aerospace firm that lost nearly $2 million in value due to misalignment among senior leadership. By engaging the right stakeholders early, you’ll learn who needs to be involved, what they need to know, and how to get them engaged to prevent setbacks.
Listen in as we discuss key moments in the project procurement process where scope alignment is essential among stakeholders. Misalignment, indecision, and frequent changes can drag out the procurement process and increase costs. Understand the importance of involving finance, sustainability, and legal teams early in the process to ensure smooth execution and avoid unexpected rejections or missed considerations.
Listen To The Episode
What You’ll Learn In Today’s Episode:
- How to engage the right stakeholders across the board.
- Who needs to be involved in your project.
- Why you should get other people involved in your project.
- The importance of getting finance involved early.
- When sustainability should be considered in these projects.
- Why legal must be involved in the execution.
Key Points:
- Having conversations and discussing key considerations with internal stakeholder groups early on can significantly streamline the process. Some examples of how we’ve seen miscommunication between stakeholder groups cause project delays: One customer had a stringent requirement to involve union labor in both the construction and operational phases of a project. This requirement added several months to the process as shortlisted suppliers had to integrate union labor into their build plans. Similarly, an aerospace firm sought to procure a portfolio-wide advisor but lacked alignment among senior leadership, injecting nearly six months of delays and leaving almost $2 million in value untapped at one key site.
- There are key moments in the project procurement process where scope alignment needs to happen among stakeholders. Misalignment contributes to the cost of a project because indecision, ongoing misalignment, and frequent changes with suppliers can drag out the procurement process and increase costs. By clearly articulating project requirements and timelines, companies can drive down the cost of sale for suppliers, foster competitive bids, and ultimately achieve greater long-term value. This clarity helps ensure that proposals align with expectations, allowing for merit-based selection rather than prolonged comparisons of disparate offers.
- Managing data dispersed across spreadsheets, presentations, documents, SharePoint sites, and even text messages is a significant challenge. For those in influential roles, such as sustainability positions, competing for capital for energy projects can be daunting. Justifying and demonstrating commercial value alongside sustainability metrics is crucial. Often, even the most well-thought-out projects, which may take months to develop, can face setbacks when taken up for approval and may require much more work than initially anticipated.
Resources In Today’s Episode:
Time Stamps:
- 00:00:16: Opening Conversation
- 00:01:32: Introduction to Pain Point Series
- 00:02:11: Importance of Stakeholder Engagement
- 00:03:00: Common Questions and Pain Points in Projects
- 00:03:32: Managing Data and Communication
- 00:04:41: Engaging Internal Stakeholders
- 00:05:11: Financial Considerations
- 00:05:46: Operations and Facilities Considerations
- 00:08:04: Finance and Budgeting Questions
- 00:09:55: Addressing Sustainability Commitments
- 00:11:22: Procurement and Legal Involvement
- 00:13:04: Considerations for Insurance and Decision Making
- 00:13:53: Role of the Board of Directors
- 00:14:32: Examples of Project Delays from Misalignment
- 00:15:31: VECKTA Platform Overview and Benefits
- 00:16:21: Closing Thoughts – Empower Co-creation and Industry Growth
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