Take Credit for Vendor Management Successes

One of my most exciting lessons in the world of compliance was that we could actually take credit for doing the job well or for investing in education.

Compliance and third party risk management are very tough roles – lots of people are depending on you, you’re always a little out of sight and out of mind (until a problem occurs), and you’re always having to rely on others to get things done. It’s the nature of the job.

Vendor Management Successes Worth Bringing to Light

Here are some examples of obvious vendor management successes that vendor managers deserve credit for:

• When done well, compliance and third party risk management creates a true strategic advantage.
• Whether it’s proactively managing a problem or avoiding it altogether, good preparation saves your company in numerous situations.
• You, the vendor manager, prevent a service level oversight or a missed contract negotiation period by doing a thorough vendor management process.
• Contract management in vendor risk is a huge task but saves you and the organization lots of time, money and frustration when done correctly.
• Preparing well is to have a sophisticated vendor management program and a successful audit.
• Staying on top of changing regulations and expectations by reading, attending classes, conferences and webinars.
• Making the appropriate changes that need to be implemented in your program due to regulations. 

Keep Track of You and Your Team's Success

Track all your work and successes carefully and then, whether it’s during your next exam or in a board meeting, take full credit for the investment of time, money, resources and talent utilized in staying abreast of the important learnings needed to be fully compliant.

I’ve heard time and again that if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen – nothing could be more correct in this case. It’s easy to say we’ve invested in compliance education, but unless you can show the evidence, it’s pretty much a waste of time! Write it down, demonstrate it in your work and take credit for the investment.

Download our eBook to learn about creating an effective contract management system for managing your third party contracts.