Did you know that 45% of businesses fail during their first five years of opening their doors? If you want to make sure that your business does not become part of this statistic then it is a good idea to become familiar with contract management. We have put together this guide to share more about how contract management processes are evolving. 

Keep reading to learn all about contract management and how advancing technology is making a difference for companies. 

1. AI’s Influence

Artificial intelligence is a technology that is found in many different niches from the healthcare industry to managing contracts. Artificial intelligence has the ability to make any organization a lot more efficient and it allows crucial data to be extracted easier and faster when it is needed. 

Companies that are adopting AI are overcoming most of the challenges that use to come with creating contracts. Even the world of real estate is seeing improvements with some of the best mortgage loan origination software to help make the job easier. 

AI is able to sort through plenty of data and pull out any key information along with the contract terms accurately. It is much easier for AI to do it quickly when compared to a human. 

2. Digital Changes

Another trend that we are seeing in the world of contract management is moving into the digital world with things such as Enterprise Contract Management (ECM) software technology. There are many companies that use a CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) solution to help with automation but the problem with CLM was that it was mainly for departments in the legal, procurement, and sales world. 

ECM software on the other hand works with contract management with an all-in-one solution. 

3. Voice Activation

Something else that we will see in the future is voice assistant as the primary way to communicate with business software. Voice activation will be able to help with figuring out the active contracts that are up for renewal in the following months or it can explain the differences between your own NDA and your competitors. 

4. Contract Negotiation

In the future, we will also see the ability of AI to analyze contracts and negotiate prices based on supply and demand in the current market. AI will be able to make sure that the policies of the company are being followed and inform you of any discrepancies it might find. Also, any sudden discrepancies during a contract will be easily spotted and pointed out with the help of artificial intelligence. 

How Do You Feel About the Future of Contract Management?

Now that you are aware of where the future of contract management is heading, you can make informed decisions about the technology that you want to adopt for your own company. Thanks to technology you can now use it to improve the processes within the business and become more efficient. 

Found our article helpful and informative? Browse the rest of this section for our latest. 

Let’s be honest: 2020 has been a rollercoaster. If you’re managing a team of newly-remote employees, you’re likely wondering what you can do to help ease their minds. A periodical employee check-in is a great way to keep performance high and increase productivity.

With more people working from home than ever, regular manager-employee check-ins are vital. Scheduling time to talk with employees regularly will keep them motivated and engaged.

In this article, we’ll tell you why check-ins are so vital and guide you through a successful employee check-in.

Why an Employee Check-In Matters

If everything is running well, you may wonder if you really have to start doing employee check-ins. After all, you’ve got a busy schedule, and other matters to attend to.

But checking in often with your team is like changing the oil in your car, or going to the doctor for an annual physical.

Through routine checkups with your team, you can increase productivity and allow you to stop problems before they start. For example, if you have six-month employee check-in with a recent hire and find out they’re overwhelmed by the workload, you can help delegate to prevent them from burning out.

Many human problems can go unnoticed, especially when you aren’t in an office with your team. Making check-in time a priority will help your team feel closer and work better together.

What to Ask During Check-Ins

Checking in with an employee is more than just asking “so how are you?” once a week. Though these sorts of rap sessions are helpful, you can also guide these meetings in a more productive direction.

Good questions warrant discussion and elaboration. The kinds of questions you ask should be followed with “and why?” to stimulate longer answers. Here are a few good examples:

• What work or project are you proudest of?
• What are some points of friction in our remote work transition?
• What would you change about the work environment currently?

The point of an employee check-in is to not only evaluate and discuss their performance, but to identify any weak spots in your workflow.

Helpful Tips and Guides

If you’re new to managing employees, or only recently moved your employees to remote work, don’t be afraid to research. Supporting employees as a manager is a vital skill, but it doesn’t come naturally to everybody.

Whether you’re working in sales, finances, or education, there’s a guide for you out there. Whetstone education offers many detailed courses with interactive features.

You’re Ready to Help Your Team

We hope this article helped you to plan your own employee check-in. With times changing as quickly as they are, make sure you’re touching base with your team often. It will all pay off in the end.

For more tips, tricks, and advice, check out our blog. We know what it takes to succeed in business in the modern age, and want to teach you too. Flip through our other articles to see what we mean!

It’s no secret that managing a business isn’t easy. As a small business owner, you understand this better than most people.

In today’s business world, there’s more competition than ever before. This means you have to use every tool available in order to stand out from the crowd. One of the most indispensable tools is a great website.

But when did you last update your site?

This article takes a look at how to know it’s time for a website refresh. Keep reading to get the inside scoop!

1. It’s Been a Few Years Since Your Last Refresh

When it comes to deciding whether or not to refresh your website, the first thing to consider is how long it’s been since your last refresh. After all, technology moves quickly. Thus it doesn’t take long for older technology to start dragging to the point it becomes nearly obsolete.

It’s also important to remember that your business has likely changed and grown along with the speed of technology, making it necessary to keep your website up-to-date.

You will also likely notice that you’re not getting as many leads through your website as you used to, making it hard for users to find you or locate what they’re looking for.

2. Your Website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly

The simple truth is that the vast majority of visitors to your website will come from mobile devices. Thus you need to maximize the mobile user experience. 

It’s crucial to invest in a website refresh plan that will maximize responsiveness to mobile devices. Otherwise, you’ll risk alienating your customer base.

In fact, making your website mobile-friendly should be your top priority, especially if your goal is to drive as much online traffic to your site.

3. Pages Load Slowly

Take the time to look at your website. Try to navigate around the way a typical visitor would. How quickly do the pages load? Are the links fast and responsive, or does it take an extended period of time to perform as designed?

Very few things will kill your online business faster than a slow website. A refresh that speeds up performance is more than worth the website refresh cost. 

If your website video content is outdated and slowing down your site, Michigancreative.com can help you create quality videos that are optimized for site speed.

4. High Bounce Rate

Another factor to watch out for is a high bounce rate. Your bounce rate refers to the percentage of users that visit a page and then leave the website without doing anything on that page.

When your bounce rate is high, your search engine rankings will likely drop. A website refresh will switch things around and help keep the bounce rate low. 

A Businessowner’s Guide to the Benefits of a Website Refresh

Keeping your online business running smoothly should be a top priority. These tips for identifying the need for a website refresh will help keep your operation running as efficiently as possible. 

Explore our blog to find more business tips.

Well over half a million companies open up shop every year. Shortly thereafter, several thousands of those same companies close when they find themselves unable to engage customers in a meaningful way.

While there are several reasons why companies fail, particularly in the technology space, one of the chief causes is the lack of branding. And at the center of every lackluster branding strategy is a lackluster logo.

Great tech logo design has often evaded entrepreneurs that are so focused on the product they lose sight of the artistic elements of business building. If that’s the boat you’re in, we’re here to help.

In this post, our team breaks down elements, steps, and considerations that comprise what we feel are the golden rules of excellent logo design in the tech space. Keep reading to take these game-changing tips in.

1. Keep it Simple

Look no further than Apple’s success to understand the power of simplicity. People love clean, accessible designs that make them feel organized and uncluttered. Your tech logo design should embody those qualities.

Some of the most successful logos in the world (Nike’s Swoosh for example) are comprised of a single element. Your logo should strive to do the same as the simplicity of its design will lead consumers to draw inferences surrounding the intuitiveness of your products.

2. Get Psychological With Color

Color, to many, seems like an arbitrary addition designers throw on logos. In reality, color carries a deep psychological meaning that can affect the associations people make with your brand.

The color purple is commonly associated with death. The color black is associated with power. Which color/meaning would you prefer attached to your company?

That’s a question only you can answer but we ask that you do so with a full understanding of color’s primal impact.

3. Prioritize Recall

As you start to create logos during your drafting process, if nothing else, keep this single thought in mind — recall.

The way you know a logo is successful is if the moment people look at it, they’re immediately able to recall your company’s name. Anybody that sees golden arches, for example, thinks McDonald’s. Any time people see multi-colored peacock feathers, they think NBC.

Your logo’s ability to walk the line of simplicity and uniqueness to prompt recall will help it on its way to achieving the ubiquity the world’s most successful designs enjoy.

4. Be Medium Agnostic

You might design a tech logo that looks great on a website. How would that logo look blown up on a billboard though? What about if it was printed on a business card?

As your company grows, so to will the mediums in which you engage consumers. Your logo needs to be ready for that dynamism so you’re not forced to recreate it or alter it as new needs arise.

5. Understand What Tech Logos Look Like

We would never advocate that you copy other’s logos or strive to be exactly like competitors in your space. There are certain common qualities in logos that spur thoughts of tech when consumers look at them.

To discover what those elements are in your market, analyze the most successful tech company logos you know of. Check out Apple’s logo, Microsoft’s, Oracle’s, and others.

Do you see common threads you can adopt? Can you spot the differences in a logo that’s selling disaster recovery services versus business continuity services?

Make mental notes on what you learn and use those findings to your design’s advantage.

6. Don’t Knock Text Till You Try It

Just about every tech entrepreneur we’ve talked to starts down the path of creating shape/graphic-based logos. We don’t blame them as logos comprised of graphics are among the most popular.

Still, we’ve seen very successful logos lean solely on text. Think Coca-Cola or FedEx.

All of that to say that if you’re hitting a creative rut with graphics or just want to start on your logo design with a different mindset, focus on text. As long as your typeface is legible, you may come up with a design that’s simple and original.

7. Draft, Draft, and Draft Again

Your tech logo design’s chances of resonating with an audience go up substantially each time you draft a new idea. So, don’t be afraid of the process of drafting something up, setting it aside, and trying another design.

Too many people get stuck on their original logo drafts and cut themselves off from the wonderful opportunities that may come from continuing to let their creativity flow.

Don’t be one of them.

8. Get Feedback

The best way to gauge if your logo is achieving its intended end is to ask other people what they think. If possible, get your logo in front of people that are your target audience as their opinion matters most.

Two or three feedback sessions could increase your logo’s efficacy ten-fold so don’t miss the opportunity to solicit feedback.

The World’s Next Greatest Tech Logo Design Could Be Living in You

Our team has hit you with a handful of rules that can help you structure your design process. Armed with them, we implore you to start playing with ideas and testing them with your audience.

The world’s next great tech logo design could be just one draft away from being in your possession. Work towards that reality and know that we wish you the best of luck as you do.

For more tips on logo design and other business/lifestyle topics, explore more of the content on our blog.