Supplier / Stakeholder Relationship Mgmt.

Definition of Supplier/Stakeholder Relationship Development

Partner and stakeholder relationships are the key to a sustainable enterprise. Establishing open communication with key stakeholders, customers and suppliers is essential for success in every organization. This kind of social capital facilitates co-operation and communication within and between groups by linking people more strongly to their community and other parties they interact with and with whom they depend on and serve. Building communicative networks between stakeholders and understanding the influence and authority of those networks provides significant insight to business projects and processes. Understanding the dynamics of relationships allows the ability to build frameworks to manage them. Intentionally measuring the level of support and engagement amongst various stakeholders is an effective way to generate good will while mitigating unexpected challenges.

Technical Specialist

Possesses basic interpersonal skills. Understands a variety of perspectives and needs by working well with others. Beginning to recognize the need to engage valuable resource relationships to move business and initiatives forward. Starting to observe roles people play, and their impact on business outcomes. Beginning to develop an awareness of which players can add unique and critical value and how to invite, include and retain them.

Sr. Technical Specialist

Developing experience in identifying who key stakeholders are and recognizing they can come from any level inside or outside of an organization. Learning to comfortably interact, communicate and build rapport with many different levels of contributors and understand the different roles they could play in the potential success formula. Ability to influence others, encourage collaboration and consensus, and win people’s support for ideas, projects and initiatives.

Professional

Exceptional communication skills are now a necessity. Ability to build and maintain a healthy network of relevant key contacts, customers and industry professionals who are uniquely qualified to add value. Having skills in establishing trustful interactions through communicative transparency relative to projects and initiatives where stakeholder value is needed. Should be able to negotiate through delicate issues and challenges in the workplace by successfully collaborating with others. The ability to present the big picture on projects and initiatives with timelines and key milestones will insure stakeholder buy-in and trust.

Sr. Professional

Proven ability to instinctively interact and communicate with others who may have different opinions and skillsets working together towards a common goal. Seeks out, listens to and acts on feedback in understanding the perspectives, suggestions and concerns of stakeholders and contributors. Has a solid understanding that stakeholders need to be heard and their input valued if the relationship is to continue. The ability to see and understand that there is more than a single solution to an issue is critical. Providing stakeholders with mutually beneficial choices and considering other’s ideas is a powerful strategy.

Leader

This level has a good understanding of organizational dynamics and knows the roles, needs and influence patterns of all of the players both inside and outside of the organization. Understanding one’s own organization and being aware of the support it needs from all levels to succeed is crucial. Close attention to customer needs and perspectives provides a good platform for formulating service approach and strategy. Understanding supplier networks and evaluating their position in and potential contribution to the overall supply chain is critical to the successful establishment and continuation of a potential partnership. Ability to identify, select, interact with and form trust-based partnerships with key power players within the organizational up line who can support, help sponsor, and open power pathways to needed contacts, influence and resources is a necessary skill at this leadership level.

Senior Leader

At this level, one has grown into full and natural membership into the power circles of the organization at the leader level and can interact peer to peer with power-player stakeholders. Success now depends on one’s ability to balance the value and support received from and contributed to key stakeholders relationships. Making sure the partnerships are mutually beneficial is critical. At the customer level, there is a well-established and proven vision that is functional and fruitful. Customers are now friends and supporters. Supplier relationships are well-established and thriving due to the skillful work that goes into managing them. They actively perceive the relationship value and are eager to participate. Having now earned a seat at the table in the internal power circle of the organization, this level now interacts freely in decision making, strategy and direction for the overall institution well as those that affect an individual organization. All stakeholders now interact naturally but still need to be nurtured through regular contact where value is continually reestablished through each interaction.

How to Develop Supplier/Stakeholder Relationships

Courses / Certificates

· BRMInstitute

· Strategic Partnering Approach Workshop

· Business Relationship Mgmt. Fundamentals

· Becoming a Value-Based Organization

· Understanding Business Relationship Maturity & Value

· Assessing BRM Context

· Developing Strategic Relationships

· Optimizing Business Value

Training / Other Courses

· BRM Connect Annual Conference (Various Cities)

· Global Knowledge, Effective Stakeholder Relationships

https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/course/84214/effective-stakeholder-relationships/

· GoBeyond partners, Stakeholder engagement Training https://www.gobeyondpartners.com

· Anderson Executive Training Center. anderson.ae/courses/stakeholder-relationship-management-course

o “Stakeholder Relationship Training Course”

o “ Building Workplace Trust”

o “ Communication Strategies for Leadership”

Professional Organizations / Certifications / Assessments:

· Business Relationship Management Institute

· BRMInstitute, Certified Business Relationship Mgr.

· BRMInstitue, Certified Practitioner Qualification

· BRMInstitute, CBRM Certification https://brm.institute/professional-development/certified-business-relationship-manager-cbrm/

· Relationship Training Institute, https://www.rtiprojects.org/index.html

· Customer Relationshnip Management (CRM) Certification Https://www.learning depaul.edu/eCS/CourseListing.
·

Books / Publications

· Making Great Relationships Great – T.D. Jakes

· Stakeholder Relationships – Gerardus Blokdyk

· The Relationship Lens – John Ashcroft…….

· Corporate Diplomacy Building – Witold J. Henisz

· Managing Sustainable Stakeholder Relationships – Linda O’Riordan

· Building Customer Brand Relationships – Don E. Schultz…..

· Customer Relationship Concepts and Technologies – Francis Buttle

· Connected Strategy – Nicolaj Siggelkow……

· The Customer Centricity Playbook – Peter Fader…

· Mingle to Millions – Cami Baker

· Supplier Relationship Management – Johathan O’Brian

· Building Trust in Business Politics – Robert C. Sorensen

Experiences

· Sponsor a customer, stakeholder or supplier relationship selection or improvement imitative in your department.

· Develop and lead a training program for a group of professionals on developing and improving stakeholder relationships related topic.

· Identify, select and bring on board a new stakeholder for your area.

· Develop and Conduct training exercises on Customer Relationship Management for your work group.

· Develop and Conduct training exercises on Supplier Relationship Management for your work group.

· Conduct a Supplier Relationship analysis for your area of business. Evaluate present supplier relationships. Identify ways to improve supplier relationships. Document results.

· Identify an existing stakeholder relationship that struggles. Lead improvement or change efforts to improve or replace the relationship.

· Project: Identify an area in your work where a stronger stakeholder base could improve your business model. Identify power players and develop a plan to better align and manage the power relationship base.

· Analyze one or more existing suppliers to the university used by your department. Evaluate their performance and act on your findings.

· Research, vette and bring on board a new supplier to improve overall value.

· Select a book or other reading material on the topic of Customer, Supplier or Stakeholder development/management. Organize a small group of your community peers into a book club. Read and learn together.

· Identify your top five power contacts that without their relationship, you could not succeed. Develop a plan to regularly manage and further develop those relationships. Track your progress.

· Discover a work relationship that could be critical to your success but where the relationship is not a sound as it could be. Develop and implement a play to improve that relationship. Track and report your progress.

· Keep a relationship journal. Create an awareness of the need for valuable customer, supplier and stakeholder relationships. Monitor your progress with intentional efforts through your journal entries. Learn to make relationship development a regular and deliberate part of your work day.

How to Demonstrate Supply/Stakeholder Relationship Development

DO: Describe what you did in completing/achieving your development plan

· Describe your mutually agreed selected or other chosen but related activity and why you chose it.

· Share additional activities or observations that surfaced while you were engaged in your chosen approach and how they captured your attention in support of your chosen direction.

· Share experiential discoveries using before and after comparisons discussing what you learned and how it will change your approach to life and business.

ASSESS: Share, if applicable any assessments or discoveries you participated in related to your journey

· Describe the actual assessments or discoveries you participated in along with their outcomes and results. Why did you choose them? What were the take aways? How did they affect changes in your behavior and/or approach to life and business?

· If no formal assessments were available, be prepared to explain your own assessment of your self-guided journey in this area and any observations and results you can prove from your deliberate efforts.

· Report on feedback from others you interact with, work with or report to that authenticates your observed positive progress or change in work or personal approach.

LEARN: Explain what you felt you were able to learn during your journey and related experiences

· Discuss your developmental learning experience. Specifically include new knowledge acquired, changes in outlooks resulting from the learning and any ah=ha experiences that have permanently altered your course and approach going forward.

· Articulate new principles, practice and awareness you have now incorporated as a result of new learning.

APPLY: Give specific examples where you have made, or plan to make, direct changes to your work or life approach.

· Explain revelatory experiences and practical knowledge you encountered and incorporated into your work that has changed your approach to your current work responsibilities or that you expect to help you as you move forward.

· Share how your new approaches to your work is impacting new outcomes.

REFLECT: Review/consider things you would have done differently had you had this learning experience earlier.

· Think back on your work and/or life approach before your recent learning and progress journey. Identify any weaknesses that held you back from progressing which now are better.

· Share specific experiences where past outcomes could have been different if you knew then what you know now. Project possible future examples where you may be able to predict more productive relationship outcomes because of recent learning.