Whom do you think of when we ask about the stakeholders in your community health program? If you’re like most people, you probably consider your staff of community health workers, the people in the community, and your administrative employees.
But in most cases, that’s not a comprehensive list. From navigators, admin staff and service providers to nurses, patients and collaborators, many people are involved in any community health program.
You’ve likely heard the word stakeholder thrown around a lot. But do you truly know what it means? A stakeholder is anyone involved in or impacted by the success of your community health initiative and, thus, your CHW training program.
In this article, we’re breaking down the best ways to identify your stakeholders and the positive impact it’ll have on your CHW training.
Why It Is Essential To Identify Stakeholders in Your CHW Training Program
Your CHW training’s success has many moving parts. Your program’s needs vary depending on whether your staff works in clinical settings or on the field. Perhaps they’re out conducting surveys, leading vaccine drives with local authorities, or helping patients navigate insurance in a government building.
All CHWs require core competency training. But your program may need to emphasize one area versus another depending on its focus. Identifying stakeholders for your CHW program allows you to tailor your training curriculum to the specific needs and scenarios your staff will face on the field in order to prepare appropriately for each.
For example, Cultiva la Salud is a California-based program dedicated to improving the lives of thousands of people in California by changing their habits. They promote different initiatives like healthy eating and active living by collaborating with local partners like schools and farmers. Cultiva la Salud’s programs reach rural residents across the San Joaquin Valley, benefitting eight California counties.
CHWs in programs like Cultiva la Salud need sharp outreach skills to engage the population. They also need organizational and documentation skills to coordinate efforts between different stakeholders. And HEAL promotion skills help them educate clients about the benefits of changing their eating and activity habits. They may also need to learn about social determinants of health (SDOH) and how these impact their community.
Similarly, a reproductive health or family planning program needs CHWs with strong advocacy skills to advocate for women’s rights in healthcare, education and facilitation skills to teach patients about risks and prevention, and an understanding of public health.
As you see, your CHWs will need vastly different training depending on the environments they will work with, which directly relates to the stakeholders of the program. Here’s where stakeholder analysis comes in. Let’s dive in.
We have built our company around helping agencies understand the needs of learners. Our needs assessment process helps managers and administrators build the right remote training program.
If your team is in need of a training needs assessment, book a consultation and our experts will provide valuable resources to help you achieve success.
Stakeholder Analysis for CHW Training
In order to identify the correct stakeholders for your CHW training program, you’ll need a process called stakeholder analysis. This process consists of X steps that go from identification to strategy.
Below is a breakdown of the steps of stakeholder analysis and how to apply them for your CHW training program.
1 – Determine Who the Stakeholders Are
As we mentioned in the previous section, your stakeholders will depend on your unique program characteristics. You may collaborate with farmers or schools, like Cultiva la Salud, or partner with local authorities or artists to remodel the community center.
In each case, the people involved will be different. For example, a councilman or sheriff may support the remodel. Or a superintendent may oversee the partnership of a food program for schools. Other stakeholders are neighbors and shop owners, to name a few.
Whatever the case, you’ll want to start your stakeholder analysis with a comprehensive list of everyone involved or impacted by the program before you jump to step 2.
2 – Group Your Stakeholders by Interest and Priority
Not everyone has the same weight in your program’s development. Some people, like those in charge of approvals, may be essential for progress. But others, like the administrative team, may need to stay informed but have no direct impact.
Grouping your CHW training program’s stakeholders by interest and priority helps you manage communication and optimize your collaboration with them. For example, a high-interest, high-priority stakeholder, aka someone whose influence may alter the course of the program, will likely need to be managed more closely than someone who’s monitoring progress but whose opinion doesn’t affect the project.
3 – Devise a Plan To Manage Each Stakeholder Group
The main goal of identifying stakeholders in your CHW training program is being able to manage them effectively. So once you identify stakeholders, it’s time to find the best ways to address their interests and concerns.
Each stakeholder group in your training program has different needs for participation and communication. For example, your web developer will need information about your program’s curriculum. Instead, farmers or the superintendent will need to be more informed about events or day-of logistics.
Stakeholder Analysis Is Essential for a Smooth CHW Training Program
Contractors, LMS administrators and local authorities or leaders are vital for your training program’s success. So you’ll want to do everything in your power to keep them happy and engaged.
Clearly identifying and planning for your stakeholders is a crucial first step when engaging partners in a CHW training program. It helps align every participant toward a single objective, improving effectiveness and removing friction from the process, which ultimately benefits your community and saves you time and headaches. And as you see, conducting stakeholder analysis is not nearly as complex as it sounds, so there’s no reason to skip it.
We have built our company around helping agencies understand the needs of learners. Our needs assessment process helps managers and administrators build the right remote training program.
If your team is in need of a training needs assessment, book a consultation and our experts will provide valuable resources to help you achieve success.