[ad_1]
The business world has embraced digital transformation due to the pandemic, but employees are now eager to resume some of the company-friendly physical ways of working, such as travel, an industry expert said.
Gabriele Indrieri, vice president and managing director of SAP Concur EMEA South, highlighted that 46% of employees believe that building relationships through face-to-face contact is better, and 41% emphasize that face-to-face meetings can improve productivity research.
However, given the volatile economy, he noted that it is crucial for businesses to make effective choices, especially when it comes to resources. “It is for this reason that more policymakers are weighing the cost-effectiveness of business travel and looking for savings potential,” he said.
To help businesses reap the benefits of business travel while protecting their bottom line, he outlines five tips to consider:
1. Minimize errors to reduce overruns: When employees manually enter and itemize expenses, they are more likely to make costly mistakes. Hence, investing in smart technology, while it may be costly initially, will mitigate this and instill cost and time efficiencies in the long run. For example, technology can automatically pull personal charges from credit card providers, or integrate charges and receipts directly from hotels, airlines and car rental companies, or have them uploaded as photos by travelers — ultimately eliminating room for error.
2. Implement a practical policy: According to SAP Concur’s study on expense fraud, only one-third of employees believe their company’s travel and expense policies are appropriate and fair. Expense policies need to not only streamline processes, but also align with company culture. As a result, finance teams must consider how policies will work in practice, as they are unlikely to be suitable for every employee, which means their approach needs to be flexible.
This can be achieved through platforms that enable administrators to flex policies by creating multiple versions in the system that can be applied to different employees based on individual factors, departments and offices. Over time, it is imperative to keep checking that these policies are still appropriate for the workforce. Regular automated audits are the best way to achieve comprehensive, accurate visibility and prevent finance teams from manually sifting through every transaction.
3. Regular communication policy: Often, when employees overspend, it’s because they don’t know about budget allowances. This can be mitigated by ensuring that there is a clear budget and that all staff work within established expense policies.
However, only one-third of employees say their company’s travel expense policy is easy to understand, and only one-third take action to avoid unintentional fraud. By frequently checking their policies for updates, employees will understand the importance of facilitating travel bookings. Additionally, a professional travel booking solution can give travelers peace of mind by letting them know if the booking is covered by company policy, which will reduce the number of potentially costly out-of-policy bookings.
4. Simplified VAT refund: Many companies still haven’t refunded VAT, even though they’ve lost a lot of money as a result. This can be attributed to the use of inefficient tools and the fact that processing VAT returns and ensuring compliance can be complicated. Using a solution that eliminates the need for businesses to manually manage VAT refunds can save significant time and cash while minimizing compliance issues.
5. Rely on data when negotiating rates: The discounted prices add up to real savings. However, to negotiate rates, you need to keep track of what each supplier is spending. This can be challenging without the right tools to sort through inconsistent spending data captured from credit card feeds and other sources. Plus, when employees book outside of approved systems, those charges might not even be recorded. Therefore, if businesses harmonize spending data from all booking sources, they will be able to demand the best possible price.
“The pandemic has changed the way we work, with virtual communication and collaboration on digital tools becoming the norm. However, it’s clear that there’s no substitute for the face-to-face connections that business travel brings,” says Indrieri.
“By taking a strategic approach that considers the cost-effectiveness of each trip, businesses can capitalize on this by creating cost-effective travel programs that allow employees to build valuable relationships and maximize productivity.
He concluded: “Now is the time to act and plan for the future, with a focus on sustainable, cost-effective travel that enables businesses to thrive.” – trade arab news agency
[ad_2]
Source link
