4 Ways To Spring Clean Your Contracts for Better Contract Management

In the evolving world of legal operations, the process of contract management is key to staying ahead. Legal contracts can grow outdated or misaligned with legislation or company policy, causing a schism in the efficiency of business processes.

Spring cleaning your contracts may not just be about dusting off the old; it's about ensuring every piece is still relevant, has a purpose, and is contributing to the unified and effective function of your organization. Let’s unravel four critical methods you can employ to spruce up your legal contracts and, in turn, revitalize your legal team’s effectiveness.

1. Refresh your contract templates

First on the list is conducting a thorough examination of your existing contract templates. Think of this as flipping through the pages of your favorite recipe book before you're set to host a dinner party. Are all the ingredients still in season and available? Do you need to make any adjustments for dietary restrictions?

Take the time to review current templates against updated laws and regulations that could affect your industry. Additionally, consider internal business policy changes that may require an update to contract language. For instance, if your company has adjusted how it handles fees, payments, or data processing, contracts should mirror these new protocols. This proactive step helps to eliminate surprises and ensure compliance, while also aligning your templates with the most current business practices.

Remember, your templates need to not only reflect legal standards but also the strategic direction of your organization. This blend of legal and operational insight guarantees that when a template is chosen, it's a finely tuned tool designed to reflect your company's unique needs and current legal landscape.

2. Revamp your negotiation playbook

Effective negotiation is key to protecting and advancing company interests during the drafting and execution of contracts. It also ensures there is an amicable business relationship with the counterparty going forward. It's important to periodically review and update your negotiation strategies to reflect current market conditions, legal environments, and your company’s strategic vision. If your team maintains a playbook, this may go beyond pure strategy development and involve adapting or replacing playbook contract terms and responses to be more flexible to address recent developments in your industry or company. Keeping negotiation strategies and playbooks up-to-date ensures that your team is prepared, and can act efficiently and in the best interest of the company.

3. Streamline contract request and escalation processes

Much like your clothes from last season, your contract request and escalation processes should undergo a decluttering to remove bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Revisit your current procedures to identify any redundancies and areas that can be consolidated or automated.

Ask yourself the tough questions. Are multiple layers of approval necessary for every contract request? Could some decisions be standardized and fast-tracked? Technology can play a significant role here, offering platforms with automation tools that can route contract requests to the right parties while tracking and reporting on the process to ensure timely completion.

By streamlining these processes, your team can focus more on strategic tasks and less on the administrative back-and-forth that can weigh them down. It also promotes a more responsive approach to customer needs, which is essential in a rapidly changing business landscape.

4. Audit your contract management system

Finally, it's essential to conduct regular audits of your contract repository or contract management system. Akin to checking for what might need a thorough spring clean in your home, this inspection ensures that your system is up-to-date and being utilized to its full potential.

Review the overall organizational structure, including but not limited to any naming conventions, region-based sorting or tagging, agreement types, and workflows within your system or repository to ensure they're still relevant and effectively categorizing your contracts. Delete any unused or redundant processes to simplify future searches and reporting.

Consider the usability and efficiency of your existing processes and workflows. Are there any steps that can be eliminated or processes that can be combined for a smoother user experience? Are there any steps that need to be added due to an upcoming transaction, legal or regulatory requirement? These system and process audits not only improve the functionality of your current setup but also pave the way for scalability as your business grows and evolves.

Contract management with a long-term perspective

The beauty of spring cleaning is that it’s not just about the immediate refresh—it’s also about setting a course for sustainable organization and cleanliness. Similarly, by adopting these four strategies for your contracts, you're not just making quick fixes; you're investing in the long-term efficiency and adaptability of your legal operations.

Refreshed contract templates, an agile negotiation playbook, streamlined request and escalation processes, and an efficient contract management system can empower your legal team to work smarter, not harder. In doing so, you're ensuring that every contract, like a carefully chosen wardrobe, contributes to the professional attire of your company, standing as a testament to its legality and operational effectiveness.

Ready to spring clean your contracts, get a demo today.