What is a stakeholder survey

A stakeholder survey can provide useful feedback for an organisation or part of an organisation that is involved in a two way provision of significant services. A stakeholder is an individual or a group of people who have an investment or stake in what you do. It is a broader definition than a customer who is someone who pays you to deliver a service. We can also think about stakeholders as both internal and external. Stakeholders are extremely important to achieving successful outcomes. A key stakeholder can greatly influence what you achieve or don’t achieve.

The following steps need to be undertaken in a stakeholder survey:

Be clear about your offering

It is important that you are very clear and that you gain internal agreement about what you provide and need from your stakeholders.

Design the survey

Once you have broadly determined your stakeholder offering you can detail it in an expertly designed survey. Be sure to include both qualitative and quantitative items.

Identify your stakeholders

Cluster all your stakeholders into groupings. For example you might wish to distinguish between internal and external stakeholder groups.

Market the survey

Conducting a stakeholder survey communicates a positive message that you care about their needs, views and wish to improve. Get the message out there and encourage your stakeholders to participate.

Canvass views

Send out the survey to stakeholders in an anonymous, confidential format. It is best to use a third party provider.

Publish results

Get back to your stakeholders as soon as possible with the key results and let them know what changes you intend to make.

Repeat the process

Conducting a stakeholder survey on an annual basis is a very good opportunity to benchmark progress and to let your stakeholders know that you have not become complacent.