BENGALURU: As high as 88% of the workforce in India prefer to have the flexibility of working from home and 69% believe their productivity has increased while working remotely, as per a survey by SAP Concur, an expense management firm. The percentage in India saying productivity has increased is the highest in the Apac region.
The survey sampled 300 respondents in India and 2012 in Asia Pacific, across manufacturing, financial services, retail, technology and health. At the same time, employees also cite the loss of productivity due to distractions as a key challenge. This includes time spent on expense claims processes. About 34% of those surveyed were less than satisfied with the current amount of time spent on finance matters.

While employees working remotely are being supported digitally in many areas, there still exists a major gap in digital adoption for crucial yet often overlooked finance and administrative processes. Owing to this, employees have to devote significant time for menial tasks that could otherwise be used for productive, business value-added work.
“Bringing in digital transformation for expense claims or invoice processing can have a huge multiplier effect on business and cost control,” said Mankiran Chowhan, MD of SAP Concur’s Indian subcontinent operations. The survey found that only 11% of the companies submit expenses now in a fully digital manner. The respondents spend 6 hours a month filing expense claims while employees with approval responsibilities take 7.3 hours to approve claims.

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