Better T&E Tools Drive More Productivity and Engagement

Companies want employees to be more engaged and productive. Most of your employees want to be valued and able to do their best work instead of being bogged down by tedious or confusing tasks.

The troublesome tasks all too often involve travel and expense processes and technology. However, current T&E tools and processes are often stacked against productivity and employee engagement. And businesses know it:

· Just 29% of HR leaders think their processes really help employees do their best work.¹

· 65% of business decision-makers say constrained T&E resources have a large or very large negative impact on their businesses.²

Those numbers make T&E an HR problem, not just a finance or travel team one. And a good reason why HR leaders should advocate for technology solutions that meet employee needs as well as business ones.

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Because it touches nearly every employee, process, and initiative at your company—bookings, expense reports, payroll, reimbursement, duty of care, and sustainability—T&E can be challenging to improve. However, its breadth makes it rich in opportunities to reach the intertwined goals of greater productivity and engagement. At each step, automated, intelligent solutions can play a role.

Simplifying Bookings and Expenses

Employees know there are rules to follow when choosing flights, hotels, rental cars, and other elements of their trips. Often, though, they find the policies hard to understand. Providing digital solutions can guide employees to preferred choices, provide in-the-moment policy explanations, and make bookings easier.

While on the road, employees can use a mobile app to snap a picture of a receipt, which is automatically read, and the data is then fed into an expense report. Instead of gathering receipts employees can toss them. Instead of putting off filling out expense reports until they’re back at their desks, they can quickly file them on the go, and their managers can do the same with approvals. The frustration of paperwork and delayed reimbursement is eliminated. And everyone can focus on more satisfying and productive parts of their jobs.

Supporting Safety and Sustainability

Sustainability and duty of care are business and travel imperatives, and employees increasingly want them. An intelligent solution can guide business travellers to greener flights, rental cars, and hotels and help them see and measure the impact of their choices. Before and during trips, solutions and apps deliver alerts, updates, and information on healthcare facilities, neighbourhood safety, and matters concerning LGBTQ+ employees.

By supporting their concern for the planet, their safety, and their values, you’ve supplied another piece of the employee experience puzzle and upheld your duty of care. You know where business travellers are. They know what to expect and that you’ve got their backs.

Supplying a User-friendly, AI-fueled Experience

Employees expect a consumer-like experience from their business technology. Digital solutions provide it by walking them through workflows and providing in-app answers and support. With its ability to learn from user preferences and history, artificial intelligence (AI) promises new levels of personalisation. Drawing on a wealth of data and a decade of AI and machine learning background, SAP Concur infuses the technology into its solutions.

Employees also expect to be able to work somewhere other than the office. Cloud-based solutions enable remote, hybrid, and work-on-the-go work. They keep teams connected and provide a consistent look and feel so employees don’t have to jump through hoops.

More Resources for HR Leaders

Helping employees do their best work requires an intentional, across-the-company strategy. Improving travel and expense processes and technology is one step in carrying out that strategy because they affect nearly everyone. When a business is considering new T&E solutions, HR leaders should advocate for ones that make life easier for employees as well as the travel and finance teams.

To learn more about the ways to fuel engagement and productivity, read our eBooks, Get Ready for Better or visit Solutions for HR Leaders, to access multiple resources that can help you build a more productive and engaged workforce.

¹. “Gartner HR Survey Reveals Less Than Half of Employees Are Achieving Optimal Performance”, Gartner May 23, 2023

². Empower the Future of Work with Intelligent Travel and Expense Solutions, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of SAP Concur, May 2023