TalentCore HRIS Solutions Negotiation Playbook
This playbook turns vendor negotiations from price haggling into a structured, evidence-led strategy. Expect ready-to-use levers with Ask → Target → Fallback, redline-ready clauses, and quick calculators that quantify impact in real time—plus a vendor-specific intel layer (posture, risks, benchmarks) so your moves are grounded in facts. It solves the "where do we push, with what proof, and what do we trade?" problem by bundling the best angles into deal recipes and backing each with sources. In short: a fast path from context to concrete asks, so teams negotiate confidently, consistently, and with measurable outcomes.
Build and bundle negotiation levers into ready-to-send deal recipes.
Negotiation Levers
Core negotiation "levers": each with why it matters, ask/target/fallback, clause refs, KPIs, and calculators.
Cap renewal uplifts at the lesser of CPI-U or 5%; require 60-day written notice.
5% cap with CPI reference; 60-day notice committed.
7% cap with 90-day renewal notice.
Customer may terminate for convenience subject to a buyout not to exceed 20% of remaining fees, declining monthly.
≤20% declining buyout; waiver if vendor breach persists.
25% buyout with longer notice.
Commit 99.5% monthly uptime; credits apply by tier; publish incidents and RCA within 5 business days.
Credits escalate below 99.5/99.0; RCA timeline locked.
Quarterly pooling for minor misses.
P1 response 30 minutes and restore target 4 hours; P2 response 2 hours; P3 response 4 hours.
24x7 P1 coverage; calendar targets documented.
Business-hours coverage with higher credits.
At renewal, allow reduction of seats and removal of modules with 30 days notice without penalty.
Full rightsize at renewal with no list re-base.
Rightsize non-core modules only.
Annual true-up on anniversary based on peak concurrent month with a 5% grace band.
Annual cadence; reporting quarterly only.
Semiannual true-up with 2% band.
Ramp seats quarterly from 150 to 180 with co-term; maintain price hold on ramped seats.
Ramp in 3-4 tranches with price hold.
Two tranches with blended rate.
Apply a 15–20% bundle discount when adding Analytics with existing core modules; 12-month price hold.
≥15% discount and hold.
Step-down discount tied to adoption milestones.
Bulk export rights for employee, payroll, benefits, time, and performance data with vendor assistance; deletion timelines published and confirmed.
30-day export window post term; staged deletion per product.
Export during last 30 days only.
Standardized line items, quarterly joint bill review, and a 180-day dispute window for covered charges.
Automated dispute workflow and credit timing SLAs.
Manual process with longer clock.
Vendor shall provide ninety days advance notice before auto-renewal.
60–90 day notice plus order form summary.
Notice only; tighter buy-out on pilots.
Maintain a sub-processor registry and provide 30-day advance notice for changes; cooperate on assessments.
Email alerting and remedy path.
Notice only; quarterly digest.
Provide a staging sandbox with data replication and governed deployment tools.
Prod-like sandbox and release pipeline.
Time-boxed premium sandbox trial.