How Will Gen Z and Gen Alpha Change Travel and Expense?

Having worked in the travel and expense (T&E) industry for more than four decades, change is the one certainty that I’ve come to expect. Each decade has brought new challenges, opportunities, and perspectives to this line of work. And, if history is any indication, I expect further transformation in the coming years as younger generations enter the workplace and bring with them a host of new expectations. 

Travel managers: I’ve been where you are today. In 2008—during the Great Recession—I started as the new director of T&E at a large, cloud-based software company. This organisation had strong and growing millennial representation in its workforce. My immediate responsibilities included better understanding and meeting the needs of, at that time, the youngest workers in the business. 

The differences that distinguish each generation will inevitably lead to changes in the workplace. Organisations will have to pivot to accommodate its business travellers’ needs, not the other way around. As a travel manager today (and quite possibly a millennial yourself), you are now likely seeking to better understand and meet the needs of the youngest workers in your business—Gen Z and, in just a few years, Gen Alpha.  

To help, SAP Concur has published a new whitepaper, Preparing for Gen Z and Gen Alpha: How Younger Generations Will Change Business Travel and Expense Management. Inspired by leading research into the characteristics and expectations of these generations and backed by my own professional experience in transforming T&E, this whitepaper explores three of the biggest changes that organisations can expect in the years ahead. It should serve as an initial guide to help travel managers and company leaders level-set on where things stand and how T&E operations may need to adjust going forward. 

How will the changes brought about by Gen Z and Gen Alpha workers shape T&E best practices? Download the SAP Concur whitepaper here to learn more.