Watch again: managing contract changes without the drama

Almost every contract changes after it is signed. Volumes go up, a service is added, a deadline moves. The question is whether the change is agreed properly or simply happens.

That was the theme of our September webinar, which drew 412 live viewers, our largest audience so far. The panel was Laurence Tse, who manages outsourced services for a public body, Siobhan Doyle, a construction disputes specialist, and Jasmine Clarke, our Head of Learning, in the chair.

Three points worth the hour

First, write down every change, even the small ones. Laurence described a facilities contract where dozens of minor requests, each agreed by phone, added 11 per cent to the annual cost before anyone noticed. "None of them was wrong. All of them were invisible."

Second, check who has authority before you agree anything. Siobhan said that most of the disputes she sees involve a change agreed by someone who was not allowed to agree it, on either side.

Third, price the change before the work starts. Once work is under way, the supplier has every reason to wait and the customer has very little bargaining power left.

What is in the library

Members can now watch the full recording, with captions and a transcript, and download the change-control template the panel used. It is a two-page form with a log sheet, written to be filled in during a phone call rather than after it.

The session draws on module five of the Certificate in Contract Management (CCM), which covers change control and variations in more depth.

Our next webinar, on what to do when a supplier stops replying, runs on 15 October 2026 at 6pm.