Stakeholder and Communication Management

The types of matters vary depending on the construction stage. Therefore, you will require solutions that involve different parties. Stakeholder and communication management is such a vast subject that it deserves in-depth study by stage. In this article, you will read what areas require solid correspondence.

In addition, you will get to know the best ways to handle clients. The stakeholder and communication management on the internal side is no exception here. Hence, you will find an efficient method to divide team members and their roles accordingly. All of these aim to smooth the project, which will benefit all.

Stakeholder Identification and Mapping

To reiterate, construction projects involve and affect a lot of parties. Stakeholder identification mapping is a part of stakeholder and communication management that refers to identifying all of the parties, both internal and external. For example, the client, the architect, the general contractor, subcontractors, the labourers, material suppliers, local authorities, neighbours, the public, and future tenants. It’s better to put them all into one clear visual for easier grasping.

Afterwards, write the roles and the jobs for each of the parties. Put them all into detail. For instance, an architect designs the whole planned project. When necessary, also write the rights and the controls of the client. For the public, you can explain how the task will impact their daily lives.

Communication Planning and Reporting

Stakeholder and communication management rules the efficient tactics for ensuring all parties are on the same footing. This is what makes communication planning and reporting the key. This section breaks down the strategy for correspondence throughout the project lifecycle. It even details which method is best for reaching all parties, whether through offline meetings, email, or phone calls.

This stage usually talks about tracking key metrics, the cost of the project, the schedule, and the quality of the work. The parties can also discuss the frequency and timing of the correspondence. Each of the meetings should be able to detect any early problems and their solutions. Equally important is documenting the correspondence.

Each party may make reports in some formats with content that will differ according to the phase. One thing is for sure: the data must be easy and compact so that all can easily grasp it. In addition, every report should serve as a project control, which means its content will yield project progress and challenges.

Team Roles and Responsibilities

This next stage in stakeholder and communication management goes deeper than the common roles in the identification and mapping of one. In this regard, you may add more roles and job titles. For example, you may be a quantity surveyor, project manager, project sponsor, structural engineer, site engineer, plumber, construction manager, or electrician.

On the surface, some of the roles may perform similar tasks. That’s why you need to jot them down in tiny details so everyone does their job accordingly. In each construction project, administrative staff are always important. Explain this role, too, in the report. Don’t forget to mention the types of documents the staff has to handle, such as contracts and building permits.

You can also add the deadline for each role to ensure all parties meet the project schedule. At last, it’s not just about the project timing but also the quality. Therefore, quality control inspectors are necessary because they must ensure the building plan meets the quality standard and the budget plan.

Change Management and Client Interaction

The stakeholder and communication management touch upon change management and client interaction. Some construction plans may take years and face various changes along the way. The projects may fall into different managers. Of course, these impact the project scope, timeline, and cost. Conflicts may arise if the client doesn’t get the information.

Dealing with the client is a bit tricky. Hence, you need to talk about these points:

• What are the potential issues arising from the change?
• What are the new project expectations due to that?
• Why is such a project change necessary?
• What will become the client’s needs and concerns regarding this?
• If conflicts emerge, what will be the best mediums, like negotiation and mediation, to solve them?