Course Summary
Every business is subject to contractual agreements at many levels. Whether this is purchasing with a regular supplier, dealing with telephony or broadband providers, or handling a bid for future work. These contracts often come with legal obligations which should be agreed upon by both parties before proceeding.
It’s important that you understand all of your contractual obligations and create foolproof plans to meet them in order to avoid financial or organisational penalties or a breakdown in the relationships between your organisation and partners. Risk areas from both parties should be assessed and mitigation procedures should also be agreed upon to eliminate the risks of further action if you are unable to meet all of your obligations.
As a project owner, you should also understand the implications of not adhering to your contract for your organisation, legally and financially, and develop an open relationship with your partners to encourage agreements that benefit both parties. Contingency planning is also an essential part of contractual management. You should ensure both parties have grace periods in which to correct issues or meet targets in the event of unplanned circumstances preventing adherence.
Should there be a communication breakdown, it will also be your job to get the relationship back on track and repair damages using effective negotiation techniques and appropriate remote, written, and verbal communication. You should always remember that a contract is a two-way street and manage the expectations from both sides to prevent further action or legal implications for the wider business.
- To understand legal terminology in regard to business contracts.
- To develop effective communication methods to create a mutually beneficial working relationship.
- To understand the risks involved in your contract.
- To develop mitigation and contingency plans to ensure your obligations are always met, even in unforeseen circumstances.
- To understand your future aims and predict potential issues.
- To review your current contracts and point out risks to your business.
- To create robust learning and reporting mechanisms to prove your compliance.
- To manage instances of non-compliance within the scope of your contract.
- To understand the different legal methods of resolution if a relationship breaks down.
- To prepare for a negotiation with informal methods of resolution.
- To write a positive proposal to win future contracts over other suppliers.
The course is designed for anyone who is responsible for writing bids or negotiating contracts within an organisation. It would be most beneficial for:
- Project Managers
- Business Owners
- Negotiators
- Account Managers
- Sales Directors
- Financial Directors
- Planning Managers
- Operations Managers
- Bid Writers
- Procurement Managers
- Contract Managers
- Commercial Managers
This course uses a variety of adult learning techniques to aid full understanding and comprehension. Participants will review various, real-life case studies regarding successful contract fulfilment and watch interactive presentations to understand the risk areas and how contingency plans were operated.
In groups, participants will discuss potential problems with contractual obligations and learn about specific negotiation and relationship-building techniques. They will then take part in role-playing activities to put their learned negotiation techniques, body language, and risk assessment discussions into practice and will develop a plan of action, should agreements go off course and into a legal setting.
Course Content & Outline
- Writing a successful bid.
- Assessing your competitors and providing a more comprehensive package.
- Mapping your negotiation route.
- Enforcing your contract.
- Seeing the benefits from both sides.
- Understanding sign-off procedures.
- The six components of a binding contract.
- Accepting and deed signing.
- Understanding each step of the process.
- Outlining your project roadmap.
- Your financial obligations.
- Effective Negotiation techniques.
- The importance of body language.
- Remote relationship management.
- Written communication and accurate record keeping.
- The rules of negotiation culture.
- Monitoring your progress.
- Effective reporting and monitoring mechanisms.
- Agreeing SLAs and targeting.
- Delegation to the strongest candidate.
- Scorecards and SLAs focusing on contractual obligations.
- Managing underperformance as a risk to the business.
- Handling change.
- Governance, change management, and documentation.
- The Bribery Act.
- Recognising bribery.
- The biggest issues for companies and corruption.
- The implications of becoming a victim of bribery.
- Enforcement and penalties.
- Accepting gifts or hospitality arrangements.
- Assessing potential risks.
- Future-proofing your contract.
- Governing laws, mediation, and arbitration.
- Your jurisdiction and remit.
- Contingency planning and placement.
- Financial penalties and avoidance.
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