Don’t let your Contract Lifecycle Management project fall off the rails. CLM systems are always high value, but only if your stakeholders are engaged.
Here are the top 5 ideas your team should plan for before your project begins.
1) Have a plan for adoption. Perhaps the biggest hurdle you will face is the problem of expanding the system company wide. It can be daunting for employees to adapt to a new process and this should be planned for ahead of time. Make sure every employee is aware that this is coming and offer them many opportunities to become part of the transformation. Your goal is to make them excited about utilizing it.
2) Define a clear roadmap for rolling out your CLM system. CLM systems are exciting with many capabilities to help automate your process, speed up redlining and help boost visibility for reporting. Create a clear and concise roadmap of everything you want to utilize and when. This will help your team know exactly what is coming.
3) Plan for everyone. Whether the system will be utilized by one department or the entire company, plan for each users’ individual needs. CLM systems are extremely customizable and you want to mold your system in a way that each user will be able to fully utilize it. Yes, you can always adopt your system as you grow, but planning helps prevent any roadblocks in the future.
4) Pick the right system. There are many different CLM systems out there and your job is to find the one that best fits yours. Maybe you need one that is more customizable, or one that has a mobile app. Do your research to make sure the system you are choosing will meet all the criteria you need.
5) Establish the correct workflow. Along with planning for everyone, you will need to establish the workflow. Even if this is not the immediate step on your roadmap, workflow should be one of the main thoughts in setting up your CLM system. Our experience is that CLM systems that are easy to use have better adoption rates. Work with the leads from each department to understand their needs. This will help you create a workflow with limits that will be correct for all members of your company.