Effectively managing your stakeholder engagement information is crucial because it allows you to better understand your stakeholders and track essential deadlines, such as commitments and issues.
While spreadsheets might seem like a good option for your stakeholder engagement plan, they’re not a sustainable solution if you want to build future-focused, long-term stakeholder relationships.
For today's stakeholder engagement expectations, spreadsheets are a temporary solution. For a more growth-oriented option, software specifically designed for stakeholder management, like stakeholder relationship management (SRM) software, is the ideal solution.
Top 10 reasons to stop using spreadsheets for stakeholder engagement
The following are the top ten reasons to stop using spreadsheets:
1. Multiple spreadsheets are messy and complicated to manage
Rara vez hay una sola hoja de cálculo.
You start a spreadsheet for stakeholder contact information, then you begin another for communications, another for commitments, and another for issues. Suddenly, you have several spreadsheets, and your data is everywhere.
With multiple spreadsheets, keeping track of everything is hard, if not impossible.
A single spreadsheet can cause confusion and misunderstanding because it's often long and loaded with tedious information. You'll find yourself scrolling and scrolling through a spreadsheet without being sure you understand its contents.
Beyond convoluted and confusing data, there's also the issue of attachments. What happens to extra documents that complement your spreadsheet data?
Puede que tengas imágenes de áreas de interés o un archivo de audio de una reunión importante. Con las hojas de cálculo, no hay una forma clara de añadir archivos adjuntos, por lo que usted y su equipo corren el riesgo de perder información esencial o datos críticos, lo cual es contraproducente cuando se trata de gestionar eficazmente la información sobre la participación de las partes interesadas.
2. Los métodos de introducción incoherentes son habituales en las hojas de cálculo
Unfortunately, with spreadsheets, your team members often develop independent inputting styles, which makes your spreadsheet data inconsistent and complicated. Suddenly, what makes sense to one person is nonsense to another, which doesn't work when you're sharing data as a team and trying to gather consistent insights and run regular reports.
Another inputting issue with spreadsheets is human error, such as spelling mistakes. You might rely on spell check, but it might not be much help when inputting information like stakeholder names. You know how critical it is to address your stakeholders by the correct name when building stakeholder relationships.
3. Los informes en hojas de cálculo son confusos y requieren mucho tiempo
Reporting on your stakeholder information is essential, whether for legal reasons, for sharing valuable insights with your team, or for you and your team to learn about your stakeholders' opinions on your project.
However, summarizing all your spreadsheet information into a single report can be difficult. Digging through multiple spreadsheets, with no clear way to know if you've compiled the information you need, if the data is updated, or if it's been input properly, leaves you at risk of missing critical information and having an incomplete report.
4. ¿Dónde están sus datos?
When the inputting process is undefined or unenjoyable, you'll often find your information in different places because your teammates avoid the tedious process.
Data might be on your team members' desktops, laptops, USBs, external drives, or even Post-it notes.
Además de la dificultad de no saber dónde se almacenan los datos, también existe la amenaza de perder información cuando las personas cambian de proyecto o abandonan la organización. No es raro que la información "desaparezca" cuando la gente se va.
With spreadsheets, it's hard to know if you have all your information, and this is problematic because you never know when a manager, a key stakeholder, or a legal authority might ask for your records. In these situations, incomplete data is not an option.
5. La gestión de hojas de cálculo hace perder tiempo
Between managing deadlines, tasks, reports, and anything else that arises, you don't have the luxury of "extra" time, so spending hours inputting tedious information isn't ideal. However, time is not just wasted from inputting; there's also the problem of time wasted from searching for information.
Consider this: You're about to meet with a key stakeholder, so you want to check your engagement history to ensure you know what's been discussed previously. However, your information is scattered throughout lengthy spreadsheets.
De repente, "comprobar rápidamente" el historial de participación de las partes interesadas se convierte en una búsqueda y desplazamiento interminables, y ahora te encuentras con la parte interesada sintiéndote poco preparado.
6. Las hojas de cálculo aumentan el riesgo de incumplir plazos y compromisos importantes
When you work with stakeholders, you know the importance of building trust to help build stakeholder relationships. There is no surer way to destroy trust than by failing to meet any agreed-upon deadlines, especially when it comes to commitments or issues.
Sin embargo, los problemas surgen cuando no se puede estar seguro de lo prometido porque no se encuentran respuestas definitivas en las hojas de cálculo.
Without a quick overview of your stakeholder information or a way to track the progress of any commitments, issues, or other tasks, you're left feeling uncertain about your stakeholder history or the status of any deadlines and commitments, which isn't only unprofessional but also a liability.
7. It's hard to collaborate on spreadsheets
Confías en tus compañeros de equipo para completar las tareas, mantener los valores empresariales y trabajar juntos para cumplir los plazos, pero con las hojas de cálculo es difícil ver quién ha hecho cambios, cuándo y por qué, porque no hay un panel compartido para ver las actualizaciones.
Puede que un compañero de equipo te haya dicho que se ocupará de un asunto, pero no sabes si lo ha hecho sin tener que dejar lo que estás haciendo para preguntar, lo que interrumpe el flujo de trabajo y te hace perder tiempo.
Más allá de los retos que supone gestionar las cargas de trabajo en equipo, también es difícil mantener la coherencia de los mensajes clave con las partes interesadas si tú y tus compañeros de equipo no estáis de acuerdo. No puedes estar seguro de lo que comunican tus compañeros, lo cual es problemático cuando se supone que todo el mundo representa a la organización de forma coherente.
Learn how Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) software is the best collaboration tool→
8. Establecer relaciones con las partes interesadas puede ser complicado con hojas de cálculo
Learning about your stakeholders is important because understanding their wants, fears, and needs allows you to connect more meaningfully, engage deeper and build long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships.
Traceability is essential in learning about your stakeholders and building stakeholder relationships because it helps you to know how your information is linked together. Every communication, issue, commitment, and task should link together to help you build a full understanding of your stakeholders; ideally, with just a glance.
But learning about your stakeholders becomes challenging and time-consuming if you can't find or understand all your stakeholder engagement data or don't know which information is connected (or correct).
Learn how traceability can help you see the bigger picture in stakeholder engagement→
9. It's difficult to know when data has been updated with spreadsheets
Spreadsheets don't have an audit trail, meaning you don't know when information has been updated, by whom, or whether the document you're reviewing is the most current version, which is extra problematic for reporting.
More problems arise when a spreadsheet isn't correctly saved after updates are added or when data isn't added on time, which is risky when you're trying to meet with stakeholders or create important reports.
Spreadsheet programs can also malfunction, like when a large document force quits, and this isn't just annoying, it's problematic if you didn't save or auto-save didn't work. Without a backup or information collected in the cloud, this malfunction leaves you vulnerable to data gaps. While you might be able to re-enter the data again, it's a waste of time.
10. Spreadsheets aren't intuitive for users
Spreadsheets are clunky and disengaging, and most people don't like them because they're not user-friendly or intuitive, making them difficult to navigate and understand.
Due to concerns like the significant amount of time it takes to input data, the lack of collaboration across departments, and frustration about finding necessary information, spreadsheets don't offer a user-friendly experience.
When people don't enjoy something, they avoid it, meaning you'll see low adoption rates. This leads to incomplete stakeholder engagement information, which can make relying on your data challenging and put your stakeholder engagement program at risk.
Próximos pasos
Save yourself and your team these hassles by switching to software designed to work with you to meet your stakeholder engagement needs. Download our free checklists to know if it's time to switch from spreadsheets to stakeholder engagement software.
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