Press Releases
27 Jan 2022
DIPMF discusses stakeholder management
Day two of the Dubai International Project Management Forum held a session about Stakeholder Management that discussed how to maintain business relationships. Attendees included Juan Carlos Sahdala, Chief Planning and Project Officer, DP World, Christopher Seymour, Managing Director, Mott MacDonald Middle East, and Dhrupa Dayalal, PMP, Management Consultant, Strategy & Transformation. The session was moderated by Jane Witherspoon, Head of Euronews Dubai Office.
At the beginning of the session, Juan Carlos Sahdala, Chief Planning and Project Officer, DP World, said, “The management team must take into consideration the work context. Any project must choose the people who can achieve success. A supportive business environment must be provided for stakeholders and the delivery of satisfactory services. In short, these are the keys to the success of stakeholder management. Subjecting the business to standards and providing the necessary information help projects move in the right direction.
“Any project should have a starting point, involve the team, and give them time and priority along with a clear business methodology. The objectives of the stakeholders must be understood to achieve successful project management, and create a common ground with them to achieve success,” he added.
Christopher Seymour, Managing Director, Mott MacDonald Middle East, said: “Business needs to set daily priorities and a task to be set for every day. Here we speak about stakeholders and how to communicate with them and set priorities and times for each person. Not all shortcuts are wrong, especially as there are individuals who excel in innovation and shortcuts, but this method may still be unacceptable. At the same time, there might be a problem due to time pressures, and we have to cooperate with those who have innovative ideas.
“A cooperative and sympathetic team will certainly make success and productivity. It is also essential to ensure diversity in the work team as it is the basis of success. Communication in major projects and understanding the stakeholder's point of view facilitates dealing with future problems as we must prevent the occurrence of the problem right from the beginning and if it occurs, we have to have solutions,” he further added.
Dhrupa Dayalal, PMP, Management Consultant, Strategy & Transformation, said, “The stakeholder we are talking about must be determined, whether it is the business sector or technology. This will determine what we must do. To make final and useful deliverables, we need to identify the needs of stakeholders and make them feel that we are united with them to reach the targeted results.
“Cooperation makes the business go in a right and satisfactory direction for all. The main question that must be tackled is what are the deliverables and points of fear associated with change. We must allow stakeholders to study challenges and concerns and determine their extent and how to deal with them to mitigate their effects as much as possible,” she concluded.