If you go beyond the specifics of individual claim problems and look at the root cause of expense claim issues, there are three common factors:
- The expenses policy is too complicated (and therefore easily misunderstood)
- The process for claiming is complex, time-consuming and easy to get wrong
- The underlying company stance is to find reasons not to pay
Let’s look at each of these in turn and consider how adjustments could be made to alleviate the issues and turn the expenses process into a more positive one.
A complicated policy
When was your company expenses policy last reviewed and updated? It’s one of those documents that’s easy to add elements to or adjust when certain expenses change but most then forget to look at the whole policy with a fresh set of eyes. One of the reasons why expense policies become complicated is that they build up over time. Another is that one area seems to contradict another. If the whole policy is not regularly looked at inconsistencies can come into play. It’s also hard for long-serving members of staff to keep track of minor changes and in some instances, people can even be looking at an out-of-date version.
So what’s the solution? A good start is to review the entire policy from an employee’s perspective. As a HR or finance professional, you could do this – or as an alternative, why not pull together a working group of colleagues from different areas of the business to review and discuss it? That way, you can ensure different perspectives are taken into account and you have a better chance of identifying any key areas that are causing confusion so that they can be addressed properly.
A complex process
How easy is it to claim expenses in your organisation? If getting back what you’re rightfully owed by the business involves keeping track of lots of separate paper receipts, entering data on paper forms or unwieldy spreadsheets, and then waiting while it gets passed from desk to desk for approval and then payment: it’s no wonder everyone gets a bit frustrated.
Managing expenses is one of the key areas where technology really has made things a whole lot easier for everyone – and the tools available are easy to use and inexpensive too. Why hold on to an antiquated and form-based process which is prone to human error when you could easily improve things straightaway? The latest expenses software allow for easier receipt management with smartphone scanning of receipts (so no need for that messy collection of bits of paper) and automatic calculations for the difficult bits like tax or claim limits. Finance will be delighted, too, as they won’t have to rekey anything. And everyone will find the whole process of approvals so much quicker and simpler. It’s a no brainer!
Reasons not to pay
This is a complex issue that requires a candid look at the company policy and the motivation behind it. Clearly it’s in the business’ interest to try and keep the expenses bill to a minimum, but this shouldn’t be an underlying driver that can be perceived as being unfair to employees. A key area to look at is upper limits. How much is the allowance for overnight accommodation for example – and how does it relate to current rates for suitable accommodation, particularly in London or major city centres? Employees can quickly become disgruntled if it is difficult to stay within the limit and still feel looked after and appreciated by their employer when working away from home.
Secondly, how flexible is your policy when there is a need to accommodate circumstances that fall outside of the usual day-to-day? Sometimes real life takes over e.g. staff have to use their personal phones to make work calls or need to eat a meal away because a meeting over-ran or a train was cancelled. And sometimes other priorities mean their expenses are submitted after a cut-off date. A little flexibility goes a long way if there are genuine reasons why the standard policy parameters can’t apply – and your employees are sure to appreciate the gesture.
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