Did you miss our webinar on stakeholder interaction? Grab the key tips here and watch the recording.
On February 26th, we hosted ProCom’s “Morning Core” webinar, focusing on stakeholder interaction. During the session, insights and best practices were shared by Sonja Kärkkäinen, Kaskas’ Lead Interaction Specialist, Minna Rantala, Communications Manager responsible for current affairs and stakeholder communications at Kela, and Laura Kvissberg, Responsibility Manager at Alko. Here are a few highlights from the event.
1. Stakeholders reveal what’s happening in society
The rapid transformation of society and tightening sustainability regulations demand new ways for organizations to engage with their stakeholders.
“We are here because we believe that the solutions to the major challenges and problems of our time lie in interaction – in people talking to one another, hearing each other’s perspectives, being open to them, asking questions and sharing their own,” said Sonja Kärkkäinen in her opening remarks.
Kärkkäinen described how the diverse “garden” of stakeholder work offers a chance to understand what is happening broadly in society, beyond the organization’s own bubble.
“Stakeholders can act like a snail’s antennae, sensing what kind of weather is approaching.”
— Sonja Kärkkäinen
The other speakers echoed similar views. Minna Rantala pointed out that nearly everyone living in Finland becomes a client of Kela at some point in their lives. Kela aims to channel the experiences collected from its clients through stakeholder collaboration into political decision-making. This way, the entire social security system can be developed for the better.
Laura Kvissberg, in turn, spoke about how the responsibility of the supply chain can be strategically led through dialogue. Open conversations with suppliers help retailers identify where in the supply chain challenges exist and where suppliers need support in order to meet sustainability goals.
2. Don’t assume – ask, listen, and understand
One-way stakeholder communication is a thing of the past. It’s time to build genuine interaction, based on asking questions, listening, and understanding.
Kvissberg explained that in the case of Alko – and her previous employer, Lidl – a large part of the company’s emissions arise within the supply chain. Traditionally, communication from retailers to suppliers has been one-directional. Embedding climate goals into contractual terms, for instance, can be an effective way to promote responsibility – especially when it comes to established standards and operating models. This ensures fairness in requirements across the supply chain.
However, this approach breaks down when entering new territory or when proposed solutions aren’t universally applicable. There’s a risk that suppliers may reject the demands or declare they can’t meet the targets. In Lidl’s case, climate targets were introduced, but suppliers responded with silence – the company had no idea what its suppliers thought.
“If a goal in responsibility work seems impossible, perhaps we simply haven’t asked the right questions yet.”
— Laura Kvissberg
To address this, Lidl launched the “Climate Academy,” a training program for suppliers. Preparation began six months in advance with dialogue sessions, centered on a key question: “What do you need from us to succeed?”
The training was a success and sparked a broader cultural shift within Lidl. The company no longer sets climate targets without first engaging in dialogue with suppliers.
Kvissberg concluded:
“Ask, understand, and listen – don’t assume. If a goal in responsibility work seems impossible, we may just not have asked the right questions yet.”
Rantala also shared how Kela came to realize that collecting data alone wasn’t enough – there was a clear need for direct interaction with clients.
This led to the creation of Kela’s Customer Community, a digital research service that allows Kela to gather insights directly from customers for service development. The community’s views directly influence improvements to Kela’s services.
“Tone of voice is a central element in building trust and interaction with our customers.”
— Minna Rantala
“We conducted a survey through the Customer Community about a new single-form application model. It helped us understand how customers perceived the form, what was unclear, and what worked,” Rantala explained.
All speakers emphasized that building trust is a crucial element of stakeholder collaboration.
“The tone of voice is especially important now, as changes and cuts are being made to social security. ‘We understand the feeling’ is the starting point from which we shape Kela’s tone of voice,” Rantala described.
3. Design stakeholder interaction with care – prioritize and measure the right things
To make the most of stakeholder interaction, it must be intentionally designed. Kärkkäinen emphasized that every organization should create strategic guidelines for its stakeholder engagement – whether through policies, strategies, or dedicated programs. Leadership’s commitment is especially essential.
“All successful stakeholder projects at Kaskas have been backed by leadership commitment. When the leadership team is involved in planning, it ensures that those working on stakeholder engagement have the backing, time, and resources to do it well,” Kärkkäinen said.
Success also requires identifying and prioritizing the most important stakeholders. Long-term and trust-based relationships are equally important.
“In retail responsibility work, suppliers are key stakeholders. It’s essential to value long-term collaboration and dialogue. Of course, stakeholder selection should be aligned with your goals,” Kvissberg noted.
“Prioritization is a continuous need, as we can’t work with all stakeholders at the same intensity all the time,” Rantala added.
Stakeholder work should also be regularly evaluated. Kärkkäinen encouraged going beyond traditional surveys to include methods that support real collaboration.
“What if, instead of a stakeholder survey, you hosted a roundtable discussion? Or what if, instead of focus group testing, you invited stakeholders to provide ongoing input?” she suggested.
In closing: three trends in stakeholder interaction to watch
To wrap up the webinar, Sonja Kärkkäinen shared three emerging trends that we at Kaskas believe are key for the future of stakeholder engagement:
- Increased collaboration between companies
Even competitors are increasingly working together to tackle major societal challenges, especially around responsibility and sustainability. - Growing demand for replicable, result-driven participation models
In the private sector, this is linked to improving the quality of sustainability reporting. In the public sector, it’s about increasing efficiency or scaling pilots and experiments. - Participation becomes more personalized – or people won’t engage
With so many things competing for people’s attention, especially among younger generations who aren’t used to traditional civic participation through unions or movements, tailored and personally-invited engagement methods are on the rise.
A heartfelt thank you to the speakers, partners, and everyone who spent this morning with us!
Watch the recording and read more about stakeholder interaction
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