Making a list of internal and external stakeholders in a construction project is always a useful and educational exercise. Because this list tells you which parties are directly or indirectly involved in what you are doing. These are the parties that all need your interaction. They need to be instructed, they need to be informed, they need to be told off or they need to be engaged.
Managing the internal and external stakeholders in your construction project is no mean feat, given their sheer number and the different approaches they require. That is why the list of all the stakeholders in your construction project is at the core of your project management plans. This list is therefore not only useful and educational, but also necessary for running a smooth and transparent project.
We will help you construct this list and provide you with our own lists with the most common stakeholders in construction projects.
Internal and external stakeholders in a construction project: two definitions
Before we move to the lists, it is good to remind ourselves of the different stakeholder groups and their interest in your project. In our first blog in this series, we spoke about who the stakeholders in a construction project are.
We concluded that there are two major groups, namely the internal and external stakeholders. They are sometimes called direct or indirect stakeholders as well. The definitions of these stakeholder groups were mentioned there as follows.
Internal stakeholders: “all people and groups directly involved in or associated with your project.”
External stakeholders: “all people and groups indirectly involved or associated with your project.”
In other words, your direct/internal stakeholders chose to be involved in your construction project and your indirect/external stakeholders had no choice in the matter. They both have a dissimilar interest and therefore need to be approached in different ways.
A list of internal and external stakeholders in a construction project
Now you understand these definitions, you can start dividing your parties into the two categories. What follows, are two lists of all the major internal and external stakeholders in standard construction projects. This list is not finite and also not complete. As every project is different, your lists might be slightly different too.
Take your time and put all your stakeholders into these two subgroups. The lists of stakeholders in your construction project will look something like this.
List of internal stakeholders:
- Your client(s) or project owner(s)
- Your sponsors
- Your financiers/creditors
- Your project manager and his team
- Your consultants
- Your suppliers
- Your contractors
- Your subcontractors
- Your end-users
List of external stakeholders:
- The local residents
- The local shop- or business owners
- Social organisations
- Environmentalists
- Government bodies
- Labour unions
- Inspecting organisations
- Licensing organisations
- Public utilities
Why is listing your stakeholders so important?
When looking at these lists of internal and external stakeholders in a construction project, you can see a clear clash of interest between the two. Your internal stakeholders are part of your own team of contributors and the parties that make executing your project possible.
The parties in your list of external stakeholders are involuntarily affected by your construction project. They might be hindered by it and they could even protest against it. They do not simply need to be instructed when to be where and what to bring, but they need to be engaged and involved.
This categorisation tells you how to correctly approach which parties. That is why it will play a key role in your project management processes.
The importance of external stakeholder management
At SitePodium we cannot stress enough how important external stakeholder management is. Of course, managing the internal stakeholders on your list is essential for the success of your project, but this is already part of your professional life. Managing internal stakeholders is what you do on a daily basis, when planning, scheduling and giving out instructions.
Unfortunately, it is the external stakeholders who often draw the short straw. And it is a misconception that they cannot influence the progress of your project. Look at the list of external stakeholders in your construction project and you see the resident who has to live with the noise and the shop owner whose entrance is blocked.
Engage your external stakeholders by organising meetings, keeping them informed and telling them how you will make their lives easier. Organise a visit to the local school to create awareness of what you are doing and get the kids excited about the construction industry. Give local shop owners the dates and times on which you will block the road PLUS the solution you put in place to minimise their losses. Who knows, the external stakeholders on your list might have good ideas which you can use in your next construction project.
Engage your stakeholders with SitePodium
SitePodium is a stakeholder engagement app which brings all your parties involved together. The internal and external stakeholders in your construction project are able to exchange information and ideas. There is a news feed, a contact page and a diary which can be visited by everyone who has access to the app. Your stakeholders receive timely notifications of a scheduled event of which they need to be aware. You decide who can see and do what, so all this takes place in a controlled environment.
SitePodium coincides perfectly with the Considerate Constructors Scheme’s guidelines. It is a user-friendly and fun way to encourage two-way interaction between the internal and external stakeholders of your construction project. You get insights through custom reports and useful statistics.
Have you made the lists of stakeholders in your construction project? Then it is time to bring them together with SitePodium. Download our brochure or book a free demo to find out how we can work together and lift your construction projects to the next level.
