Szokratesz Kosztopulosz, Events and Operations Manager at Toggl

Toggl

Toggl

Technology

120+

Fully remote but founded in Tallinn, Estonia

How Toggl overhauled its travel and events management processes with TravelPerk

Overwhelmed by manual procedures, Toggl needed a centralised solution for organising events and booking business travel

An industry-leading software company, Toggl has developed a suite of four innovative work tracking and productivity tools. Toggl helps organisations with tasks such as time tracking, project management, and skills-based recruitment. Designed for small and large businesses, Toggl is an online platform available as a mobile and desktop app and a browser extension.

As a fully remote company with employees scattered around the globe, business travel is a frequent part of Toggl's operations. Individual teams travel for regular meetups, and the company meets as a whole twice a year. Toggl employees also take business trips to visit clients and attend conferences, travelling on average 3-5 times annually.

Toggl's Events and Operations Manager, Szokratesz Kosztopulosz, discovered that single-handedly organising this level of corporate travel and events was becoming impossible. From time-consuming research and expensive phone bills from calling international travel agencies to tracking receipts and invoices for 100s of trips a year, Szokratesz knew he needed a centralised solution.

"I've been with Toggl for almost 7 years. When I started, I was buying plane tickets using the company credit card. That's why we changed to TravelPerk. At one point, I just said, "That's not scalable."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz- Events and Operations Manager

From antiquated processes to automated workflows

When searching for a corporate travel management company (TMC), Szokratesz found other providers were significantly more expensive, hard to build a rapport with, or used archaic processes. As a company that streamlines workflows, Toggl needed a travel management solution to match.

"It was always about doing things smarter. Work smarter, not harder."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz- Events and Operations Manager

Toggl started using TravelPerk in 2019 after a demo allowed Szokratesz and his colleagues to ensure the new system would suit their needs. He thought the implementation was smooth thanks to TravelPerk's ability to build in travel policy parameters. Letting employees book their own itineraries while remaining compliant with Toggl's guidelines became a clear resolution to the stresses of corporate travel planning en masse.

"[Employees] wanted to choose what time they wanted to fly. They wanted to have some freedom…The feedback from the team was really great. Everyone really loved that they could make their own decisions within some kind of boundaries."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz- Events and Operations Manager

This new way of working freed up so much of Szokratesz's time that his role evolved into a managerial position. Now, his new position allows him to focus on optimising employees' productivity and ensuring their well-being and duty of care.

"My job shifted from being kind of an assistant, to giving people the tools and the options to make the best out of their meetup[s]."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz- Events and Operations Manager

After mass travel disruptions from the pandemic, Toggl started using FlexiPerk to give employees more flexibility and peace of mind. Whether it's last-minute illnesses or canceled meetings, travellers can cancel their trip up to two hours before departure and receive a guaranteed refund of 80% of their travel costs, no questions asked.

Game-changing group travel assistance

For Toggl, it's important to bring employees together in real life. So, it was crucial that the TMC they selected could handle group bookings. TravelPerk's comprehensive group travel service was a big advantage over other options for Szokratesz. Now, Toggl benefits from a dedicated MICE specialist to help plan group travel for their teams.

"I've been working solely with a MICE specialist and she's amazing. I don't know what I would do without her… I don't have to reintroduce [Toggl], she already knows what we are doing, she already knows what we are looking for."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz- Events and Operations Manager

Instead of painstakingly looking for venues and accommodation, Szokratesz can tell their dedicated MICE specialist the destinations the Toggl team is considering for their next company getaway, and they gets to work crafting the perfect itinerary! Not only does this approach save time, but it also cuts costs thanks to TravelPerk's industry-exclusive deals and expansive inventory.

"She sources hotels and comes back to me with offers…we review internally and select our preferred option. From then on she's our point of contact with the hotel… She's extremely responsive. She goes the extra mile. I told her that we would like to go to the same hotel in Tallinn next year. She’s already one step ahead and had a plan B and plan C just in case."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz- Events and Operations Manager

More integrations equals less frustration

Along with streamlining the booking process, TravelPerk connects with existing platforms to help simplify other corporate travel tasks. Toggl integrated its human resources software with TravelPerk to help eliminate tedious manual processes when onboarding employees.

"It saved me a ton of time. I don't even have to think about it. My colleagues open a Bamboo HR account for a new employee and they get pulled into TravelPerk."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz - Events and Operations Manager

Another feature Toggl has utilised is TravelPerk's carbon footprint offsetting tool, GreenPerk. Designed to make tracking sustainable travel and corporate social responsibility (CSR) auditing easy, GreenPerk's rapidly available reports help Toggl review and reduce its environmental impact.

Hassle-free business travel has helped maximise productivity

Automation, a MICE specialist and a dedicated account manager have minimised the unnecessary back-and-forths that used to plague Toggl's corporate travel planning.

"Our main product is a time tracker. So I could see how much time it took to buy plane tickets [before using TravelPerk] and how much time is saved now and it was a lot."

Szokratesz Kosztopulosz - Events and Operations Manager

A key win for the time-keeping pros, this new way of working has impressed employees across the business. From streamlining itinerary planning to consolidating hundreds of receipts into one monthly invoice for the finance department. The teams have saved hours of mind-numbing admin and freed employees to focus on more business-critical tasks.

What TravelPerk provided

Bespoke full-service MICE and group travel management

Free demonstration and transparent pricing

Unified user-friendly platform for travel expenses and bookings

Flexible corporate travel with FlexiPerk

Simple CSR reporting and carbon offsetting with GreenPerk

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Want to know how we can take your business travel to the next level? Schedule a live, personalised demo with a TravelPerk expert to find out.

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