Business process management software can be used to automate and optimize administrative tasks, reducing waste and increasing efficiency in HR operations. In my last blog, I walked through how BPM software could optimize a leave application process, totally eliminating the need for HR to participate in the process at all. Now I’d like to explore how BPM software can cure another common HR headache: the expense report process.
The expense report process is a basic administrative process found in almost every organization. When an employee advances an expense on the organization’s behalf, she then submits an expense report to her supervisor and/or the HR department using a standard expense reimbursement form. Someone from HR then processes the expense reimbursement form and approves or denies the request. Accounting is updated, and reimbursement is issued to the employee. Additional steps may be added to the customize the expense report process, but the basic “bones” are consistent across most organizations.
It’s important to remember that beyond its benefits to the organization as a whole, BPM software creates opportunities to make life easier for both the “end user” (in this case, the HR department) and the “client” (in this case, the employee). By automating and optimizing the expense report process, BPM software can help to increase employee satisfaction by reducing reimbursement lag times, speeding up the expense report process duration and shortening the time the employee has to wait for reimbursement. Using BPM software, the employee can easily monitor the progress of her expense report form online, and receive automatic updates as the reimbursement form advances, increasing transparency and giving peace of mind that the expense report is moving through the reimbursement process.
Furthermore, BPM software enables the HR department to automatically store, archive, and retrieve information related to the expense report process by accessing a database or by connecting to other software systems (such as ERP or accounting systems — more on this later), eliminating the need for redundant data entry and making HR’s job significantly easier.