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5 Tips for Contract Management Professionals in 2017


Contract management is an important business operation, but the members on the contract management team likely feel that it can be a rather thankless position. Unfortunately, many company leaders are so embroiled in other facets of the business that they overlook the significance of contracting. This is no doubt an unintentional oversight, but one that can nonetheless negatively impact the entire contracting process. Regardless, contract management professionals must not lose sight of the importance of their role and can even take steps to demonstrate the value that they add. Here are 5 tips just for contract management professionals:

1. Work Smarter, Not Harder

This is becoming increasingly common advice in the business world, as well as in the public sector. More and more employees are feeling bogged down by onerous work responsibilities and competing demands at home, and it can be hard to attain an appropriate work-life balance. For this reason, it is crucial for employees to figure out how to get their work done effectively without having to spend extra hours in the office. This requires a little planning and a lot of organization.

Creating to-do lists, relying on appropriate technology, learning how and when to delegate, and communicating well are key components to working smarter. It may take some trial and error to figure out how best to achieve a sustainable balance, but it is imperative to make this happen. Otherwise, members of the team will begin to burn out, and given the importance of details in contracting, this simply cannot happen.

2. Expand Your Horizons

As the contract management team gets into the right groove, it will be important for everyone to be aware of the state of affairs within the contracting world and the relevant business sector. In addition, it is always important to continue developing new, useful skills. There are ways that contracts can create opportunities for a company, and the team must be empowered with the skills, knowledge, and expertise to properly identify those possibilities.

3. Be a Team Player

Even though most teams like to divide and conquer the workload, to truly add value to the business, everyone has to be a team player. A lot of employees just want to show up and do their own work without having to interact with many other people. However, when it comes to contracting, this mentality likely won’t get anyone very far. Contracts are susceptible to all sorts of problems, the vast majority of which require collaborative problem solving, so this is an absolute must. Smart technology such as CLM software will create a perfect environment for collaboration. 

4. Build and Maintain Relationships

Business transactions are pretty hard to handle if there isn’t a good relationship among the key parties. In contracting, there are often a lot of steps that must be taken and in very short tight timelines, so strong working relationships are particularly vital. Granted, there will be times when things may be stressful and relations strained, but focusing on the end goal and maintaining goodwill are paramount to ensuring the relationship endures.

5. Become Indispensable

Whether you work smarter, have a wealth of knowledge, contribute to the team, know how to schmooze, or have some other unique abilities, it is always necessary to bring something different to the table. A good contract management team has members with diverse yet complementary skill sets. As a result, everyone must recognize and accept their weaknesses and ensure that the work is allocated in a way that capitalizes on individual strengths.

The Buyer's Guide to Contract Management Software

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