Feeling the pulse: Your relationships health check
Insights | 17 November 2023
We know that the level of social risk associated with a project is linked to the quality of relationships with local people, governments and critics but how can you know where you stand?
There are two simple ways to do a quick reality check.
The first is to pay attention for changes in the tone of meetings with government agencies, partners and community members. If they are becoming less friendly, more demanding and accusations start flying it isn’t hard to work out things are heading in the wrong direction. On the other hand, a friendly welcome and a sense of shared purpose say that you are doing okay.
The second is to note and keep track of changes in behaviour and attitude you see happening in the community.
Relationship with local people
Relationship with government
Relationship with critics
During exploration, running through the traffic lights at the start and end of your field season will help you to keep up to date on community and government sentiment and should flag if relationships are starting to head off the rails. It will also give you the opportunity of some quiet(er) time back in your home office to think about what you might do differently next season.
If you're in construction or operations, checking-in every two or three months will give a good view on where you sit and the opportunity to make changes in your quarterly workplan and reforecast / budget update. If you already know you have a poor relationship and you are taking steps to improve then using the checklist is a quick way to gauge if your changes are working.
Post a Comment