Contract lifecycle management is something that contract managers have been struggling with for a long time. It’s something that most of us understand intuitively, but for some reason, we haven’t been able to implement it effectively. It’s not like other functional areas of contracting where you can find lots of resources on how to do it right.
There are so many different aspects that need to be taken into account, and practically no one has been able to cover them all. But don’t be discouraged! You are not alone in this battle; there are millions of other people who feel the same way as you do. In this article, we will discuss the things you should keep in mind when implementing contract lifecycle management. You can copy or adapt most of what we discuss here and get the benefits that go along with it.
Define your end goal
When it comes to lifecycle management, the end goal is to optimize and enhance your company’s ROI from each contract. If you’re taking a typical approach and just trying to get more out of each contract, you’re wasting a lot of your time and resources. You want to make sure to focus on the things that will help you achieve your true business goals.
While it’s likely that you want to increase your revenue and save money, you must also keep in mind the impact that all of this has on your team’s time and how this will impact your clients. If you have too many contracts, they might not have time to take care of them or have the staff to read and review these contracts, resulting in delayed revenue or a backlog of work that will never get done.
Set realistic expectations
Contract lifecycle management can be a great way to increase revenue and save money but it’s important to set realistic expectations for the results that you can expect. First, it’s important to know what you’re comparing it to. In the world of contracting, a great contract manager is one who has the ability to get a lot of work done in a short period of time. This means that they’re closing a lot of deals with a lot of customers, which means a lot of revenue.
So, if you’re trying to set yourself up to be better than others in this regard, don’t waste your time. Second, you need to set realistic expectations for your team. While the right tools can help you, it will always be the brains and brawn of your team that will overcome the automation. If you have a team that is struggling to keep up with the demand, you might be better off hiring more help or outsourcing certain aspects of your business.
Work with your team to define roles and responsibilities
When it comes to contract lifecycle management, you’re taking on a huge responsibility. You’re essentially managing your team’s time so that they can spend more time on the work that is important to them. It’s important to be realistic when setting expectations for your team and yourself.
You need to take into account things such as the amount of time your team spends reading contracts, reviewing SLAs, managing invoices, and so on. How much time does a manager spend on these tasks? And how much time does it take to read, review and follow up on contract work? You also need to think about how much time is lost as a result of contract issues. If a certain contract takes up too much time, or if it results in a lot of lost time, it needs to be taken out of the queue and put on hold until it’s ready to be sent out again.
Establish a process for managing contracts
In order to make the most out of your time, you need to have a process in place for contract management. There are many ways to do this, but the most effective way is to create a workflow for processing and managing contracts. You may find that there are some contracts that are always at the top of the queue.
If this is the case for your company, a good first step would be to identify which queues are being used and how these are impacting your team. Next, figure out how you can create new queues to help better manage your workload. Doing so will help to free up your team from having to read and respond to old contracts, allowing them to focus on new work.
Don’t forget quality control
One of the most underrated aspects of contract lifecycle management is quality control. You don’t want to just accept any contract that comes through your door. You need to have processes in place to ensure that only high-quality contracts make it through. You might have a criterion that requires certain levels of SLAs or a certain dollar amount that needs to be met before a contract will be accepted.
There needs to be a process in place to ensure that these are being met. You also need to have a process in place to reject contracts that don’t meet these requirements. One of the best ways to do this is to have a contract review process in place. This will allow you to determine which contracts need to be rejected, as well as provide a way for your team to find out if a contract is worth accepting.
Conclusion
At its core, contract lifecycle management is about managing your time to make sure that you get the most out of every waking minute. Keeping your team busy and engaged, while managing their expectations and expectations for the job is key to success. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for every company.
In order for you to be successful, you must take a close look at your company, your team, and the contracts that come through your door. Once you have identified these things, you can take the next step toward successfully implementing contract lifecycle management.