Key takeaways
- “Contract leakage” is costing companies millions—and most don’t know it. Employees across the organization were signing agreements without legal, finance, or procurement approval, creating massive legal liability and untracked spend. Implementing CLM eliminated this risk by making the system the only approved path for contract execution and training high-level signers to reject anything not coming through the platform.
- The “hard cutoff” approach drives adoption. Sarah sent clear communications with a firm deadline: “We will no longer accept email requests as of X date.” Backed by executive support, this decisive strategy eliminated workarounds. When people tried to go around the system, leadership reinforced the policy, and adoption became universal. Communication, management buy-in, and enforcement were the three pillars of success.
- Start small, scale strategically, maintain consistency. Sarah began with high-volume NDAs and her US region before expanding to other operating companies and continents. An early challenge emerged when different regions built workflows inconsistently, creating data problems. The lesson: establish a central coordination point (like a steering committee) to ensure global consistency in workflows and data structure from the start.
- Master conditional logic to unlock automation at scale. Sarah emphasized that learning Ironclad’s conditions feature was the biggest learning curve but also the key to building sophisticated workflows. Once mastered, she could create complex field service workflows that run entirely automatically unless customers modify templates—handling everything from customer bids to signatures without legal involvement.
- CLM expertise can be a career accelerator. Sarah was specifically hired because CLM experience was in her job description. Her Ironclad expertise gave her visibility with C-suite leadership, made her indispensable within the organization, and positioned her for legal operations roles beyond traditional contract review. She now spends 75% of her time on strategic CLM work rather than routine legal tasks.
Interested in seeing how Ironclad can help streamline your contracts? Talk to one of our digital contracting specialists and get a custom demo.
Ironclad is not a law firm, and this post does not constitute or contain legal advice. To evaluate the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability of the ideas and guidance reflected here, or the applicability of these materials to your business, you should consult with a licensed attorney. Use of and access to any of the resources contained within Ironclad’s site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and Ironclad.
