Three-quarters of employees don’t know who owns their company’s contracts, creating financial losses and missed business opportunities across organizations, according to new research from Workday.
The study of 1,250 U.S. enterprise employees found that 76 per cent don’t fully understand who is responsible for contracts, often uncertain whether the vendor relationship manager, legal team or procurement department is ultimately in charge.
This confusion leads to significant problems. Half of legal professionals and 49 per cent of other employees say they’ve lost money from unintended auto-renewals, with sales and marketing departments hit hardest at 60 per cent.
Contract storage creates additional problems
The research revealed that contracts are scattered across multiple locations, making it difficult for departments to share analysis and insights. Legal teams store contracts primarily on shared drives (70 per cent) and CRM systems (62 per cent), while non-legal employees use shared drives (50 per cent) and CRM systems (53 per cent).
Contracts also end up on individual desktops, in email accounts and even as paper records, creating fragmentation that slows processes and reduces visibility.
Legal teams often bypassed in approvals
While 85 per cent of legal professionals say they’re part of contract approvals, only 67 per cent of other employees agree. This 18 percentage point gap suggests that roughly one-third of employees might be bypassing legal reviews, creating risks from overlooked regulatory requirements and unfavorable terms.
The approval process itself causes delays. More than two in five respondents, including legal professionals, believe contract processes are too slow. This affects innovation and productivity, particularly in research and development and engineering departments, where 79 per cent report being hindered.
AI agents could unlock contract value
“Contracts are packed with critical business information that’s often buried across hundreds of pages,” said Jerry Ting, vice president and head of agentic AI and Evisort at Workday. “With the rise of AI agents, we can finally turn contracts into living, intelligent assets. Our research shows how legal teams can unlock hidden insights to become a strategic engine that accelerates business decisions, protects the enterprise, and ultimately leads the way to greater efficiency and profitability.”
Study methodology
The Contract Intelligence Index Report was commissioned by Workday and conducted by Provoke Insights in March 2025. The study included legal and non-legal enterprise employees across various industries from organizations in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Workday, based in Pleasanton, California, provides AI-powered platforms for managing people, money and agents. The company serves more than 11,000 organizations worldwide, including more than 60 per cent of Fortune 500 companies.
