Tackling consultation fatigue in stakeholder engagement

Most engagement practitioners know what it's like to invite stakeholders to a workshop, interview or survey, follow up with reminders and get very few responses back. Often, it comes down to how often stakeholders are being asked and how the request is put to them.

What consultation fatigue looks like

Consultation fatigue happens when stakeholders are asked to take part in multiple engagements, run by many different organisations and individuals, that duplicate one another or feel repetitive to the people being asked.

Stakeholders are rarely hearing from just one project team, and when several requests arrive at once, goodwill can quickly wear thin.

The impact on stakeholders and projects

For stakeholders the cost shows up in their time and energy and can affect their trust in the engagement process.

For projects, the cost is in the quality of the information gathered, because fewer people take part and those who do are more likely to rush through. Poorly managed engagement can also damage the reputation of the project and the organisations involved.

Managing it better: key tips

1. Be clear about what is being asked
Before any request goes out, the project team should be able to explain in one or two sentences what is needed from the stakeholder and why it matters. A request that can't be explained simply is likely to confuse the people receiving it, and is a good sign it needs more work!

2. Keep information brief with a clear call to action
Stakeholders need enough detail to understand what is expected of them, but not so much that the actual request gets lost in background material. A short, well written summary with a clear call to action and a response date will get a far better response than a lengthy briefing pack that few people have time to read.

3. Set realistic timeframes
Most stakeholders have busy day jobs, so allowing a reasonable window to respond and avoiding known busy periods where possible can make a difference to both the number and the quality of the responses received.

4. Coordinate engagement across the team and partners
The project team and any partners involved should understand who is communicating with which stakeholders and about what. Poor coordination can be one of the main reasons for stakeholder fatigue, and a shared engagement plan and stakeholder log can prevent this.

5. Leverage the project team's professional networks
Stakeholders are far more likely to respond to someone they already know and trust than to a generic email from an unfamiliar name. Mapping which members of the project team, client or partner organisations have existing relationships with key stakeholders, and having those people make the approach or add a personal note, can lift response rates considerably and builds on relationships that are already in place.

6. Agree realistic targets from the start
A 100% response rate is rarely achievable, so agreeing realistic targets with the project team at the outset means everyone understands what a good result looks like and nobody is left chasing an unrealistic number in the final weeks of the project.

7. Make the most of surveys
Surveys can be one of the most effective ways to gather information from stakeholders. They can reach a large number of people at once across different regions or time zones, while giving respondents the flexibility to contribute at a time that suits them. Because everyone is answering the same questions, responses are easier to compare and analyse, and data and trends are easier to identify. Poorly designed surveys can add to consultation fatigue. Keeping a survey to a maximum of 12 minutes respects people's time, organising it into clear themes makes it easy to follow, and branching logic means respondents only answer the questions relevant to them.

8. Use existing information
Before asking for anything new, check what information already exists, including previous engagement, reports and data held by organisation. Stakeholders can quickly lose patience when they are asked for input they have already given, so building on earlier work and focusing new questions on genuine gaps makes better use of everyone's time.

9. Close the loop
This is the step most often overlooked, even though it has the biggest influence on whether people will engage again. When stakeholders don't hear how their input influenced the outcome they have little reason to take part next time, whereas letting them know what was heard and how it was used shows their contribution was valued and reduces the risk of consultation fatigue in future.

How it worked on a recent project

A recent project I worked on needed input from a large number of stakeholders through both surveys and workshops, so the risk of low engagement and consultation fatigue was high. The stakeholders involved were busy professionals with competing demands on their time.

To manage this, the engagement approach was agreed with the client from the outset so that everyone understood who was doing what, with clear expectations around timings, participant numbers and the general process and protocols to follow. This meant stakeholders heard from the right people in a coordinated way rather than receiving overlapping requests.

Clear communications were sent well in advance, followed by timely reminders, setting out the purpose of the project, their role, the time commitment involved and what would happen next, so people knew exactly what they were signing up for and could plan around it. As a result, the response rate has been excellent, which shows that stakeholders are willing to give their time when they understand their role and the request is well planned, coordinated and respectful of their other commitments.

At the end of the day...

Most stakeholders are happy to contribute when they can see that a request is well planned, relevant to them and likely to make a difference. Stakeholder goodwill is a shared resource, so let's build on it rather than obliterate it!

Well-planned engagement can help reduce consultation fatigue, improve participation and make better use of stakeholder input. If you’re planning a project that requires consultation or engagement, get in touch to discuss how we can help.