Exploring Stakeholder Engagement Strategies for 2012

A commonly held belief is that employees with a vested interest in the success of the company become much more aligned with the goals of the organization. Following along with this premise, our sustainability consulting asks: How should a company link stakeholder interests to sustainability concepts to business success? What are the most effective strategies?

Providing us with some insight, a recent GreenBiz article, 5 Companies, 5 Different Takes on Employee Engagement, discusses the many faces and complexities of a stakeholder engagement strategy. Specific to employee engagement, the post cites are a number of motivating factors which drive today’s companies. Some of the noted examples in the article include:

Encourage a Public Commitment: Motivate personal sustainability practices in support of a business sustainability pledge.

Define a Shared Vision: Encourage specific business sustainability action.

Provide Personalized Data: Help employees understand their individual sustainability opportunities through personalize participatory information.

Expand a Corporate Initiative: Foster personal development opportunities through specific business sustainability programs.

Nurture a New Method: Create energy and enthusiasm in the workplace.

As our sustainability has frequently discussed, business sustainability presents the unique opportunity to increase profitability, gain and maintain a competitive advantage over the competition, and create meaningful work in the process. This belief is supported by the above stakeholder engagement strategies which find a common thread in value alignment. By leveraging the expanding eco awareness and passions already present within your own group settings, your organization can promote daily engagement and facilitate meaningful team building.