Relocation expense management can be a complicated and stressful process for a transferring employee. Relocating employees might have a dozen expense reports to submit over the course of their relocation, and that can be difficult for a transferee to self-fund. Having a seamless, efficient relocation expense management process is critical. Here are five simple tips:
Tip 1: Fast Reimbursement Processing
Through WHR Groups’s intricate survey process, we’ve found that there’s a direct correlation between the timeliness of reimbursement and employee satisfaction. We cannot stress enough the importance of quick fund turnaround. Communicate with relocating employees what the timeline is, since this can help them plan accordingly and know when to expect the reimbursement. Hopefully, your Relocation Management Company (RMC) processes expense reimbursements in 3 days from receipt.
Tip 2: Ensure Accuracy with a Dual Review
Accuracy is critical in expense report review, so having more than one set of eyes review is a must before reimbursing. At WHR, one review is completed by the policy expert and another by an accounting team member. This ensures compliance and accuracy.
Tip 3: Provide an Easy and Accessible Employee Interface Tool
Deploy an online expense submission system that can be accessed anywhere, 24/7/365. Give employees the ability to upload receipts via a mobile app or web portal in any currency. This saves time and the hassle of scanning in countless receipts. This is also helpful while employees are traveling.
Tip 4: Utilize Custom Expense Reports
To streamline expense report review, build custom reports for each relocation policy. This ensures employees stay compliant with policy benefits and it also helps your organization during the internal review. If you’re using an online technology, be sure the system has your policy parameters built into it. WHR can customize reports on over 3,000 different data points, at no additional charge.
Tip 5: Ensure Security of Payment Information
Make sure your RMC utilizes technology that implements security measures:
- Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and other private data encrypted and masked within the technology when the user is not updating those fields.
- Each personal data field is masked with ********** until the user selects a specific field to view. If the user has access based on his or her role, the data can be viewed and updated only when the field is selected.
- Firewalls are in place to isolate website traffic from the internal network and security has been implemented to control client/server communications from the web portals.
- Protection is used on all internal workstations and servers for anti-virus, spyware, and zero-day threats. Web content is filtered by an on-site application to protect users from accessing risky websites.
Take a hard look at your current expense management process and see if these tips are being followed. A well-run relocation expense management process can make or break the relocation. If you’d like additional help managing your expense reimbursement process or your relocation program, contact WHR Group.
