Presented by Gillian Taylor

Purpose of course

To help participants become more effective in engaging and influencing others; equipping them with various tools, models and processes to support their success in this area.

Summary of course

Dealing with people, rather than facts or technical needs, is arguably the single most complex challenge for any Planner. In any business or project situation, there are many different groups and individuals who need to be engaged and kept informed. At times this can seem overwhelming and it is often hard to see how to keep everyone satisfied. Effectively engaging others is fundamental to success, as it ensures higher value outcomes are delivered, people have a more positive experience and risks and cost overheads are reduced.

The course presents proven “how to” steps and processes. It covers the five steps of stakeholder relationship management: identify – prioritise – understand – engage – measure, taking a methodical approach, exploring issues, providing tools to help improve effectiveness and using examples.

As well as this, the course gives an overview of the stakeholder management strategies that can be applied and provides practical guidance on how and when to apply them to different to stakeholders. A number of practical templates and checklists are provided for use by participants. Real life situations are used to demonstrate how the process and ideas have been applied in planning and other situations.

A variety of examples are used, a small sample being:

  • Stimulating engagement through other trusted parties to generate stakeholder interest in long term planning
  • What happened when a developer engaged early and constructively with Council Officers on a plan change
  • An approach that helped resolve conflicting stakeholder requirements in a planning process
  • How a poor relationship between a power company and community was turned around to become more constructive and positive in the interests of both parties
  • A situation where Council and community worked collaboratively in an Environment Court mediation, and the outcome of that approach
  • How a complex bus-way project successfully used a variety of engagement strategies with different stakeholder groups.

This course will help participants become more effective at engaging others by developing their understanding and insight about human relationships. It will also equip them with practical, proven tools and processes to support their success.

Key Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the process for identifying, prioritising and managing stakeholders
  • Develop deeper understanding of stakeholders & their needs
  • Become more effective at communicating with and influencing others
  • Know what engagement strategies to use and how to use them
  • Understand more about how to plan and manage relationships.

Key models and methods

The models, methods and ideas introduced will stimulate thinking as well as provide a take-out toolkit. Participants will apply these to their own business situation so that they leave with practical ideas and actions to put in place.

The toolkit provided includes:

  • Stakeholder Management process – steps being identify, prioritise, understand, manage, monitor
  • Stakeholder prioritisation - based on Influence v interest and Value vs effort
  • Stakeholder Engagement Strategies
  • The Value Exchange model
  • Neuro Linguistic Programming (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic)
  • Body Language
  • Underlying drivers of human behaviour

Other features:

  • Key concepts explored will include: trust, influence, value, exchange, relationships
  • Participants also discuss ‘distinctions’ – such as wants vs needs, engage vs consult.
NOTE - If you are interested in attending a workshop please register early to ensure it goes ahead. Minimum numbers are required for a workshop to run. This generally ensures there is sufficient people to allow different experience and views to be part of the discussion within the course setting. Registration deadline is normally two weeks prior to the event (depending on the venue). Thank you.

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