Savvy employers are always thinking of new ways to add value to the employee experience. They offer employee benefits that attract, engage, and retain high-performing talent.
If you’re an agile employer, the best news is you can still craft a top-selling employee benefits package on a small budget. So why not start by changing the way you handle employee expense payments?
Handling employee expenses: Out with the old, in with the new
There are many things wrong with the way businesses traditionally handle expense reimbursement. The problems arising from old-fashioned employee expense payment methods affect both employees and employers in the following ways:
- Employees get short-changed – When employees spend money on company expenses like business trips and office supplies, they’re in effect loaning money to the company. Typically, loans carry interest, but employees rarely benefit from their generosity. Instead, they have to wait until the company sees fit to pay them back.
- It burdens employees financially – When employees front their own money, they create financial gaps in their budget. That means they may not have the cash flow to cover essential personal expenses and bills. The situation can get dire if they already live paycheck to paycheck and their money is tied up for too long. At the end of the day, the company creates financial stress for employees instead of financial wellness.
- It’s time-consuming for everyone – Expense reimbursement can be a tedious financial process. On the one hand, employees have to fill out forms and submit reports to get their money back. HR has to verify this paperwork and approve claims before paying the employee. The process takes even longer if a lot of back and forth is required to clear things.
- It strains the relationship between HR and employees – It’s necessary to maintain civil relations in a professional business environment. However, things can get tricky if employees become resentful and frustrated at the company’s expense reimbursement policy. All in all, it makes for a bad employee experience, resulting in low employee satisfaction and engagement.
- Potential exposure to fraud – Without a level of control and oversight on employee expense payments and reimbursements, there’s a risk of fraud. It would be beneficial to send exactly the amount needed – no more, no less – at the push of a button. However, the outdated reimbursement system doesn’t work like that.
With this in mind, it’s time to get rid of outdated handling of employee expense payments.
How to use dynamic expense cards for modern employee expense payment
Modern payment solutions like dynamic expense cards transform employee expense management. Today, company expense cards are not for executives only. You can empower your employees with dynamic expense cards that can cover employee expenses in the following ways:
On-the-go expense repayment
You can offer dynamic expense cards that you load with funds immediately after employees spend money on approved company expenses. Once the money is loaded, the funds are instantly available, so employees don’t have to wait to get their money back. Having dynamic expense cards makes employees feel more comfortable about claiming expenses and they won’t mind fronting cash for a short while.
Proactive employee expense payment
This is a more efficient way of handling employee expense payments because it eliminates the need for employees to dip into their pockets. Each employee gets a reloadable card only for expense payment.
They will use the card to cover travel expenses, education or training, office supplies, and other business-related expenses. Again, this card can be reloaded when necessary to ensure around-the-clock availability of funds for business expenses.
The benefits to employees and employers
When it comes down to it, the main ingredient in the recipe for employee satisfaction is financial wellness. Using dynamic expense cards for expense payments boosts employee financial wellness and also offers other benefits for employees:
- Promotes financial equity – When dynamic expense cards are offered to executives and companies alike, this promotes financial equity. Employers will feel valued if they get this form of financial support.
- Alleviates financial stress – cards provide employees with instant access to company money. When employees don’t have to await reimbursement, this reduces financial stress.
- Improves overall employee experience – Using cards streamlines expense payments and reduces financial stress. This goes a long way towards enhancing the overall employee experience.
These benefits explain why employees prefer dynamic expense cards. On the flip side, incorporating dynamic expense cards into the expense management process also benefits employers.
- Saves time and money – dynamic expense cards reduce the cost and time needed to process expenses. Simplifying the process also gives employees more time to do what they do best and increased productivity is good for the company.
- Offers flexibility and greater control – cards make it easier to track employee transactions. Employers still have control over company spending and can set limits to which employees must adhere – time, merchants, geography, and more. This also helps to reduce incidents of fraud.
- Makes it easier to reimburse hybrid teams – dynamic expense cards can be loaded anytime, anywhere, so they can cover home-based expenses for remote workers. Employers can use cards to reimburse unbanked and banked individuals, whether freelancers, general contractors, or full-time employees.
Juice dynamic expense cards: The superior way to handle employee expense payments
Technology is transforming the HR landscape and you can get ahead of it by switching up the way you handle employee expense payments. Making the switch doesn’t have to add more work to your plate if you use Juice dynamic expense cards.
Once you sign up with Juice Banking, you can order and receive your reloadable cards in no time. If you’re planning to order a separate set of cards meant solely for employee expense payments, you’ll be pleased to know the cards are customizable. This is a handy feature you can use for differentiation and branding purposes.
By implementing a real-time employee expense payment system, you’ll have happier employees that will steer your company in the right direction.
Learn more about tools that improve employee retention and satisfaction.
