One of the biggest challenges facing companies implementing P2P systems is increasing the number of people who actually use the system. This, in turn, leads to maximizing spend under management, contract compliance, etc.

There’s no question that some end-users are easier to convince than others. Certainly the Power-Users are relatively easy to get on-board. This would include Purchasing and Accounts Payable. If they “don’t get it,” you’re in real trouble.

The challenges typically lie with, (a) infrequent users, (b) departments such as Marketing, IT, etc., and (c) Approvers of Requisitions and PO’s.

One of the principles of successfully implementing any enterprise system is to “seek and gain Top Management commitment” for the project. With true Top Management commitment, it’s easier to get everyone to fall in line and use the new system.

Unfortunately, getting Top Management commitment rarely happens — most people are lucky to get approval to buy and implement a P2P system.

In 25 years, I would say I’ve seen this happen no more than 10 times. It’s a beautiful thing when it happens – but, what if it doesn’t?

First, this means you will need to avoid the “Big Bang” approach to implementation. You’ll need more time to fully implement the system because you will need a phased approach, where you bring on one group of users at a time. You simply won’t have the clout to influence everyone’s behavior simultaneously.

There are two basic approaches you can utilize to get users on the system and have them use it religiously; the first approach being “The Carrot,” the second, “The Stick.” Perhaps you can use techniques from both categories.

In my next blog, we will examine “The Carrot” approach in detail.

This will help you figure out how to communicate with your end-user community and to answer the question, “what’s in it for me?”