Stakeholder Engagement: The next box on your org chart?
Will your company ever have a Director of Stakeholder Engagement?
You might, especially if Wal-Mart uses its new senior-level position to successfully align its low-cost, low-price business with social activists, governments and environmental groups around the world.
According to the job description, Wal-Mart's Senior Director of Stakeholder Engagement will "proactively build strategic alliances and coalitions with key constituency groups whose work and missions are aligned with Wal-Mart's priorities."
You could argue that managing constituencies is already the responsibility of various departments ending with the word "relations" -- investor, community, government, customer and public. Isn't "stakeholder engagement" just a repackaging of existing corporate affairs and PR functions?
Of course it is. But keep it in mind that Wal-Mart's new title represents a classic reputation management strategy.
In the 1990s, companies postured by giving their marketing executives dot-commy titles like Chief Solutioneering Officer. In the 70s, many company publicists became modern-sounding public relations directors for the same reason -- to connect business titles with the language and agendas of those who mattered to the bottom line.
Wal-Mart and other companies are doing the same thing. They're responding to the post-Enron aggregation of politicians, interest groups and consultants all holding hands under the "corporate social responsibility" banner.
It's pure posturing to this CSR crowd to use the term "stakeholders" when referring to all of the "non profits, non-governmental organizations, academics and government agencies" that Wal-Mart's new director must engage. Sure, these are all critical relationships and influences. But these people don't have a "stake" in Wal-Mart, not in the way that investors want increasing valuations. And not in the way that a working mom wants her paycheck to buy as many Pop Tarts and school supplies as possible.
Nonetheless, Wal-Mart will label anyone with a potentially useful interest in the company a "stakeholder" -- not because they are, but because they want to be thought of as such. And the corporate social responsibility movement will continue to split between those who see this as more spin by their enemy, and those who see it as an invitation to work with the world's largest corporations for the greater good.
Which side of the CSR movement takes the lead will determine if Director of Stakeholder Engagement represents a new way of doing business or just another trendy box on a company's organization chart.
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Job description - From Wal-Mart search firm for Director of Stakeholder Engagement... [Link]
Business Week - A Social Strategist For Wal-Mart... [Link]
Wikipedia - Corporate social responsibility... [Link]
Technorati tags: CSR Corporate Social Responsibility Wal-Mart Stakeholders Stakeholder Engagement
