Hello,
In regards to your Contract Mgmt Policy, I wanted to provide some suggestions and considerations for you. You mentioned the Vendor Management activities (Risk Assessment Onboarding, Monitoring etc., it seems like you are referencing items that should be captured in a separate Vendor Risk Management policy. So the first suggestion is to have a separate Vendor Risk Management policy if you don't already. From there, you could consider referencing the vendor risk management policy within the contract management policy and procedures.
As far as the actual procedures go, you are on the right path by identifying the RACI and steps or tasks required. Procedures can be developed in several formats, and there isn't a "right" way to do it. However, I have found the following to work well.
- Identify the process. (Document one process at a time)
- Provide a summary statement: Why this procedure, what does it accomplish?
- A list of tools, systems, system access, forms, or other required resources to complete the procedure
- A RACI chart
- A flow chart (consider a swimlane type chart if there are multiple stakeholders)
- Detailed actions, including inputs, outputs, reviews, and approvals, in the order in which they must occur. If you can arrange this in the form of a checklist, that is even better.
- Make sure to include any information about exceptions and whom to contact if there are issues.
- Use templates whenever possible to ensure standard formatting across the organization
Best practices include:
- Keep the narrative short and to the point.
- Reflect the actual or current state of the process
- Let the user know which tasks are manual vs. automated
- Is action or outcome-oriented
- It is not repeated elsewhere, there should be one procedure per process, and it should not be included in multiple documents. Use hyperlinks in documents to reference specific procedures.
- Uses active language like "must" vs. "should"
I hope this information is helpful, and of course, if other members have ideas, I would love to hear them.
Original Message:
Sent: 11-26-2021 08:37 AM
From: Anonymous Member
Subject: contract management procedures
This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
GM ThinkTank
recently, I received some excellent feedback and advice re building a Contract Mgt Policy and have have drafted it and it was well received - thanks for that!
I am now tasked with creating the procedures around that policy...for example, the RACI and steps/tasks to complete that can impact contract mgt, such as Vendor Onboarding activities, Ongoing monitoring (period reviews) assessments, including continuous monitoring and termination.
can anyone assist with some advice and direction? Also, what would a procedures doc look like re the sections to be included in addition to the actual procedural steps
regards,