• Who are our stakeholders?
• What do they want?
• How well are you meeting their needs and wants?

These are the key questions to be addressed in planning for service excellence.  Basically, there are two kinds of stakeholder research used to address these questions.

1. Research conducted to understand what stakeholders wants
2. Research conducted to evaluate how well you are delivering the service

The same process can address both sets of questions.  That is, with each service attribute, stakeholders can be asked to rate its importance to them and the performance of the service provider in delivering that service.

There are a number of methods used to conduct stakeholder research.  All have advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to be clear about your purposes in doing this before selecting the method.

• Focus Group Facilitation Guidelines
• Other methods for understanding stakeholders’ expectations
• Key points
• Interpreting findings - 4 stages 

• Measuring stakeholder satisfaction

1. Transaction based surveys (student and employee satisfaction)
2. Mystery shopping
3. Questionnaire surveys
4. Structured interviews

Generally, focus groups or structured interviews are the most effective method for identifying what you stakeholders expect, because they allow you to probe further, to explore the reasons why stakeholders have particular preferences or needs, and to engage in two-way discussion.  There are a number of methods for measuring stakeholder satisfaction.

Adapted from 2004 Monash University ABN 12 377 614 012  Last updated: 23 May 2005 – Maintained by cheq@adm.monash.edu.au