In the February 2018 edition of PR INDONESIA Magazine, it was stated that stakeholder management is the entire process which includes identification, analysis of interests, and further interaction (engagement) based on the principle of equality. These three steps constitute a complete whole.
If you only conduct stakeholder identification without interest analysis, and engage on the basis of that analysis, then it is tantamount to making plans without implementation. In contrast, stakeholder engagement without prior identification and analysis is like being in a place without knowing the aims and objectives.
In the context of management in an organization, stakeholder engagement and communication strategies have a strong connection. At the strategic level is top management, the source of all policies. There are financial policies, human resources policies, marketing policies and others, including communication policies.
The communication strategy defines stakeholder engagement into communication functions that are carried out at the operational level. Based on the nature of the industry, the size and complexity of the company, various functions are required. Such as the functions of investor relations, community relations, media relations, government relations, issues management and so on.
Lack of appreciation of the strategic function of communication often makes communication tools and techniques identical to the overall communication function. As a result, Corporate Communications is interpreted to include only technical activities. If this is the case, operational public relations or corporate communications will encounter major obstacles, including in the strategic involvement.
In general, it’s easy to know the company’s stakeholders. There are customers, government, suppliers, surrounding communities, employees and shareholders. As the activities and scope of the company grow larger and more complex, a sharper identification is required. This is so that stakeholder engagement can be carried out appropriately and on target, not based on mere assumptions.
GRI and ISO 26000
Various experts on Stakeholder Theory discuss stakeholder analysis. Stakeholders are mapped based on the attributes of power, legitimacy, proximity, and urgency.For a more refined analysis, each of these attributes can be weighted, for example between 0-10. In this way, the priority scale can be determined as a guideline for stakeholder engagement.
Stakeholder Theory also inspires corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the mainstream understanding. The guidelines used is ISO 26000/SNI ISO 26000. The two main principles of this standard are recognition of social responsibility and stakeholder identification and engagement. This second principle plays an important role, because it is through these stakeholders that the company realizes its social responsibility. In Indonesia, companies with Tbk status are required to publish annual reports and are encouraged to publish sustainability reports. The reference for the sustainability report is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) which essentially makes this report a part of stakeholder engagement. Sustainability report reports important matters for identified stakeholders based on ISO 26000.
Stakeholder management is inseparable from the current activities of companies and organizations. As part of PR INDONESIA’s, at the end of March it will hold the PR INDONESIA Awards (PRIA) for the third time. The capital city of East Java, Surabaya, has prepared itself as the venue for this year’s PRIA with “Mlaku-Mlaku Nang Tunjungan” as the highlight of the event. I wish you good luck and may PR INDONESIA be able to get closer to the stakeholders.
Noke Kiroyan
Chairman & Chief Consultant, Kiroyan Partners
This article has been published in PR Indonesia magazine 36th edition, issued on March 2018, page 54.
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