A SAP Concur blog post explores the workplace characteristics of Generation Z (born mid-1990s to mid-2000s). They value job security and advancement opportunities, and are more motivated by purpose than money. Gen Z wants meaningful work, avoids repetitive tasks, and expects automation of tedious processes. The article advises companies to attract and retain Gen Z through automation and career development.
The article argues that as business travel rises, cost control requires more than low-cost airfare and rideshare programs; documenting a travel expense policy has a major impact on the bottom line. A policy should cover standard categories such as accommodations, travel, food and entertainment with clear rules, simplifying reporting and approvals, lowering per-trip costs and reducing fraud opportunities. A GBTA Foundation and Sabre study found 59% of respondents say a company's travel policy is an important factor when considering a new employer, and 84% say the quality of their business travel experience affects business results.
SAP Concur blog notes post-pandemic employees expect flexible work locations and efficient tools. Finance and IT must collaborate on digital spend management to maintain employee satisfaction and support growth. An Oxford Economics study shows organizations that have digitalized expense or invoice management see increases in spend visibility (37%), organizational agility (47%), cross-functional collaboration (36%), and employee productivity (43%).
Digital analyst Brian Solis argues collaboration tools have not replaced email but added distraction. A 2019 Adobe study found employees spend an average of 209 minutes daily checking email. Multitasking is really task-switching, potentially costing two or more hours a day, with about 23 minutes to regain focus after a distraction. McKinsey, The Economist, and others quantify the cost.
Citing research by Oxford Economics with SAP Concur, the blog notes that 1 in 3 employees who expect a seamless technology experience do not get one. Poor travel and expense technology can lower compliance, efficiency, and retention. Mobile receipt capture, automated approvals, embedded policy prompts, and integrated itinerary and safety information can improve employee experience while raising compliance and efficiency.
A SAP Concur podcast with Acquis Consulting Group discusses post-pandemic travel management. As business travel resumes, organizations are giving employees greater autonomy to use their best judgment and comfort levels to decide when, where, and how to meet clients and team members. Hansini Sharma, Practice Lead of Corporate Travel for Acquis Consulting Group, notes that travel personalization is at an unprecedented level, with employees offered more choices. The discussion also covers duty of care, trust, compliance, NDC technology, direct connect, and allowing employees to book personal travel through TMC accounts. Sharma emphasizes that the travel industry requires collaboration, with al…
In recognition of International Women's Day, SAP Concur President Mike Eberhard and Vice President of People Connection Jenn McColly discuss how to create more gender balance in the workforce. McColly cites McKinsey research that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. The post describes SAP Concur's workforce composition: 46% female, 39% of leaders are women, and 24% of employees in technology roles are female. It also notes SAP Concur's Corporate Social Responsibility partner CARE works to eradicate poverty and supports economic empowerment of women and…
SAP Concur argues employee spend data helps HR address three enterprise risks: duty of care, interstate and global tax compliance, and employee experience. An Oxford Economics study found only 26% of companies feel very or completely effective at managing T&E compliance. The article recommends knowing in advance where employees travel or reside, placing itinerary data into tracking solutions, and connecting travel, expense, and payment data to support risk management and budget decisions.
Global medical devices company Smith & Nephew shifted from an overly compliance-driven approach to an employee-centric focus after management changes, scaling operations across 44 countries. Using focus groups and surveys, it applied AI and Concur Detect to streamline travel and expense processes and ensure compliance, returning over 20,000 productivity hours to employees, with managers no longer approving expenses individually.
SAP Concur published a guest article discussing how people analytics can help organizations gain new business insights. The article debunks three common myths: people analytics involves more than one type of analytics, does not require expensive technology, and is not only for HR. It notes applications in workspace planning, work design, and automation and employee experience, and highlights that analyzing employee spend data (such as travel expenses) can optimize budgets and improve employee experience.
SAP Concur executive Jenn McColly argues that millennials are driving a shift towards purpose-driven workplaces. Citing Cone Communications research, 64% of millennials won't accept a job without strong CSR values, and 75% are willing to take a pay cut to work for a values-driven company. The article emphasizes the importance of purpose for attracting and retaining talent.
A SAP Concur blog post cites GSMA's 2020 Mobile Economy report, which states that in 2020 5G will shift from hype to reality but primarily for businesses rather than consumers, and that GSMA expects 5G to be the first generation in mobile history to have a bigger impact on enterprise than consumers. The article argues that as 5G adoption goes mainstream, back-office workflows and processes will be further streamlined, including travel and expense (T&E) management. T&E transformation is increasingly seen as an opportunity to reduce operational costs and boost employee productivity and job satisfaction, with business leaders seeing opportunities to cut costs by implementing new technologies t…
Digital natives (Millennials and Gen Z) make up 38% of the workforce, projected to rise to 58% in the next decade. Growing up in a 'risk society,' they are untethering from traditional social structures, leading to increased loneliness and anxiety. Employers can adapt by offering remote work, flexible communication, wellness benefits, and growth opportunities to retain talent and boost productivity.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses how finance and IT leaders can support business transformation in a hybrid work model. It recommends digitalizing first, especially spend management, by using cloud-based spend management technology to digitize receipts, invoices, reports, and approvals, saving time and consolidating spend data. Advanced analytics can help spot trends, identify waste, and negotiate better vendor contracts. The article also emphasizes adjusting office policies, investing in training and equipment, and considering consolidating office space for cost savings. System integration is crucial to ensure finance teams don't manually consolidate data.
A SAP Concur blog post states that manual mileage reporting is inefficient and error-prone, and that enabling mobile automated mileage capture can significantly reduce the time employees spend submitting and approving mileage. For most SAP Concur customers, mileage accounts for 2% to 12% of overall expensed spend. SAP Concur experts estimate at least one minute can be saved per mileage transaction; using a $37.50 hourly rate and 33,000 entries, that equals about $20,625 in savings. Recommended practices include enabling GPS auto-capture, configuring the auto-deduct commute option, promoting rideshare where appropriate, and using data to monitor mileage trends.
A SAP Concur blog post states that responsible return to travel is revealing a new twist: the traveler community's voice is growing stronger and may significantly impact managed travel programs. Before the pandemic, there was already a focus on end-user travel experience, personalization, and booking choice empowerment. Post-pandemic surveys show travelers want to travel only when they feel safe, prioritize health and safety, and want to choose suppliers that meet their business needs. An EY & SAP Concur whitepaper cites the EY Work Reimagined Employee Survey 2021: nine in ten respondents want flexibility in where and when they work, and 54% of employees are likely to quit if they aren't of…
SAP Concur blog discusses how business travel programs can help attract and retain talent. It recommends simplifying travel policy language, clarifying stances on sharing economy and bleisure, soliciting employee feedback, and investing in employee experience. Solutions like Tripkicks can reward cost-conscious travel decisions.
SAP Concur's blog argues that expense processes need not trade off finance efficiency against employee experience. Mobile receipt photo submission, automated policy prompts, mobile approvals, and a unified interface can speed reimbursement, improve compliance, and reduce finance workload. Research suggests automation can reduce the review-to-reimbursement period by up to 80%.
A SAP Concur blog post says that over the past two years corporate policies and processes have been scrutinized as revenue, spending, workplaces and travel shifted, and that employee experience deserves ongoing attention. It cites data that recent surveys find 25% to 40% of workers might quit within a year, while 78% told partner Accenture their employer is responsible for helping increase job satisfaction and well-being. The post describes several SAP Concur solutions: ExpenseIt for photographing and auto-categorizing receipts, Concur Request for pre-approval, Concur Detect for automated data review, Intelligent Audit using AI to find non-compliant spending, Concur Invoice for invoice auto…
A SAP Concur blog post notes that employee expectations about jobs and workplace experiences have dramatically changed. A survey by Oxford Economics and SAP Concur found that 60% of U.S. employees say the pandemic caused them to reevaluate what they value in a workplace; an Accenture survey found 78% of employees believe employers are responsible for their job satisfaction and well-being. The article offers four tips to improve employee experience: improve onboarding and training, empower employees to work from anywhere, streamline and simplify the technology stack, and improve software application experiences. Gallup data shows only 12% of employees feel their organization does a great job…
A SAP Concur blog post notes that safety, risk, sustainability, and control of spend are common topics at the moment. As travel managers assess these challenges, they may ask how to prove their value when travel is reduced and budgets are lower. The article argues that successful travel managers should evolve from tacticians to strategizers, from doers to thinkers, and from second fiddle to the orchestra's conductor. It advises travel managers to understand how colleagues feel about getting back on the road and articulate the value of travel itself to the organization, and to look to travel management companies (TMCs) and technology to do the heavy lifting of booking, expensing, invoicing,…
In this SAP Concur podcast, Andrew Walker and EY consultant Crystal Schoenhals discuss the importance of employee experience data. They emphasize that companies should continuously collect feedback, not just annual surveys, and use it to drive policy changes. Employees expect to see action taken on their input; otherwise, they may leave. The conversation highlights the need for iterative, operationalized experience management.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that by adopting modern travel and expense (T&E) management solutions, companies can cut costs while improving employee satisfaction. Citing Gallup and Gartner research, the article shows that exceptional employee experiences are linked to higher productivity, profitability, and retention. By automating processes, providing easy-to-use apps, and giving employees more choices, companies can achieve expense transparency, enhance policy compliance, and ultimately improve financial control.
The SAP Concur blog emphasizes the importance of employee experience, noting that companies should automate tedious tasks with intelligent finance solutions to boost satisfaction and productivity. Citing a Gallup poll, it states that exceptional employee experience results in 17% higher productivity and 40% lower turnover.
The article emphasizes the importance of collaboration between finance and travel teams, using integrated tools to improve spend visibility, ensure compliance, fulfill duty of care, and enhance employee experience. Automation reduces manual work and improves data accuracy.
An SAP Concur podcast conversation with EY discusses the complexities of 'work from anywhere.' EY research surveying 16,000 employees in 16 countries found that nine in 10 employees want flexibility in where or when they work; employees expect to work two or three days remotely; and more than half (54%) are likely to quit if they aren't offered the flexibility they want, with Millennials almost twice as likely to quit as Baby Boomers. The post notes that varying definitions of hybrid work confuse companies developing policies, and that employees living in other states or countries could affect reporting and withholding obligations, while reimbursing remote employees for business expenses su…
A SAP Concur blog post notes that cumbersome travel and expense processes can lead to employee dissatisfaction and turnover. It recommends simplifying processes, eliminating paper receipts, and automating approvals and expense management to boost productivity and engagement. Citing the Great Resignation, it emphasizes that employees leave due to unnecessary processes. With SAP Concur tool enhancements, companies can control costs, simplify processes, and free finance teams for strategic work.
A SAP Concur blog post cites Gallup data that only 15% of full-time employees are highly engaged, while 85% are not engaged or actively disengaged. AMI-Partners research shows 93% of SMBs have employees who travel for work regularly, but only 21% use a dedicated travel and expense solution, and more than half lack well-defined travel and expense policies. The article says SAP Concur customers save on average US$23 per expense report.
SAP Concur Value Consultant Ryan Hamilton and Deloitte Specialist Master Oren Geshuri discuss the current state and future evolution of accounts payable (AP) automation in a podcast. The conversation focuses on employee experience and spend governance, noting that COVID-19 accelerated the digitization of AP processes and highlighting the strategic value of automation in improving efficiency, optimizing cash flow, and enhancing organizational resilience.
SAP Concur expands Concur TripLink in EMEA with TripIt Pro, offering multilingual support, enhanced travel visibility, and sustainability and safety tools to help companies manage direct bookings and improve employee satisfaction.
Gallup research shows organizations with exceptional employee experience see 17% higher productivity, 21% higher profitability, and 24% lower turnover. Deloitte reports 84% of leaders prioritize employee experience, but only 9% feel ready. Automating travel, expense, and invoice processes boosts engagement, productivity, and savings. Forrester recommends reframing expense management as an investment in employee experience and aligning finance, IT, and HR.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the cost control and compliance pressures facing finance teams, as well as employee turnover risk. It notes that digital solutions such as automation, machine learning, AI, and ERP integration can improve employee experience and efficiency. Using SAP Concur solutions can reduce time to fill out an expense report by 43%, time to reimburse expenses by 50%, and increase employees following T&E policies by 32%. The post also poses five key questions to help finance leaders reimagine travel, invoice, and expense management.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses how to create T&E policies that support employees while controlling costs. It recommends keeping policies simple to avoid ambiguous booking rules that lead to mistakes and hidden spend; talking to road warriors to understand their needs; and making it easy for employees to find and follow the rules. The article notes that when compliance is simpler, more people do it, leading to better spend control and employee satisfaction.
SAP SE and Qualtrics announced the availability of Concur Experience Optimizer, combining Qualtrics EmployeeXM's employee experience management with operational intelligence data from Concur Travel and Concur Expense to help companies design travel programs for the hybrid workplace, improve spend management, and increase retention. Research shows 70% of employees expect to return to pre-pandemic travel levels, and 84% are willing to travel within the next year. The solution captures employee sentiment via feedback templates and dashboards linked to operational data to improve compliance, budget predictability, and sustainability.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the importance of employee happiness amid the pandemic and Great Resignation, arguing that happiness breeds engagement, which in turn affects loyalty, productivity and profits. It says the issue is not money but frustrating, menial day-to-day tasks, especially travel and expense processes such as keeping paper receipts, filling out expense reports, and booking on a legacy travel program only to find the purchase falls outside a corporate rule they had never heard of. The post lists common employee complaints and suggests improving the experience with apps that automatically build expense reports, replace paper receipts with digital records, provide location-…
SAP Concur, in collaboration with Telegraph Spark, published a guide on remote-worker wellbeing, drawing on experts from SAP Concur, Unmind, Global Leadership Associates and others. The article notes that remote work during the pandemic brings loneliness, stress and family challenges, and recommends that employers clarify expectations, offer flexible hours, build team connections and address home-office ergonomics. A Gallup meta-analysis found companies with highly engaged workforces are 21% more profitable. A global survey by SAP Concur and Forrester found more than 60% of respondents named T&E management software, accounts payable and automation tools as the most important tools enhancing…
A SAP Concur blog post discusses three areas of focus for companies in the post-pandemic era: employee experience, creative collaboration, and customer connection. Citing research, it notes a 13% productivity increase in remote work, 37% of workers considering leaving their jobs, and 75% of workers citing collaboration as having suffered. Companies need to reassess T&E budgets and policies to support employee experience and in-person interactions.
A SAP Concur blog post shares predictions from its global team of experts for 2022 across business travel, digital transformation, sustainability, and employee experience. Predictions include: settlement replacing expense reports, hybrid spend management, bleisure travel, standardized sustainability reporting, and travel as an antidote to the Great Resignation.
The article emphasizes maintaining employee experience while working from home. Research shows exceptional employee experience leads to 17% higher productivity, 21% higher profitability, and 24% lower turnover. Companies should fulfill duty of care for home workers, review remote expense policies, and rethink processes for the new normal.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that travel-related expenses are often the second-largest line item on a business's budget behind payroll, so efficiencies here can deliver significant returns. It proposes four small T&E process changes that can be made in 2019: first, enable Expense Assistant to automatically create an expense report and fill it with incoming expenses, either monthly or by trip; second, use the Missing Receipt Declaration function to capture missing receipts with a signed affidavit and use the Missing Receipt Audit Report to catch repeat offenders; third, update the receipt policy to disallow submitting an e-receipt or travel reservation without card data, and vice versa, to r…