What are stakeholder introductory calls and are they necessary?
Next week I am expecting to start a new position at a new company and as such I’ve been giving some thought to how I plan to spend the first few weeks in my new role. More to come on that via LinkedIn soon.
During the pandemic, I was asked during an interview for a Product Manager role: “Given that the position is remote, how would you build trust with your stakeholders remotely?” My answer wasn’t awful but it wasn’t well received, either. I think my interviewer was triggered by the mention of Slack- shock took over her face like she had seen a ghost. I sensed that my answer wasn’t great so I asked her what she would suggest. She mentioned doing intro calls with each stakeholder.
It made sense but I didn’t realize how necessary it would be working remotely. It’s actually a great professional habit in general regardless whether folks are working remote. One thing you don’t want to happen when you’re starting a new role is asking colleagues to do work (accept your invite for a discovery call, request UAT completion, survey completion, PRD sign-off, etc.) when you don’t know each other at all. It’s a great way to get on your stakeholders’ sh*t lists very quickly.
One thing that has helped me start on the right foot, regardless of office visitation schedules, is set up an intro call with each stakeholder, individually. The point of this is to generate rapport and build trust by getting to know each other. If done well, this will not only prove to be extremely productive by beginning to build a foundation quickly before diving head-first into projects together.
Length
For very busy or executive stakeholders, 30-minutes will do. For stakeholders with more time or any stakeholder you plan to work with very closely, 45 minutes in length is optimal.
Below you will find a rough agenda for these calls:
Sample Agenda
1. Professional Introductions
- Review your current role followed by your journey there starting with your first professional role.
- Make space for the other person to ask questions, time permitting. Then, ask them how did they find themselves at X company? Be sure to ask at least 1 follow up question.
- Ask what they studied and be sure to review any relevant degrees and certifications you’ve completed.
- Mention a new area of professional interest and what you’re excited about! If it seems appropriate, mention a personal hobby. Stakeholders are also people, with lives outside of work.
For example, my intro might look something like this:
I studied biomedical engineering in college and later founded my own medical device startup, where I both managed and builded the product. I’ve managed physical and digital products in the healthcare space for the better part of 9 years now and I really enjoy product discovery. Before this, I worked at a genetics company where I devoted focus to our patient portal experience and leveraged product analytics. In my spare time, I enjoy learning new recipes, exercising, and spending time outside.
The most important part here is to be truthful about your experience so that folks know what to expect while working with you.
2. Have you worked with anyone from the Product department before?
I have to give credit where credit is due for this one. Shoutout to a colleague of mine, Skyler Gold, who asked this question in a joint introduction call. After that, I immediately added it to my future introduction agendas. Asking this question lets you know in how much detail it is necessary to explain how you will collaborate.
If is answer is “Yes”: a potential response is “Great, how has that experience been? What could have been better?” This should spark at least an insight if not a brief discussion.
If the answer is “No” take some time to explain the function of the product department at your organization. Be prepared to share one of two elevator pitches: one to explain your role for your low-tech colleagues and one for your technical stakeholders. For the former, imagine explaining your job to a grandparent to keep it accessible.
3. Ask if they have ever participated in User Acceptance Testing.
If no, be sure to explain what UAT is. Then proceed to the questions below.
If yes, follow up by asking how involved they would like to be with UAT. At this point, you would discuss: 1. How UAT templates are shared, 2) Turnaround time for UAT and 3) Level of comfort testing in a staging environment.
Note: if your stakeholder has a low level of comfort with testing in a non-production environment and would still like to contribute to UAT testing, consider offering a walkthrough to explain how it is different than production and what can be expected, as well as sharing credentials.
4. Communication preferences
How do you prefer to receive communication from product?
This one is pretty self-explanatory- clarify whether your stakeholder prefers notifications messages or email. However, use your best judgement and ask this question if you have a stakeholder that is particularly difficult to get ahold of and be sure to choose wisely. If you have more than a handful of stakeholders, it can quickly become unmanageable to communicate differently with each one of them so try to keep it streamlined as much as possible.
If your stakeholder doesn’t have a useful answer, propose something, and ask for feedback. For example,
For quick updates such as notification of a release, I could send a Slack message and for items that require more feedback or sign-off, I could send an email. Does that work?
Last but not least and if time permits…
5. What is your biggest challenge right now?
I love asking this question because it tells you what is top of mind for your stakeholder now. You can quickly get a pulse of what their priorities are at the moment. It also lets folks feel seen when someone asks about the toughest thing they’re working on.
Be sure to be prepared with your answer in case they toss it back to you!
The most important item here is to be authentic with your questioning and be sure to really process the information *in real time* so that you can ask thoughtful follow up questions. Don’t ask questions just for the sake of asking questions. Be sure to take your time, there’s no need to rush it. If you run out of time, no need to fret but make sure you hit some of the key items above in another meeting or through messaging.
Be sure to consider whether an intro call is appropriate when new product team members join as well as new stakeholders.
Those are my 5 staple topics for intro calls and I hope you have found it useful!
Use the comments below to let me know what you think! Especially if you have successfully explained your product job to a low-tech relative ;)
