My approach to “stakeholder inclusiveness” in the online IR space for our clients is:

• ADD LINKS from every social media channel (and email) to a central support desk where EVERY query from every stakeholder is answered daily: irrespective of what it is
• CATEGORISE each and every interaction: IR, commercial, HR, procurement, complaints etc: note this is made possible by modern software
• ANALYSE in aggregate all interactions, by category by materiality and report this to EXCO and the Board.

In this next series of posts, I will explain how we apply the GRI Principles for defining report content in our online space. The first GRI Principle is “stakeholder inclusiveness”, which means that our listed companies engage with their stakeholders to understand their expectations and interests, and reflect them in their reporting.

I have described above exactly how we do that every day for our clients.

Let me address a few misconceptions:

• It IS possible to engage with every stakeholder, every day through digital and social media, you just need to have the right centralised and integrated systems
• The costs of these systems compared with the ROI are NEGLIGIBLE. The ignorance barrier is the most significant barrier to overcome. Companies don’t know what they do not know.
• Every positive interaction is an opportunity to improve reputation and grow an ever-increasing COMMUNITY of directly connected loyal followers

Back to the online investor relations space: at the end of the day, the term “stakeholder” is logically more inclusive than “investor” because it encompasses all individuals involved (customers, community).