A quiz can enhance training.

Requiring cardholders and their managers to pass a quiz in conjunction with their initial P-Card training and/or annually helps confirm their understanding of key points, policies and procedures. Like any initiative, a successful quiz requires good planning. Following are quiz tips and example questions for your consideration.

Length

A quiz does not need to be long to be effective. In many cases, 10 questions are enough to cover important material without causing “test fatigue.”

Format

An electronic tool that can present a quiz and also score each one is ideal. Ask your management if such a system is already available within your organization. If not, inquire about your options. 

Tips for Writing Quiz Questions 

I gleaned the following tips when I chaired the Purchasing Card Professional Certification Council for the CPCP program:

  • Avoid questions containing “not,” such as “Which type of purchase is NOT allowed on a P-Card?” 
  • Focus on important content. Do not test on trivia, such as “In what year did the organization implement a P-Card program?”
  • Keep the questions as concise as possible.
  • Offer distinct answer options rather than “all of the above” or “none of the above.”  
  • Try to make all answer options a similar length. 

Finally, allow others to review the quiz before finalizing.

A quiz supports training by confirming employees' understanding of the material.

A quiz supports training by confirming employees' understanding of the material.

Help is Available

Submit a contact form if you are interested in obtaining a quote for a review of your training program to determine improvement opportunities.

See also additional examples of customized products and services Recharged Education can develop for you.

Example Questions

The examples below highlight the type of information you might want to include.

  • Why does the organization have a P-Card program? or What is a benefit of the P-Card program?
  • Who is authorized to use a P-Card?  
  • Where is the approved supplier list located?
  • By what date each month must cardholders reconcile their transactions? 
  • Within how many days of the Post Date may a cardholder dispute a transaction? 
  • What should the supporting documentation for each transaction include?
  • What should a cardholder do with the supporting documentation for each transaction? 
  • What is the P-Card single purchase/transaction limit? 
  • What is the first step for requesting a temporary limit change?
  • Are gift card purchases allowed on a P-Card? or substitute other purchase types, such as travel expenses

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Receive notice of new blog posts.

Give new life to policies and procedures.

Even if your management will not budge on what your policies and procedures (P&P) say, how you write them can boost or hinder cardholder compliance. I have seen too many P&P manuals comprised of large, unappealing text-heavy paragraphs. To give them new life, separate general information from procedures and make procedures more prominent using an appropriate format. Design matters; following are “before” and “after” examples. Which one would you rather read?

Before

In this example, the steps are buried in the text block and the passive voice adds to the dullness.  

After

This version reflects a script format, using Responsibility and Action columns to separate the tasks by job role. Each action begins with a verb and speaks to the person responsible.

You could also modify the columns to make the script format appropriate for other procedures, such as ones involving only a cardholder. For example, the first column could be Tasks and the second one How to Complete with numbered instructions for each task. Cardholders who already know how to do something can concentrate on the first column. 

Procedure Writing

Evaluating your P&P for the following five procedure writing elements and making improvements where needed will make the content easier to read.

  1. Appearance
  2. Style/language
  3. Format
  4. Level of detail
  5. Consistency

These elements, plus other procedure formats and more, are addressed within the guide referenced below. 

What is old and lifeless can be revitalized if you take the time to incorporate effective procedure writing characteristics. 

What is old and lifeless can be revitalized if you take the time to incorporate effective procedure writing characteristics. 

More Tips

Consider purchasing the related guide from Recharged Education for just $29.99. With more than 20 pages of content, it is a real value. For providers who want to distribute the guide to multiple clients, there is a license option with no limit on the number of copies to share. 

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Receive notice of new blog posts.

Why some technology projects fail.

We know that people can make or break an organization’s purchase-to-pay strategies. I previously wrote two related posts about the influence of executives and staff members (see below). However, even when the right people are on board, a technology project might not turn out as expected. Following are three reasons why, tips, and specific advice for an AP automation pursuit.

Unrealistic Expectations

The trouble can begin early on when an organization thinks technology will solve all their issues, but they fail to identify the root causes of problems. As an example, AP Now’s 2016 State of Invoice Processing Survey (www.ap-now.com) reveals slow internal invoice approval is the most common ongoing invoice issue experienced by organizations. Technology is not the magic answer for this. While technology can make approvals easier to do, the slow people will probably continue to be slow unless they are held accountable to a defined timeline. 

Tip

Determine your biggest pain points and explore why they occur. Do you need a change in policies and/or procedures? Do employees need more training? To what extent will technology help resolve the problem?

Haste

Rushing to select and implement a technology solution often means that an organization fails at multiple levels during a project. You might overlook elements needed by stakeholders or the complete picture of how a process works (and where new technology is most critical). If you skip doing thorough system testing, manageable hiccups can turn into emergencies when the system goes live. 

Tips

  • Assign the project manager role to someone who is equipped with project management knowledge and skills.
  • Document existing processes, stakeholder requirements, goals, etc.
  • Address how you will resolve any conflicting requirements between stakeholders. What will take precedence?
  • Develop and follow test scripts to ensure the technology works as expected before fully implementing. 

Lack of Communication

No list of pitfalls is complete without the proverbial lack of communication. This could mean forgetting to revise relevant policies and procedures, a lack of training to system users, failing to communicate with affected suppliers, and more.

Tips

The obvious action is to turn this around by communicating effectively throughout the organization and with suppliers. 

  • Note who will be impacted by the technology and, therefore, need training.
  • Offer a clear place to go if people have questions.
  • Explain the purpose of the new technology.
  • Monitor how users are handling the technology and the common errors.

Related Blog Posts

The previous posts about the influence of 1) executives and 2) staff members are:

  1. Two issues plaguing B2B payments
  2. Staff members are a wildcard
Frustration with a technology project is more likely to occur if your organization does not do solid advance planning.

Frustration with a technology project is more likely to occur if your organization does not do solid advance planning.

AP Automation Advice

When it comes to AP automation, respondents to AP Now’s 2016 State of Invoice Processing Survey recommend:

  • Ensure you will have dedicated IT support throughout the project.
  • Try out/demo different solutions before committing to one.
  • Verify that all your applicable systems will be compatible with each other.
  • Anticipate that AP will receive a spike in questions until users are comfortable; plan staffing accordingly.
  • Be assertive with suppliers regarding rules for invoice submission.
  • Do a longer pilot period before rolling out to everyone. 
“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. ”
— Bill Gates

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Receive notice of new blog posts.