Stakeholder Communication

February 2026 · 16 min

Communication Is the FC's Primary Tool

A functional consultant spends 70% of their time communicating -- listening in workshops, presenting in demos, writing documents, and resolving conflicts. Technical skills can be learned from manuals; communication skills determine project success.

Audiences the FC Must Address:

Active Listening Techniques

The most common FC mistake is talking too much in requirement-gathering sessions. The hospital knows their workflows better than you ever will. Your job is to extract knowledge, not impose solutions.

The HEAR Framework:

1. H -- Halt your own thoughts. Put down your phone. Close your laptop lid halfway. Make eye contact.
2. E -- Empathize before responding. "I understand that managing 200 OPD patients on paper is exhausting."
3. A -- Ask open-ended questions. "Walk me through what happens when a patient arrives at 9 AM" not "Do you use a token system?"
4. R -- Reflect back what you heard. "So if I understand correctly, the pharmacist manually checks each prescription against the formulary because there's no drug-interaction alert in the current system?"

Questions That Unlock Requirements:

• "What is the most frustrating part of your current workflow?"
• "If you could fix one thing about your daily routine, what would it be?"
• "What happens when things go wrong? Walk me through a recent example."
• "How do you handle this on a really busy Monday morning?"
• "What information do you wish you had at your fingertips but don't?"

Meeting Management

Poorly run meetings are the biggest time-waster in ERP projects. Every meeting the FC runs must be structured.

Pre-Meeting Checklist:

• Agenda shared at least 24 h in advance
• Right people invited -- decision-makers, not just delegates
• Duration capped (discovery: 90 min max, status: 30 min max)
• Room booked or video link tested
• Previous MOM (Minutes of Meeting) distributed

During the Meeting:

1. Start on time, even if senior members are late
2. State the objective in the first 60 seconds
3. Assign a note-taker (not the FC -- you need to facilitate)
4. Use a parking lot for off-topic items
5. Summarize decisions and action items in the last 5 minutes

MOM Template:

Presenting to Executives

The hospital director or management committee will attend key project reviews. These are high-stakes meetings where the FC must be crisp and confident.

Executive Presentation Rules:

1. 10-minute rule -- if you cannot convey the message in 10 minutes, you are not prepared enough
2. Start with the headline -- "We are on track for February 15 go-live" or "We have a risk that may delay go-live by 2 weeks"
3. Use traffic-light status -- Green (on track), Amber (at risk), Red (delayed). Executives process colours faster than text.
4. Show, don't tell -- a 2-minute live demo is worth 20 slides
5. Anticipate questions -- prepare answers for "How much will this cost?", "When will this be done?", and "What if it fails?"
6. Never surprise -- if there is bad news, inform the project sponsor privately before the meeting

Executive Dashboard Slide Template:

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are inevitable in ERP projects. Two department heads want different workflows. A doctor refuses to attend training. The hospital blames the vendor for delays.

The DESC Framework for Conflict:

1. D -- Describe the situation factually. "The pharmacy team has requested auto-dispensing, but the medical director wants pharmacist review on every prescription."
2. E -- Express the impact. "If we auto-dispense without review, we risk medication errors. If we require review on every prescription, dispensing time increases by 3 minutes per patient."
3. S -- Suggest a compromise. "We could auto-dispense for repeat prescriptions of common medications and require review only for new prescriptions, controlled substances, and high-alert drugs."
4. C -- Confirm agreement. "Does this approach work for both of you? Can we document this as the agreed workflow?"

Escalation Ladder:

Golden Rule: Never take sides. The FC is a neutral facilitator, not an advocate for one department.

Written Communication

Emails, status reports, and documents are permanent records. Write them with the assumption that they will be read by someone in a dispute 2 years from now.

Email Best Practices:

• Subject line: [Bio Ecko] [Action Required/FYI] Brief Topic
• First line: the key message or ask
• Bullet points over paragraphs
• Explicit call to action: "Please confirm by Friday" not "Let me know your thoughts"
• CC only people who need to be informed, not the entire hospital

Status Report Template (Weekly):

Writing Tone:

• Professional but warm -- hospital staff are not corporate executives
• Avoid jargon with non-IT audiences: say "patient list" not "entity table"
• Be honest about delays -- trust lost from hiding a 1-week delay is worse than the delay itself

Notes

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