We have an ongoing vendor auditing and SLA dispute seat that saves us six figures but is incredibly combative and draining. None of our operations or finance managers want to touch it because it ruins their days. How do we fill this seat without forcing a current employee into misery?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Start by acknowledging that forcing someone into a seat they do not want violates the Want It portion of GWC. You cannot coerce an employee into a role and expect high performance. Instead, look at the conative wiring of your team. This seat requires a high Fact Finder and low Quickstart on the Kolbe Index, someone who thrives on details, structure, and objective reality rather than interpersonal harmony. If your current team consists of high-relationship Diplomats or Quickstarts, they will naturally reject this combative seat.

If nobody internally passes GWC for this seat, you have two options. First, you can outsource this function to a third party vendor audit specialist. On your Accountability Chart, the seat remains, but you place the external firm name in the box and assign internal accountability to whoever manages that vendor relationship. Second, you can hire a dedicated, part-time specialist whose sole professional energy is built around contract compliance.

Do not let this critical seat sit empty or split it across multiple people who will all ignore it. That is a recipe for paying a steep dumb tax on missed SLA refunds. Define the five roles clearly, ensure the owner has the conative profile to handle conflict without emotional residue, and make a clean hire.