How to roll-out a new Contract Template #6 – Meetings
Introduction
Last but not least! Here is part 6 and last part of my tips on how to roll-out a new Contract Template as an Expert.
Once you have sent out the new templates, these next steps are most important to ensure that the team will really use the templates. In this part of the series ‘How to roll-out a new Contract Template #6 – Meetings’ we focus on meetings and training sessions you should set up with your team.
How to roll-out a new Contract Template #6 – Meetings
๐ง๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐-๐๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ
By following these last steps when sending out contract templates, you can optimize the contract management at your company. Consequently, this will create a more efficient and effective working environment with less discussions about the templates. If you train the teams well and empower them sufficiently you will also see that the negotiation process will run much smoother.
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
Address and discuss the goals of the new Contract Template and raise specific concerns and considerations, engaging key stakeholders individually.
Full team meetings:
Provide comprehensive explanations of new templates/policies, emphasizing their purpose, benefits, and alignment with company goals.
๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Train and empower colleagues with the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the contract templates effectively.
Centralized document access
Establish a user-friendly location for all internal standards, guiding team members to easily find necessary documentation.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Check awareness, adherence, and effectiveness of procedures, identifying areas for improvement and ensuring compliance.
Support and guidance:
Offer ongoing support to help guide your colleagues by proposing one on one meetings and training sessions.
๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐:
Create opportunities for feedback to drive future enhancements. Actively ask your team members for feedback in the training sessions and meetings mentioned above.
Conclusion
As legal professionals, we play a vital role to improve compliance, efficiency and risk mitigation. By implementing these tips, we create a more productive and legally sound workplace with the ultimate goal: more fun at work and driving success for the company. Most importantly, when doing so, we work together with the other teams and we do not only dictate what they should do.
Easier said, this way:
- You will waste less time in trying to (i) find the right template or (ii) figure out how to use it or who to involve when you have issues
- Your colleagues at the Legal department will have more time to dive deeper into your legal issues and have more time to negotiate and advise you from a legal and strategic point of view
- The other teams of the company will feel more involved- it will be very hard for your colleagues to say that they do not know where to find the Contract Templates (sound familiar?)
- Your Contracts will be signed quicker!
To see the other parts in this series, go to:ย bit.ly/amstlegal-blogs
Communicating Your New Contract Template to All Team Members ย
As part 5 of my tips on how to roll-out a new Contract Template as an Expert, the following:
! ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ: ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐น๐น ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Once your template is final, approved internally and previous tips are followed, send out your New Template / Procedure using a communication method that is tailored to your company.
Do not use a single communication method (e.g. only providing the template via e-mail). This will significantly decrease the use of the New Template.
When rolling out a new contract template in your company, it is important to use multiple channels of communication to ensure that team members are informed and understand how to use it. It is recommended to combine the following communication methods:
* Your company’s intranet or internal portal
* Collaboration software like Slack or Microsoft Teams
* Email
* Kick-off meetings/trainings
This combination will help to increase the visibility of the new Contract Template and provide team members with the opportunity to ask questions and address any concerns.
Remember that clear communication is key to the successful implementation of a new contract template.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ-๐๐ถ๐ฝ: In case of new Contract Templates or Legal Procedures, it is advised to cascade the communication as follows:
* First to each Head of the Commercial Team / Regional Leader who can share/discuss it with their team and reiterate the importance of the new Contract Template/Procedure
* Legal Team sends it to the Commercial Team
* For particularly important messages set up separate meetings between Legal Team members and Commercial Team members
To avoid the common issue that team members are not able to find the e-mail or other communication that you used sending out the new template, follow one of my previous tips: create one central location for all your templates.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐:
– The top-down approach does not work
– Team members need to know the critical components for the use of the new Contract Templates: the Why, How, When and Benefits
– Create and follow a strategic communication and follow-up plan (the Communication Plan):
– Step 1: Identify Relevant Users and Teams
– Step 2: Notify / Pre-inform the team about the upcoming new template
– Step 3: Make sure to cover all 10 points of the Checklist
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฑ (๐ฏ๐ณ. 10) ๐ฐ๐ฏ ‘๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ด ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด’.
How to Roll-Out your New Contract Template: 10 point Checklist
This is part 4 of my tips how to Roll-Out your New Contract Template as an Expert.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐:
* The top-down approach does not work
* Focus on the Why, How, When and Benefits
* Make a Communication Plan
* Identify Relevant Users and Teams
* Notify / Pre-inform the team about the upcoming new template
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ: ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ถ๐๐
See below a non-exhaustive checklist of the items that I would recommend to include in your message When rolling out & communicating the new Contract Template.
-๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ: Use a clear subject line that communicates the purpose of the email, such as “New Contract Template โ [Add name relevant document] – Please Review and Adopt.”
-๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐ช๐ต๐): Start with a brief introduction that outlines the importance of adopting the new contract template.
-๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐: Provide an overview of the key features and benefits of the new contract template, highlighting how it will help streamline processes, reduce risks, and improve efficiency.
-๐๐ผ๐: Add instructions on how to use the new contract template, including where to find it, how to fill it out, and any specific requirements to be aware of.
-๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ: Clearly communicate the timeline for adoption of the new contract template.
-๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: Include information on any training or support that will be available to help team members adopt and use the new contract template effectively.
-๐ฃ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐: Provide a point of contact for questions or concerns regarding the new contract template (e.g. a project manager or legal representative).
-๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: End the message with a clear call to action, such as “Please review and adopt the new contract template by 2025, and let us know if you have any questions or concerns.”
-๐ข๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น – ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น: highlight any legal requirements, regulations or policies that must be adhered to, in order to ensure compliance and mitigate legal risks.
-๐ข๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น – ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐: mention important specific information or operational set-up details for certain teams.
Communicate Early: Pre-inform and Notify Team Members
As part 3 of my tips on how to roll-out a new Contract Template as an Expert, the following:
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐:
* The top-down approach does not work
* Team members need to know the critical components for the use of the new Contract Templates: the Why, How, When and Benefits
* Create and follow a strategic communication and follow-up plan (the Communication Plan)
* Step 1 Communication Plan: ‘Identify Relevant Users and Teams’
Now, letโs continue to the next step of the Communication Plan:
๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฎ: ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐: ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Does the team know that the new Contract Template is final and will be implemented soon?
Before actually sending and rolling out new Contract Templates, create groundwork and buy-in from senior management and each team member to make sure that they will actually use the new Contract Template now it is final.
It is important to provide opportunities to these team members to ask questions, express concerns and offer feedback. In this stage, ask these questions to yourself:
– Are the team members aware that the new Contract Template needs to be used at a certain date?
– Is the new Contract Template clear and does the team (in principle โ not everyone will agree from the start) agree and appreciate the new Contract Template?
– Do they know the Why, How, When and Benefits?
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ป๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐๐:
* Have honest and open conversations with people that will use the Contract Template every day and with Senior Managers that will lead the relevant teams.
* Send out a pre-announcement e-mail / Slack of the actual intended roll-out date
* Organize meetings to explain the Why, How, When and Benefits of the new Contract Template
* Conduct Training sessions
* Involve key stakeholders in the process like Senior Management and Team Members from all Relevant Departments
* Set expectations and hold people accountable
In summary, by notifying, briefing and pre-informing team members of the upcoming Contract Template, businesses can ensure that everyone is on the same page and that team members are prepared for the upcoming changes. This can help to minimize any confusion or disruptions and increase the likelihood of a successful rollout.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฑ (10) ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ด ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ช๐ฑ๐ด.
Effective communication is critical when introducing a new Contract Template
As part 2 of my tips on how to roll-out a new Contract Template as an Expert, the following:
๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ.
To ensure effective communication, make a strategic communication and follow-up plan to convince and inform the companyโs teams to use the new contract template.
As we have learned, the top-down approach does not work. It is not sufficient to simply send out the new template and expect its adoption.
To ensure success, team members need to know the critical components for the use of the new Contract Templates:
* Why
* How
* When
* Benefits
๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ญ: ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ & ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐
Before starting your communication in the company, make a thorough analysis who will use the new template the most and/or who should be informed about the new template.
It is not about just informing the most obvious stakeholders like – for example – the sales managers who will use the new client contract.
In fact, there may be teams that business owners and Legal did not initially realize needed to be informed, like HR, Finance, Compliance, Operations, Product Teams, etc. Once identified, a communication plan can be developed that includes reaching all relevant stakeholders.
In summary, to ensure success in the roll-out of your new Contract Template, communicate your new templates to a wider group than you initially first thought of.
Contract Template Tip 10: How to Roll Out New Templates Like a Pro
To conclude our series on how to improve your Business Contract Templates, I will share with you the expert steps I advise to use when rolling out your new templates in your organisation.
Having introduced new templates, policies and procedures for more than 15 years as Legal Counsel / Manager in various companies, I have a lot of (too much!) information to share on this complex and multifaceted subject – which I hope will be of great insight to you.
As a business leader, I know how precious your time is. Therefore, instead of packing all my insights into one long article, I have decided to break it down in separate posts which I will share with you in the next weeks.
Examples where you can use these expert tips:
Roll-out of a new template:
– Customer Contract
– Partner Agreement
– Order Form
– NDA (Confidentiality Agreement)
– DPA (Data Processing Addendum)
Introduction of a new policy & procedure that your teams need to follow:
– Contract Procedure explaining all steps in the contract negotiation process
– Contract approval policy
– Legal Involvement Policy (e.g. legal involvement is only approved after completion of a questionnaire and for deals > 100k)
– Vendor Questionnaire Procedure/Handbook
Looking forward to share my insights on this topic with you in the next weeks! If you have any questions in the meantime, do let me know in the comments or in a direct message.
Please see the full list of articles with all steps to take to successfully roll out contract templates in a company::
Tip 9: Use general terms & conditions where possible
Which Issues Are We Trying to Solve?
It takes a lot of time to get your company’s customer contracts (B2B) signed, even if you have great templates.
Do you constantly need to go back and forth with your customers to make small changes to your contract template, which leads to delays because e.g. both the commercial team and legal team need to amend the client contract manually?
What is a Solution for These Issues?
Consider making T&Cโs instead and add these to your website.
Next step is to create a great ๐ข๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ with:
– details of the customer and company;
– pricing;
– products list;
– โฆ,
with a references to these T&Cโs.
Make sure to perform a legal and commercial analysis depending on your company to determine that all important clauses are added to the Order Form.
This is a very common practice for B2C companies, but for B2B there is still a lot of work to do. Software/tech companies are leading the way in this way of contracting.
What is the Result?
What can you gain with using T&Cs?
- the Order Form can be completed by the Sales/Commercial Team without involvement of Legal.
- there is no need to complete the customer contract so you can share the customer contract in a very early stage of the sales process.
- if the client has no comments, the Legal Team does NOT need to be involved.
- if the client has comments, the Legal Team can negotiate the T&Cs, but only under certain conditions (e.g. approval management, volume and/or strategic importance).
- contracts are signed quicker.Make sure that all your clients have read and approved the T&Cs. Only mentioning the link to the T&Cs is not sufficient.
What is the Background of This Advice – Example?
In the past month I noticed with three clients (all tech companies) that, next to their Order Form, they also had to complete and send out specific customer contracts (traditional customer/client contracts). Traditional contract meaning: manually add name and details parties on the first page, specific contract wording follows where further specific information needs to be added. Of course perfectly fine in a more traditional setting, but when handling with tech/SaaS clients this not very ideal. I advised all three clients to change the contract setup from traditional contracts to Order Forms with a link to T&Cs. They all implemented this approach with great success and very good feedback from the Management and Sales teams.
Important to Note
This approach does not work for all companies, but is especially helpful in technology companies (SaaS / AI / CPAAS / Fintech / MedTech / ConstruTech, etc). Please discuss with your legal counsel / lawyer how to implement this in your company (and if it would be suitable at all).
About AMST Legal
At AMST Legal, we provide advice how to improve your (legal) processes and contract templates. Helping you to make sense of all your standard contracts and templates and crafting new Terms & Conditions or improving them is part of that. Contact us at lowa@amstlegal.com or book a meeting here for help with your legal (compliance) framework.
Tip 8: Consistent terms & definitions in your documents
Make sure that you use the same terms and definitions in your contracts and otherย importantย documents. It is also advised to follow the same rule forย commercial documents like pitches / offers and even your website.ย
Why is this Important?
There are many reasons why consistent use of terms in your organization and definitions in your documents. To name a few:
- 1. Consistent use of most used terms in your organization improve efficiency as you will not have to think & have meetings which term or what definition to use.
- 2. It helps everyone understand what is meant exactly by a certain term that you use in your company.
- 2. To create the best possible customer experience.
- 3. To avoid any misunderstanding on what service or product the customer has purchased from you exactly, and under which conditions.
- 4. In case of commercial discussions (and even litigation) about a term in the contract for whatever reason: e.g. exact services purchased (and under which conditions), the price for the service, termination possibilities, volume commitments, compliance and system requirements, etc.
Examples
For a typical SaaS/Software company this means that the same terms/definitions should be used for the following documents (depending on the contractual set-up):ย
- General Terms and Conditionsย
- Product Specific terms
- End User License Agreementย
- Customer Contract / Master Ordering Agreementย
- Order Form / SOW (Statement of Work)ย
- Annexes likes the Data Processing Addendum (DPA), Data Security Addendum and the Pricing Annex
- Disclaimer on the website
About AMST Legal
At AMST Legal, we provide advice how to improve your (legal) processes and contract templates. Helping you to make sense of all your standard contracts and templates and improving them is part of that. Contact us at lowa@amstlegal.com or book a meetingย hereย for help with your legal (compliance) framework.
Tip 7 – All Contract Standards & Templates in One Place
Create a Central Repository
Remember to store all your (contract) templates in one central place to make sure that everyone is (i) able to find the correct templates quickly and (ii) using the correct template.
Sounds very straight forward, but in reality I rarely see companies that store all templates in one central place easily accessible for all involved team members.
Storing all contract templates in one central place is challenging forย mostย companies, but especiallyย in case of:
- fast-growing companies
- mergers/acquisitionsย
- activitiesย in multipleย countriesย
- large groups with manyย subsidiaries orย aย complicated corporate structure
- contractsย inย different languagesย
- ย involvement of different departments (Account Management, Sales, Partnerships, Sales Operations, โฆ)ย
What is the Best Way to Make Templates Easily Accessible?
Best optionsย are:ย
- (a)ย fully/partlyย automateย yourย contractย creationย andย beย strictย thatย thisย isย theย onlyย wayย thatย contractsย canย beย generated.ย Thisย wayย theย relevant, most upย toย dateย andย correct Contract Template isย used and all templates are stored in one spot as you should only be able to use this automated system;ย and
- (b)ย createย aย centralย placeย (usuallyย anย internalย website or โ less ideal โ a shared folder).
Crucial Step
Giveย training โ atย theย start ofย employmentย andย regularlyย thereafter โย toย yourย employeesย toย makeย sureย theyย knowย whereย theย contract templates areย locatedย andย howย toย correctlyย useย these templates.
About AMST Legal
At AMST Legal, we provide advice how to improve your (legal) processes and contract templates. Helping you to make sense of all your standard contracts and templates and where to store them for easy access to the team is part of that. Contact us at lowa@amstlegal.com or book a meetingย hereย for help with your legal (compliance) framework.
Tip 6: When making your specific contract, start with the correct template
Introduction
Previously in the series “How to improve contract templates”, we emphasized knowing the content of your contract templates. See the full article here: https://amstlegal.com/tip-5-review-the-contents-of-your-templates/. Now we’re zooming in on perhaps the most common issue with contract templates: How the templates are used daily. Because even with all the technology available to automate contract creation, most contracts are still created in word processing software such as MS Word. The templates are often saved in unstructured ways too. Additionally, the people that use the template contracts on a daily basis for a specific customer contract do not always use the correct template, i.e. the latest version, when making a new contract. While simultaneously doing that without using contract automation, unexpected risks can show up later on. Keep reading to learn what risks you could be facing, and how you can manage them.
When making a specific contract, start with the correct template
Why is it so important to start with the correct template?
Naturally, it sounds very convenient to use a contract of another client or the contract template that you have been using for years when making a new contract. However, this is the biggest risk associated with contract creation for companies that do not use contract automation. More time and money will need to be spent on the (re)negotiation of the contract and/or potential mistakes or claims in the future because your contract did not fit with the client or the specific situation. Using the correct template can be a step on the way to minimize encounters with these risks.
How do you minimize this risk?
So how do you avoid the risks connected to not using the correct template? There are many options to minimize those risks. However, we have found from experience that the two best ways to minimize these risks are:
- Fully/partly automate your contract creation and be strict that this is the only way that contracts can be generated; and
- Create a central place (usually an internal website) to store the contract templates, and give your employees regular training.
Unfortunately, the first tip can take some time to set up and requires recources for it to fully work. The pros outweigh that though, so don’t fear the power of technology when making contracts. For the second tip to fully work, we advise to provide training to the employees regularly. For example at the start of the employment followed by regular consistent training after that. This is our standpoint because you want your employees to know where the templates are located and how to use them.
Another tip that could be conjoined with the other two is to make sure that the importance of this is discussed regularly in your team or during company meetings.
Conclusion
To sum up this article, it can make a major difference on the aftermath of your contracts whether the correct template is used or not. Therefore we do advice to invest in good templates and good training for the employees. Doing this will make your contracting process much easier. If you feel like this is something that you would benefit from, contact us at AMST Legal for further personalized advice.
About AMST Legal
At AMST Legal, we provide advice how to improve your (legal) processes and contract templates. Helping you to make sense of all your standard contracts and templates and where to start drafting or using these standards is part of that. Contact us at lowa@amstlegal.com or book a meetingย hereย for help with your legal (compliance) framework.