Reduce the Risk of Contract Failure

When you come to write the bid, you need to be able to show the client that:

• you have considered the risk factors on your side of the contract;

• you know how to manage these factors so as to keep the work of the contract on track;

• if and when problems do occur, you will act promptly and decisively to stop them getting worse.

The way to do this is to think about contract management as a form of preventative maintenance, designed to protect the contract from situations that may damage its outcome. Build into your management approach the controls that clients will recognize as evidence that you understand and respect their business priorities - in particular:

• an unambiguous definition of roles and responsibilities;

• a continuous process of communication and review, with clear-cut lines of management accountability and transparency in management information;

• a precise statement of the work to be achieved by each person engaged on the contract, with targets and deadlines;

• monitoring of work against agreed quality, performance and delivery standards;

• procedures to resolve problems rapidly and effectively;

• prompt corrective action if the contract gets out of sync with time and budget markers;

• contingency planning to secure continuity and consistency;

• readiness to implement changes if the course of the contract needs to be adjusted and redirected.

It isn't enough just to use these phrases: clients are not looking for rhetoric; they want actual procedures spelt out in practical and convincing detail. Having risk management procedures in place shows a conscientious approach to your relationship with the client. It is critically important that your bid communicates both the mechanics of this approach and its value.