The University of Oregon travel office now offers training and drop-in support sessions directly to units and departments as part of its ongoing effort to assist travelers with using Concur, the university’s travel management system.

“We know that travelers and their support staff are busy, and we want to deliver customer service that best meets their needs,” said Laurie Jacoby, UO travel manager. “We can bring support services and expertise directly to them, at their locations, in customized sessions that provide the Concur assistance they find most useful.”

Topics for the one-hour sessions are flexible and depend on the preferences of the department’s travelers and their representatives. The travel office provides the following topics for consideration:

• ABC overview of Concur: basic steps, deciding whether to use the booking tool or travel management company partners, workflow from request/travel/expense.
• Concur booking tool: air – search using filters, when to use the travel partners, sending travel partner ticket authorization; cars and hotels.
• Expense reimbursement: travel allowance per diems, allocating funds, hotel itemization, print report.
• Guest/student travel.
• Mobile tools: Concur mobile app and Tripit Pro, receipt capture for smartphone users.
• Reporting tools to analyze travel spending.

The sessions are intended to educate and support travelers as they become more proficient users of Concur while also assisting them with real-time needs, Jacoby said.

In addition to support sessions, the travel office offers a travel talk over the lunch hour on a specific Concur topic. The next talk will focus on the Concur mobile app, which lets travelers capture receipts with their phones, add expenses to reports — including car mileage — and manage their itineraries.

It is offered Dec. 20 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Employee Education Lab, Room 305, at the Thompson University Center. Register in MyTrack to attend.

The travel office also hosts a Concur travel and expense roundtable for travel delegates on the last Wednesday of each month. Travel delegates are department or unit representatives with responsibilities related to the management of travel planning and expenses and traveler support. 

The Concur section of the travel office website provides useful resources, including frequently asked questions and training videos. The website also highlights a collection of case studies that offer insights and suggestions for departments.

The case studies feature the successes in the College of Design, School of Law, School of Music and Dance, Clark Honors College and Office of International Affairs as they adopted Concur into their travel processes.

The travel help desk remains available to assist with real-time issues. A travel office representative can be reached for immediate assistance at travel@uoregon.edu or by phone at 541-346-3100.