5 steps to create a stakeholder engagement plan + template

Stakeholders often get involved in projects for financial or strategic reasons. Depending on their motivations, their level of interest in and influence on your project will vary. That's why it's important to tailor your communication style to stakeholder needs to prioritize those who have the biggest impact.

A stakeholder engagement plan template helps you outline who your stakeholders are, their influence and interest levels, and your communication strategy. Your team can use this template to meet stakeholder needs and prevent communication barriers from disrupting the project workflow. Read on to learn how a stakeholder engagement plan can help you manage your relationships with customers, investors, and executives.

What is a stakeholder engagement plan?

A stakeholder engagement plan (SEP) is a document that identifies your project stakeholders, assesses their level of influence and interest, and outlines how you'll communicate with each one throughout the project lifecycle.

Stakeholders can be either individuals within your team or external parties affected by your work.

• Internal stakeholders may include project managers, operations teams, department heads, and board members.

• External stakeholders may include clients, customers, investors, suppliers, company partners, or shareholders.

Because communication with stakeholders begins right at the start of a project, you'll create your engagement plan during the project planning phase. Once you have an idea for a project, identify who your stakeholders are and how involved they need (or want) to be. As the project progresses, you can adjust your SEP to meet their needs.

How to use a stakeholder engagement plan

A stakeholder engagement plan should not prompt your team to listen to some stakeholders while ignoring others. What it should do is guide you through the project planning process and help you communicate with those who most desire it.

Different stakeholders have different communication preferences:

• Active stakeholders: These individuals want buy-in and education through regular, direct communication.

• Passive stakeholders: These individuals prefer to access materials on their own time without frequent check-ins.

As you create your SEP, separate stakeholders into categories to tailor your approach based on their influence and interest levels.

One benefit of an SEP is its collaborative nature. When you incorporate your SEP into work management software, your team can update the document as needed and assign ownership to different sections. This will also give you the freedom to share the plan between projects and people.

When to use a stakeholder engagement plan

A stakeholder engagement plan is best used at the beginning of a project, during the planning phase, and is updated regularly throughout the project lifecycle. However, certain scenarios make this document especially valuable.

Common use cases for stakeholder engagement plans include:

• High-visibility projects: When executive attention is on your work, clear stakeholder communication prevents misalignment and keeps leadership informed.

• Cross-functional initiatives: Projects involving multiple departments or teams benefit from documented engagement strategies to coordinate diverse stakeholder needs.

• Change management efforts: Organizational changes require careful stakeholder communication to address concerns, build buy-in, and reduce resistance.

• Projects with external partners: When clients, vendors, or contractors are involved, an engagement plan helps manage expectations and maintain productive relationships.

• Regulatory or compliance-driven work: Projects with oversight requirements need documented stakeholder engagement to demonstrate due diligence.

If your project has multiple stakeholders with varying levels of interest and influence, a stakeholder engagement plan helps you stay organized and proactive in your communication approach.

What to include in a stakeholder engagement plan

Every stakeholder engagement plan should include these key components:

• Stakeholder name: Identify your stakeholder and organize their details in a stakeholder register.

• Interest level: Assign stakeholders labels based on their level of interest or engagement in the project. See the five levels of stakeholder engagement below.

• Influence level: Assign stakeholders rating labels from very high to very low based on their influence on the project.

• Communication frequency: Identify how often you'll communicate with this stakeholder.

• Communication channel approach: Identify what communication tool you'll use to communicate with this stakeholder.

• Information type: Identify the type of information you'll deliver to this stakeholder when communicating.

The goal of creating your stakeholder engagement plan is to identify stakeholders' goals or motives and the communication methods you'll use with them.

5 steps to create a stakeholder engagement plan

To create a stakeholder engagement plan that helps you work with stakeholders in ways they can appreciate, you'll first need to understand their needs and how they influence your project. Use the steps below to get started.

1. Identify your stakeholders

Some stakeholders will be more engaged in your project from the start. This level of engagement often comes from their motives.

For example, an internal executive overseeing the project may be more engaged because their job depends on it. Alternatively, an external partner with a small financial stake might be less engaged and may not want to know every detail of what's going on.

5 levels of stakeholder engagement

• Leading: A leading stakeholder is aware of the project's impact and is actively involved.

• Supporting: A supporting stakeholder is aware of the project's impact and supports the project.

• Neutral: A neutral stakeholder is aware of the project's impact but neither supports nor opposes it.

• Resistant: A resistant stakeholder is aware of the project's impact but resists change.

• Unaware: An unaware stakeholder is unaware of the project or its impact.

Once you know your stakeholders' engagement levels, you'll identify their level of influence on the project. The Project Management Institute defines influence as the extent to which a stakeholder has power over a project. When a stakeholder has a strong influence, they can control key project decisions and prompt others to act.

The scale of stakeholder influence

• Very high: A stakeholder with very strong influence has a significant amount of control over key project decisions.

• High: A stakeholder with high influence can cause others to take action.

• Medium: A stakeholder with medium influence is often part of the decision-making process.

• Low: A stakeholder with low influence can offer opinions on decisions and express their concerns, but you may not always take their ideas into consideration.

• Very low: A stakeholder with very low influence can engage in the project when they desire, but they won't have control over any decisions.

2. Map stakeholders on the influence/interest grid

Now that you know your stakeholder influence and interest level, you'll map each stakeholder on the influence/interest grid. This isn't something you'll want to share with your stakeholders, but it can help you determine your communication style and cadence for each individual.

Once you've mapped your stakeholders, you'll see four distinct groups emerge:

When you use a project management tool, you can keep all stakeholder groups informed without added effort.

3. Build a communication plan

Stakeholder mapping provides guidance on how to communicate with stakeholders based on their level of influence and interest. Using these grid points, your next step is to create a custom communication plan.

A communication plan is critical because it informs how you'll educate and update your stakeholders. Regardless of which quadrant they fall into, make sure stakeholders have access to relevant project information.

The best way to do this is to keep all your project information in one place, such as a project management tool. Stakeholders who need real-time insight into project status or want a bird's-eye view of the overall project timeline can use this tool to stay informed.

There are two steps to creating a communication plan:

1. Identify your different communication channels. Which communication channels does your team regularly use? What is each communication channel for?

2. Identify what type of communication each stakeholder quadrant needs. Communication isn't one-size-fits-all. Figure out how you'll communicate and educate stakeholders during the project lifecycle.

For example, stakeholders with a strong interest and influence in the project may want weekly communication. You can provide this by sharing your project status updates through your work management tool.

Once you create your communication plan, share it with your project team. If you change your communication plan, make sure you update it and communicate those changes. That way, team members always have access to the most up-to-date information.

4. Use feedback to revise plan as needed

Stakeholders often change behavior throughout the course of a project, so remember that the points you've mapped on the interest/influence grid aren't set in stone.

Not only can you revise your plan based on behavior changes you observe, but you can also share your plan with stakeholders and ask for their feedback. The best way to get feedback from stakeholders is to be clear about what you're asking for.

For example, provide stakeholders with your communication plan and ask them, "Does this communication plan work for you? Are there any areas you'd like to change?"

Other tips for getting feedback:

• Ask for written feedback or provide a formal survey with detailed questions about your engagement process

• Ask your internal team what they think about the engagement plan

• Communicate any changes you make to the engagement plan with stakeholders and team members

• Ask for feedback in a video call if it's easier and more convenient for the stakeholder

Stakeholder engagement plan template

Below is a filled-in example of a stakeholder engagement template that includes an area to list your stakeholders, rate their level of interest and influence, and outline their communication plan.

Download our free SEP template below to build a well-planned engagement strategy for your next project.

What are the benefits of a stakeholder engagement plan?

A well-crafted stakeholder engagement plan delivers measurable value to your projects:

• Manages expectations: Ensures stakeholders know the project's trajectory and what to expect through each project phase.

• Reduces project risks: Keeps stakeholders from making major changes that could jeopardize the project's success.

• Builds trust: Creates stronger relationships between team members and stakeholders.

• Improves decision-making: Makes it easier to anticipate stakeholders' needs and desires to determine the next steps.

• Promotes collaboration: When teams communicate effectively, they can work together more successfully.

Streamline stakeholder planning with Asana

Stakeholder engagement is crucial to the success of any project. When you tailor your communication to each stakeholder's needs and desires, the results will be invaluable.

Asana gives you the versatility to plan your engagement strategy, share it with others, and put it into action alongside your project. Get started to map out all of your initiatives in one place, from marketing campaigns to projects and client relationships.

Frequently asked questions about stakeholder engagement plans