Engaging with your stakeholders can be as simple as going out to talk with your customers or employees on the shop floor, by using simple questionnaires and surveys or through web-based discussion forums. More sophisticated ways include stakeholder roundtables.

The key for successful engagement is not on the type of engagement, but the careful planning prior to the engagement and the use of information collected.

Consider the following when planning your engagement programmes:

• Ask yourself 'What do I want to achieve?' and 'What is the issue to be tackled?' (For example, how do customers find out about potential new products?)
• Decide which parties you need to talk to and listen to, even your toughest critics; learn about organisations with which you share visions and values
• Choose the appropriate communication/outreach tools that well-suit your company and the stakeholders. (Eg a cafe owner can chat with customers on the shop floor to collect feedback)
• Clarify the agenda, timetable and goals, and set up exit strategies so that engagement programmes have a fixed duration and will not drag on indefinitely
• Establish and communicate the ground rules, such as, how much information about the issue of concern will be publicly disclosed? How much time is involved for each stakeholder?