When your team is working remotely, your managers may face more challenges than usual monitoring contract statuses. By setting up automatic contract reminders for managers, however, you can provide your team with complete insight. This is an essential element of your WFH plan for approving and managing contracts. Let them see your contract statuses and keep them informed about the steps that need to be taken next. Follow these steps to get started:
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1. Involve managers early in the process.
Often, managers need early insights into the contract management cycle. Your normal process might not bring your contract managers in until further down the cycle. However, this method may cause difficulty for your management team, especially when they’re working remotely and not in the office communicating with one another.
Your contract management system doesn’t just have to provide automatic contract reminders for managers when it’s time for them to take action on a contract. You may also want to institute notifications that a new contract has been created and allow contract managers to look over the terms of the contract.
2. Work with the management team to see when they are most likely to step in.
Take a look at the places where your management team usually needs to look over contracts. Many of those steps may not normally take place within your contract management system. In fact, your managers may typically simply step into an office or work directly with a team to clear up questions. When you make the transition to remote work, however, your management team may need those vital reminders and notifications to recognize that they’re needed. Set up your contract management system so that it automatically provides those triggers and notifications. Set up the same automatic contract reminders for managers in other teams and key personnel in other departments, too.
3. Provide a notification and trigger the correct action each time the contract moves to a new stage.
Your contract managers may normally simply assume that contracts are moving smoothly through their normal stages. But when you make the transition to remote work, your contract management system may need to take care of many of those important reminders. This might include:
Triggering contract scoring automatically.
Contract scoring can help you get a better idea of where your contracts have the potential to pose a danger to your business. Automatic contract scoring will ensure that you do not miss potential risks along the way. Send a notification of those scores to managers so they can make recommendations as needed.
Letting managers know when contracts are approved.
An automatic notification as contracts move through the approval stage can allow the management team to get started on other projects. Automatic contract reminders for managers can also trigger the managerial workflow to take care of other tasks needed to get started on the work for a specific client.
Triggering emails for clients and vendors whose contracts are nearing renewal.
You don’t want to miss out on renewing a contract, especially during this difficult period. Failing to renew a contract with a vendor or subcontractor can cause your work to slow down, while failing to renew a client contract may mean that you don’t have work at a necessary time. Instead, trigger emails and other reminders that will help you get started on those key contracts.
Offering managers reminders and information when the contract process stalls.
Sometimes, your contracts may sit in a specific stage of the approval process longer than anticipated. Set your contract management system to trigger reminders that will allow your management team greater insights into why the contract has stalled. Automatic contract reminders for managers can also prompt them on what they may need to do to help get things moving again.
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4. Offer reminders about each next step in the process.
Your management team may know each step in the contract process, from completing those initial templates to ultimately renewing your contracts. Other members of the team, however, may not have the same insights into those processes. Set up your contract management system to offer vital reminders, both to the management team and to the other team members working with those contracts. Consider:
- When do employees need to loop in a manager?
- How should employees handle questions about contract negotiations, phrasing, or terms?
- What is the next step in the contract process? Does it needs to move to a new stage of the approval process, or do you need to do a compliance check on a contract? Who needs to be notified?
Including these reminders in the system doesn’t just ensure that your management team has a solid idea of what’s going on with each contract. It also provides your employees with the insights they need to accomplish their daily work tasks remotely. Automatic contract reminders for managers streamline those processes and help salespeople connect with your customers, vendors, and subcontractors.
5. Offer reminders to your management team about contract terms, industry requirements, and compliance needs.
The best managers have a solid understanding of how your business operates. They may also, however, rely on your other employees to provide them with vital insights and knowledge concerning specific processes or requirements. Make sure that your contract management software includes reminders about those vital facts when needed.
Making the transition to remote work may mean rethinking some of the processes you use on a regular basis. By setting your contract management software up correctly, however, you can provide your entire team with the information they need and allow your managers to follow each contract through the process. Sign up for a one-on-one demo to see how you can customize your company’s workflows.
