While attending the IOMA AP Conference in Las Vegas last month, I spent a great deal of time wondering how I would turn the fascinating things I was learning about AP processes and professionals into an insightful blog post. That is until I found my way to the blackjack table.
As a generally level-headed person, I had been to Vegas once before and not given in to the temptation of gambling. However, this time I found myself with no fewer than five hours to kill before my flight back to the east coast. As the old saying about idle hands goes, I whipped out a $20 bill, sat down at a $5 minimum blackjack table and tried my luck.
My first hand was a blackjack – no kidding. Watching my $5 turn into $15 in less than a minute was exhilarating. So, I decided to play another hand. I won it too. Within 20 minutes I had turned my $20 into $60. Unfortunately, I still had time to kill. And, as stated earlier, idle hands and all…
After two hours of up and down, I lost the $40 I’d won, the initial $20 I started with, and an additional $40. When I finally walked away from the table, I didn’t know what had hit me. Rather than tempt fate again, I came to my senses and spent the rest of the evening walking the strip and watching others gamble away their money.
It was then that I realized the lesson I’d learned could be slightly tweaked and applied to work in accounts payable. The longer I sat there losing money to the table, the harder it was to pull myself away. Similarly, the longer an AP department’s processes are run a particular way, the harder it is to change them, regardless of how much money the organization is losing.
My ability to walk away from that table was nothing short of a change management project. While for me it was forcing myself to make the realization that playing the game was a bad idea, for AP managers the change can only come when they realize their current processes are inefficient. The most important rules when implementing a change management are to communicate, communicate, and communicate.
When changing AP processes or adopting a new automation solution, managers must be able to communicate with their staff. The first step is to ensure that employees understand the importance of the proposed change and why it must be implemented immediately. This means understanding both the probable benefits of the change and the consequences of failure to change.
Secondly, management should present a picture of what things will look like after the change. It’s impossible to get the staff excited about the change if they don’t know what the outcome will be. Besides, a majority of organizations implementing a change succeed when there is a clear goal.
Finally, since people need to know what’s in it for them, managers must make sure employees understand how the change will benefit their work. While painting the big picture is essential, employees won’t get behind it if they don’t think they have something to gain. Always remind them why it’s important that they participate in the change.
When you communicate properly with your staff, it’s much easier to get them to leave the metaphorical blackjack table and take a leisurely – and less expensive – walk along the strip.
Communicating this important message to you makes me feel much better about the time spent in the casino. However, one thing is for sure. I’m very glad next year’s IOMA conference is in Orlando.
Patrick Harbin is editor of The Accounts Payable Channel and an Associate Editor of The Accounts Payable Network.
