Contract management is an important part of any business, and it is essential that the right fit is chosen for your business. Before you choose a vendor, there are a few best practices you should consider in order to ensure that the process is successful. This blog will discuss six contract management adoption best practices that should be considered prior to committing: expediting onboarding and ensuring accuracy, centralizing and standardizing agreements, setting sensible KPIs, tracking obligations, encouraging team collaboration and visibility, and automating communications.
1. Expedite Onboarding and Ensure Accuracy
The onboarding process should be as seamless as possible for both parties involved. It can be difficult to predict how long it will take to get the contract finalized, so having a streamlined process in place will help expedite the process and ensure accuracy throughout.
Methods of expediting onboarding include automating contract review processes, utilizing digital signatures, designating a single point of contact, reducing manual paperwork, and implementing digital document management software.
Tips for ensuring accuracy include ensuring that all parties have access to the latest version of the contract, utilizing online proofing tools such as track changes and comment boxes, and double-checking all information before signing.
2. Centralize and Standardize Agreements
Centralizing and standardizing agreements is key in streamlining the contracting process. This will also help ensure accuracy as all parties involved will be working off the same version of the agreement. This will also help increase visibility and accountability as all contracts can be easily tracked in a single repository.
Benefits of centralized and standardized agreements include easier tracking of contracts, increased visibility and accountability, reduced risk of non-compliance, improved security through better control of who has access to documents, streamlined negotiation process, and improved team collaboration.
Tips for centralizing and standardizing agreements include utilizing automated contract management software, establishing standard templates for specific types of agreements, establishing processes for managing and tracking contracts, setting up a single repository to store documents, and requiring digital signatures on all contracts.
3. Set Sensible Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are an important factor in determining the success of any agreement and should be set up prior to signing. KPIs can help track progress and measure performance, so it is important to set KPIs that are sensible and achievable. This will ensure that both parties are held accountable and can help ensure an agreement is successful.
Benefits of KPIs include increased accountability between parties, improved performance management, easier tracking of progress against objectives, improved team collaboration and communication, and reduced risk of non-compliance with goals and objectives set out in agreement.
4. Tracking Obligations
Tracking obligations is an important part of contract management and helps ensure that both parties are held accountable. By tracking obligations, you can ensure that both parties are meeting the requirements set out in the agreement in a timely manner. This will also help identify any potential issues that may arise before they become too serious.
Benefits of tracking obligations include improved accountability between parties, increased visibility into contractual obligations, reduced risk of non-compliance with contractual obligations, improved team collaboration, improved communication between parties, easier monitoring of performance against contractual obligations, and faster resolution of any issues that may arise.
Tips for tracking obligations include utilizing automated contract management software, assigning specific members of staff to monitor obligations, having regular review meetings to discuss progress against contractual obligations, establishing procedures for resolving any issues that may arise, and utilizing reporting tools to track progress against established goals.
5. Team Collaboration and Visibility
Team collaboration and visibility is essential when it comes to contract management as it helps ensure that all parties involved have access to the latest version of contracts and are held accountable for meeting their contractual obligations. This also helps reduce the risk of non-compliance as all teams are able to work off the same version of contracts.
Benefits of team collaboration and visibility include increased visibility into contractual obligations, improved team collaboration, reduced risk of non-compliance with contractual obligations, easier tracking of contracts in a single repository, improved communication between teams, and faster resolution of any issues that may arise.
Strategies for implementing team collaboration and visibility include utilizing automated contract management software, establishing protocols for sharing documents with relevant teams, establishing procedures for resolving any disputes that may arise, requiring all teams to use the same version of documents, and utilizing reporting tools to track progress against established goals.
6. Automate Communications
Automating communications is an important part of contract management as it helps ensure that all parties involved are kept informed throughout the process. Automating communications can help reduce mistakes, streamline processes, improve team collaboration, and ensure compliance with contractual obligations.
Benefits of automating communications include reduced risk of missing deadlines or other mistakes, improved team collaboration, increased visibility into contractual obligations, improved communication between teams, and faster resolution of any issues that may arise.
Tips for automating communications include utilizing automated contract management software, establishing standard protocols for communicating changes, setting up alerts for key milestones throughout the process, and utilizing reporting tools to track progress against established goals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many benefits to implementing contract management best practices prior to committing to a vendor. Expediting onboarding and ensuring accuracy, centralizing and standardizing agreements, setting sensible KPIs, tracking obligations, encouraging team collaboration and visibility, and automating communications can all help ensure that you find the right fit for your business.
By taking these best practices into consideration prior to committing to a vendor, you can save yourself time and money while eliminating the risk of any unforeseen issues. Additionally, taking advantage of contract management solutions like document automation software will help streamline processes and ensure that your contracts are managed effectively in both the short-term and long term.
