A stakeholder can be a person, group or organization that can affect or be affected by the project. Project managers must identify stakeholders and define their relationship to the project to manage their expectations. One tool that is used to accomplish this is the stakeholder register. Download this free stakeholder register for Excel to identify stakeholders and understand their potential impact on the project.
Why You Need a Stakeholder Register Template
This free stakeholder register template lays out all the information that must be included to understand each stakeholder, their influence and how to communicate and manage them. It’s simply a more efficient and consistent way to gather information. Once the project is completed, the stakeholder register template can be archived and retrieved when needed as historical data for managing future projects.
Outside of that, a stakeholder register template allows the project manager to better plan and engage with stakeholders. By identifying key stakeholders early in the project life cycle, project managers can develop a stakeholder management strategy that can address their needs and interests as well as plan for effective communication.
A stakeholder register template can also help manage risks and issues by understanding each stakeholder’s power, influence and level of interest in the project. This allows the project manager to assess how to best use the project time and budget. Also, a stakeholder register template can leverage opportunities by demonstrating the value of others’ contributions, which builds trust and confidence.
It’s also important to define success criteria, form and develop a project team and define tasks and responsibilities. Therefore, the stakeholder register template used with project management software can better manage projects. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that can keep stakeholders informed with customizable reporting tools. Project managers can quickly generate status or portfolio reports as well as reports on other project metrics. These reports can be filtered to show only the data stakeholders are interested in and then shared with them over several formats to keep them informed. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.
When to Use a Stakeholder Register Template
There are many opportunities to use a stakeholder register template. The stakeholder register is used during the planning stage of a project to identify the project stakeholders early in the process. But it’s not only during planning that a stakeholder register template can be an effective tool.
A stakeholder register template can help with the formation and development of a project team. After all, team members are stakeholders and the stakeholder register can help determine who should be on the team and how they should be best managed.
Project managers also use a stakeholder register template to define success criteria. It helps project managers understand the priorities and potential impact of each stakeholder, which can then help the project team align their objectives with the stakeholders’ expectations and concerns and engage with them proactively.
The stakeholder register template improves communication by defining how to inform each stakeholder, how much they need to know and the frequency by which they are informed. It can also help with governance, defining tasks and responsibilities and decision-making.
Who Should Use This Free Stakeholder Register Template?
The stakeholder register template is the responsibility of the project manager. If dealing with a program or portfolio, then the program manager or portfolio manager is tasked with the job of filling in the stakeholder register template.
While the project manager is the one who creates the stakeholder register, the project team, sponsor, business analyst and project owner review it. They ensure that the stakeholder register is thorough, complete and accurate.
The stakeholder register template will then be referred to throughout the project. As noted, it guides the decision-making process, informs communication with stakeholders and much more. The project team will use it until the project is completed.
How to Use This Stakeholder Register Template for Excel
Download the free stakeholder register template and have a fully customizable Excel document. Other categories can be added as needed to fulfill the stakeholder profile for any project. This free stakeholder register is fairly universal in its layout.
List Stakeholders
The first column is where the project stakeholders are listed, and this list should be extensive. However, not every stakeholder will need the same amount of attention, which is detailed later in the stakeholder register template. Remember, stakeholders are anyone, group or organization with a vested interest in the project.
Stakeholder Role
This column will identify the role the stakeholder has in the project. That can be a team member, project sponsor, regulatory authority and so forth.
Category of Stakeholder
There are two basic types of stakeholders: internal and external. As an example, an internal stakeholder is someone who is part of the organization and is responsible for the project. External stakeholders are those outside of the organization, but still affected by the project.
Stakeholder Power/Influence
Use the dropdown menu to define the power or influence each stakeholder has on the project. It can be measured as strong, neutral or weak depending on their ability to influence decisions or outcomes for the organization, shaping strategies.
Interest of Stakeholders
This column measuring the level of interest each stakeholder has in the project is also defined by a dropdown menu of strong, neutral or weak. Unlike power or influence, which reflects a stakeholder’s ability to direct decisions, actions or outcomes, interest refers to what the stakeholder wants, their concerns, goals or objectives related to the project.
Stakeholder Expectations
The last column only defined the level of interest. Here, project managers can detail those expectations to better manage them. For example, if the stakeholder is the property owner in a construction project and their interest is strong, the expectation is that they’ll have a building ready for rent at a specific date.
Communication
Each stakeholder needs updates of some type. Once the frequency of the communication has been defined, the project manager will also want to know the preferred communication channel, one-on-one, email, text, etc.
Contact
Finally, each stakeholder’s contact information is captured here, such as phone, email, fax and address, if necessary.
How ProjectManager Helps With Stakeholder Management
The stakeholder register template is an important document and is necessary for managing stakeholders throughout the life cycle of the project. However, this only sets the stage. Project management software will monitor the project and provide the reporting and other features that stakeholders need to stay up to date on progress and more. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has customizable reports, time and cost tracking as well as file sharing and collaboration features.
Track Project Costs, Progress & Timelines
Customizable reports get into the details, but for a high-level overview of the project or portfolio stakeholders can view the real-time dashboards. They automatically collect live data and display it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show everything from time to costs and much more. There’s no complicated and time-consuming setup for dashboards as often found in lightweight alternative products. Project managers can schedule and plan on robust Gantt charts and then set a baseline. Now, they can compare planned effort against actual effort in real time.
Share Files and Collaborate Online
Communication with stakeholders is key to managing their expectations and keeping them informed. There are many ways to stay in touch with stakeholders. Project managers can easily share project plans or any documentation on the software, which has unlimited file storage. Multiple project views are another avenue to share information. For example, stakeholders can view the project on the calendar view, which offers an overview of the project monthly. The tool is also a fully collaborative platform, where comments can be added at the task level and email or in-app notifications can be set to provide alerts to keep stakeholders updated. 
What Other Templates Can Help With Stakeholder Management?
The stakeholder register template is only one of over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that can be downloaded from our site. There are free templates that address every phase of managing a project across several different industries. Here are some more stakeholder management templates to download for free.
Stakeholder Analysis Template
The free stakeholder analysis template for Excel captures basic stakeholder and project information. It also defines the level of commitment for each stakeholder, which helps project managers understand how to deal with them throughout the project.
Stakeholder Map Template
The free stakeholder map template for Excel is a matrix that allows project managers to plot each stakeholder according to their level of interest and level of influence. It’s also color-coded to define if the stakeholder is an advocate, neutral or a blocker to the project.
Communication Plan Template
A communication plan template covers more than just stakeholder communication, but that is included. More than that, there’s a summary to describe the plan, communication staff and tools, review effectiveness, record outcome and more.
Related Stakeholder Management Content
The free stakeholder register template only scratches the surface of stakeholder management. For more information, our site is an online hub for all things project management. There are weekly blogs, tutorial videos, ebooks, guides, and, of course, free templates. Below are some links to recent pieces about stakeholder management.
- Stakeholder vs. Shareholder: How They’re Different
- Stakeholder Analysis 101 (Example & Template Included)
- How to Manage Stakeholder Expectations
- Stakeholder Mapping 101: A Quick Guide
ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, out in the field or anywhere in between. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.