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FOUR AREAS MIDDLE EAST COMPANIES SHOULD LOOK TO RESTART , REINVENT AND RENEW
It ’ s clear that we will continue to feel the long-lasting impact of the pandemic on global economics for the majority of 2021 , but it ’ s not all doom and gloom . Instead , it is a great time to restart and reinvent our ways of working . Middle East businesses need to become more agile and transparent , increase employee satisfaction and make duty of care a strategic priority . Emma Shakespeare , Regional Director – MENA , SAP Concur , outlines four key areas which companies should look to restart .
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Money matters – improve compliance and cost control
2020 has shown how quickly circumstances can change . For finance leaders , this has resulted in a host of new challenges , from enabling employees to submit expense claims and invoices remotely , to adjusting to new VAT rules and keeping a close eye on their company ’ s finances .
At a time when financial stability is critical for businesses of all sizes , the finance team needs to see and assess all costs easily to ensure they are compliant with the corporate and government policies in place . This leads to improved compliance and cost control , alongside better management and faster processing . After all , you can ’ t manage what you can ’ t see .
Safety first
No one can predict which scenarios 2021 will have in store for business travel management . However , companies today need to reassure their staff that their safety is a business priority . This will increase employee satisfaction and engagement and ensures that business travellers are fully prepared once they resume travel . organisation . Thanks to state-of-theart technologies and user-friendly tools , businesses can help employees with their daily tasks . This includes solutions that allow for pre-trip approvals .
Improve sustainability
Business travel has too often been associated with big carbon footprints , the use of single-use plastics which end up in landfill sites and weary workers .
The past few months have put these issues in the spotlight and forced the industry to rethink its relationship to sustainability .
Change is often driven from the bottom up , and we ’ re seeing a clear impetus for sustainable travel among business travellers themselves . In our Sustainable Corporate Business Travel Index 2020 , a survey of 2,450 corporate travel decision-makers and 2,000 business travellers in 12 European markets , 58 % of business travellers admitted that they would disregard travel policy and budgets for a ‘ greener ’ travel option , and 55 % would do so in order to book more environmentally friendly accommodation , such as an AirBnB , over a hotel . Better still , 97 % of business travellers are willing to add additional time on to their journeys if it improves its sustainability .
Team spirit
In times like these , the success of a company depends on the commitment of its employees . With the many pandemic challenges employees have to face , simplifying everyday admin and work tasks can be a great way to support them .
2021 is a crossroad for Middle East businesses of all sizes . Those that are willing to embrace change and adapt will set the standard for business best
practice now , and in the future . x
In fact , according to the SAP Concur Global Travel Survey , the safety of the traveller has become the most important factor when assessing organisations and services to approve for use by the
Emma Shakespeare , Regional Director – MENA , SAP Concur
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