1. Contract Management
“Keeping your existing customers will always be the number one priority, exploiting
the relationship is number two ”.
A one day course for 18 people
2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Background
Contract management is in its infancy in the voluntary sector; few organisations have strategies,
tools or approaches to maximise the benefits of the contract relationship.
Contract management is an essential part of modern business management. Its purpose is to
increase your organisation’s likelihood of sustaining and increasing contracts. It is focussed on
two essentials, providing a better service to beneficiaries and more value to your customers than
your competitors.
Good contract management will not cost you anything! It is a customer driven approach and
focus that will actually save you money. The cost of retaining a customer is always much greater
than the cost of winning new business. It puts delivery staff at the centre of the responsibility to
retain and win new work.
Winning a contract is the beginning of a funding relationship, the success of which can generate
new work and funding opportunities. The delivery manager and their teams must focus on their
customer and demonstrate additional value for money and added value. Strategies must be in
place to constantly improve the likelihood of retaining funding.
Meeting the contract outputs and requirements is the starting point not the finishing point. Good
contract management understands that your main competitors can also meet the requirements. It
focuses the team on developing an effective relationship with the funder so that the funder does
not move to a competitor.
The course is built around the understanding that effective contract management requires an
understanding of marketing, communication and public relations. These skills are required of all
senior service managers and are essential for career advancement.
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Course Design
The underlying theme is that senior managers and delivery managers must be more pro active if
they are to retain their contracts and grants.
The course will help you to manage your contracts more effectively, providing benefits to your
organisation, customers, staff and service users.
We will give you an understanding of how marketing principles and tools will enable you to stand
out from your competitors.
You will understand how to promote your service ‘brand’, communicate with and influence
customers and stakeholders.
The course will give you the knowledge and tools to increase the likelihood of winning new work
from existing customers.
Learning Objectives
Learners will improve their ability to:
• Understand what contract management encompasses
• Ensure staff at all levels understand their roles and can contribute to success
• Ensure the contract implementation phase is effective
• Negotiate, understanding interests to develop mutual trust and shared aspirations.
• Improve delivery, quality assurance and contract administration through systems audits
• Go beyond contract compliance to build a long term relationship
• Identify the key customer groups and stakeholders, considering how to develop positive
relationships with each.
• Influence and manage your funder
• Use a simple tried and tested management tool to immediately assess customer’s
expectations.
Who Will Benefit?
The workshop will benefit staff responsible for managing service contracts or team leaders that
manage an aspect of a contract. The course content can be easily cascaded to delivery teams.
It will also be of benefit to administrative support departments such as; finance, human
resources, business development, quality assurance and communications.
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Timetable
9:30 Ice Breaker and introductions
Aims, Objectives Scope & Definition
• Who are your customers?
• Understanding what contract management encompasses
• Benefits of contract management
Where does responsibility lie?
• Considering approaches:
o Strategic
o Operational
o Administrative
Contract set up-Initial stages
• Final negotiations
• Agreeing objectives & expectations from both sides
• Understanding funder’s agenda (intelligence, national policy & local need)
• Agreeing the SLA
• Relationship building – trust communication and shared agenda
11 Tea
11.15 Staff roles and responsibilities
o What are the critical success factors in good contract management?
o What can go wrong?
o Performance management frameworks
1:00 Lunch
1.40 Implementation: planning
o Gathering evidence of value for money and added value to ensure contract
retention
o Quality Management - Contract administration – systems audits
o Negotiation skills
Case Study
