At PayStream Advisors, our research and analysis consistently reveals that organizations that look at P2P as a holistic conduit rather than a series of independent processes, reap more rewards and savings in their automation endeavors. In other words, they don’t take a one-and-done approach to automating processes. This idea was reinforced by the foremost leaders in the industry last month at INNOVATE 2015: The Purchase-to-Pay Summit. One of those leaders, Frans Barends, Chief Procurement Officer at Georgia Tech, spoke on the subject during the leadership panel as well as his own breakout session entitled, “Automating Expense Approval and PCard Reconciliation: Best Practices for Reducing Headaches.” He stressed the importance of connecting the steps in the P2P cycle to create value, increasing the likelihood that your project is greenlighted.

If you’re reading this, likely you already realize the significance of the P2P function as a critical piece of your organization’s competitive advantage. You may have developed a good strategy and vision for the P2P automation project and set about building a business case including ROI projections to present to C-Level executives. But have you also thought carefully about how to structure your project steering committee? Given that integration of all of the processes along the P2P continuum, it’s no surprise that any successful project will involve a strategy to gain buy-in among the many stakeholders. The automation project steering committee will help organize resources and guide the organization through the transition from a largely paper-based process to a digital one. It is one of the most critical mechanisms involved in the transition.

While it may seem like the obvious way to populate the committee is to stack it with advocates and technology enthusiasts, this may not be the best bet. As Frans Barends of Georgia Tech illustrated in his presentation at INNOVATE 2015, it’s important to include the ‘naysayers’ as well as proponents of the new system. This will ensure that even the most extreme resistors will have a voice in how the transition takes place, which will in turn make the transition much  more likely to enjoy long-term success, as opposed to being abandoned by users early on. By including these folks, you’re basically putting the project through a trial by fire and creating a bullet-proof business case.

Similarly, you don’t want to assume that IT staffers should make up the majority of the members since the project is technology-focused. Most IT projects transform the way business processes are structured, so the best bet is to include the stakeholders who’s jobs will be directly impacted, not just temporarily during the transition phase, but permanently. These folks will have a much more emotional attachment to how the process is affected, and it’s essential to remember this when you make presentations to the group because it should guide the entire overarching tone of these meetings.

It’s also key that you have executive level participation, otherwise the project will flounder due to a lack of decision-making authority. Make sure to keep it fairly small as well so that efficient, monthly meetings will be easily scheduled and attended. The group must then work through the essential steps of creating a committee mission, committee charter, and the allocation of responsibilities. Meetings will be held and the committee will be tasked with guiding the project through to completion, but that’s not where the story ends.

As Barends noted in his presentation, the final step is to maintain a constant vigil over new proposals, new platforms and systems that can further streamline your operation. P2P automation solution providers are launching new products at a remarkable rate and the sheer volume and complexity of these products can translate into a lot of time and energy spent on reviewing them. These new developments are best reviewed and analyzed frequently by your committee, advocates, naysayers and non-IT staffers alike.