The Contracting Basics Training station defines the minimum level of contract literacy required for internal clients who create, negotiate, approve, or manage contracts on behalf of the business.

Contracts are the primary mechanism through which businesses form binding relationships, allocate risk, and realise value. 

Yet in many organisations, contracts are treated as paperwork rather than commercial instruments with long-term consequences.

This station on the Internal Client Line is about ensuring that internal clients understand how contracts work, what matters in them, and when legal expertise is required — so that contracting activity supports growth rather than undermines it.

The Contracting Basics Training station should enable internal clients to:

◼️ Understand What a Contract Is: How obligations, rights, and remedies arise.

◼️ Recognise Key Contract Components: Scope, pricing, risk, term, and exit.

◼️ Identify Commercial Risk: Where value is gained or lost.

◼️ Understand Authority & Execution: Who can negotiate and sign.

◼️ Use Templates Correctly: Why standard forms exist and how to apply them.

◼️ Recognise Red Flags: When legal involvement is mandatory.

◼️ Understand Contract Lifecycle: From request through execution and performance.

◼️ Align with Legal Processes: Intake, escalation, and approval requirements.

◼️ Reduce Inadvertent Risk Creation: Avoid common contracting mistakes.

◼️ Support Better Negotiation: Informed engagement with counterparties.

The Contracting Basics Training station is considered a Repeater and a Specialist resource within the GLS Legal Operations model.

A Foundational Resource: Is responsible for determining the overall performance capabilities of a “critical” legal function. If it is not optimised, the function can never be optimised. 

A Repeater Resource: Supports the performance of multiple "critical" legal functions and as such represents a "ripple effect" productivity intervention point. 

A Specialist Resource: Is responsible for driving the performance of a very specific part of an individual legal function. Its productivity contribution is limited to that single legal function. 

Best practice Contracting Basics Training demonstrates:

◼️ Commercial Orientation: Focused on value, not legal theory.

◼️ Role-Relevant Content: Tailored to who touches contracts.

◼️ Plain Language: Contracts explained in business terms.

◼️ Practical Scenarios: Real examples, not abstractions.

◼️ Alignment with Templates & Playbooks: Training reflects actual tools.

◼️ Clear Escalation Guidance: When to stop and involve legal.

◼️ Repeatability: Delivered regularly and refreshed.

◼️ Assessment: Understanding is validated.

◼️ Integration with Onboarding: New joiners trained early.

◼️ Leadership Endorsement: Treated as essential capability.

Contracting Basics Training delivers business value by:

◼️ Reducing Contract Risk: Fewer unmanaged obligations.

◼️ Protecting Commercial Value: Key positions are preserved.

◼️ Improving Speed: Fewer resets and corrections.

◼️ Enhancing Negotiation Outcomes: Better-informed engagement.

◼️ Reducing Cost: Less remediation and external spend.

◼️ Supporting Growth: Contracting scales safely.

◼️ Improving Compliance: Authority and process followed.

◼️ Increasing Predictability: Fewer surprises post-signature.

◼️ Improving Collaboration: Legal and business align.

◼️ Preventing Value Leakage: Deals perform as intended.

For the legal department, Contracting Basics Training provides:

◼️ Higher Quality Instructions: Better-informed internal clients.

◼️ Earlier Engagement: Legal involved before positions harden.

◼️ Reduced Rework: Fewer avoidable fixes.

◼️ Stronger Risk Control: Approved positions respected.

◼️ Better Use of Expertise: Lawyers focus on true complexity.

◼️ Improved Template Adoption: Standard forms used correctly.

◼️ Lower Demand Noise: Fewer basic queries.

◼️ Transformation Enablement: Training supports self-service.

◼️ Improved Credibility: Legal seen as enabling commercial success.

◼️ Sustainable Performance: Contracting volume does not overwhelm legal.

Contracting Basics Training is essential for:

◼️ Commercial & Sales Teams

◼️ Procurement Teams

◼️ Business Unit Leaders

◼️ Project & Transformation Teams

◼️ Finance Teams

◼️ Operations Teams

◼️ Product & Marketing Teams

◼️ Legal Operations Teams

◼️ Senior Leaders

◼️ Anyone involved in contracting activity

Where Contracting Basics Training is absent or weak, organisations experience:

◼️ Inconsistent Contracting: Same deal, different outcomes.

◼️ Late Legal Intervention: Risk surfaces too late.

◼️ Higher Dispute Rates: Ambiguity and error.

◼️ Execution Delays: Authority and process issues arise late.

◼️ Value Leakage: Commercial intent erodes post-signature.

◼️ Burnout: Legal teams firefight.

◼️ Poor Template Adoption: Workarounds proliferate.

◼️ Governance Failures: Authority ignored.

◼️ Low Confidence: Business distrusts contracts.

◼️ Stalled Maturity: Contracting capability plateaus.

Supporting Contracting Basics Training requires:

◼️ Learning Platforms: Delivery and tracking.

◼️ Integration with Playbooks: Training aligns to tools.

◼️ Template Repositories: Easy access to approved forms.

◼️ Searchable Knowledge: Just-in-time reference.

◼️ Assessment Tools: Validate understanding.

◼️ Onboarding Integration: Automatic enrolment.

◼️ Usage Analytics: Measure effectiveness.

◼️ Scalability: Enterprise-wide reach.

◼️ Access Controls: Role-appropriate content.

◼️ Change Enablement: Training evolves with risk.

The GLS Knowledge Centre has a wealth of resources available for learning more about the importance of a Contracting Parameters and how you can effectively implement one - check out a few on the right.

The GLS Legal Operations Centre contains everything you need to effectively implement your own tailored Contracting Parameters in a cost-effective and timely manner. Check out the resources linked on the right. 

Also, feel free to contact GLS to book a consult to discuss your Contracting Parameters needs right here.