Okta simplifies new-hire onboarding with Navan Travel Payments

Region

NORAM: North America

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Industry

Tech

Products Used

• Navan Travel Payments
• Navan Business Travel

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For Okta, security and identity are central to everything the company does — including how it welcomes new employees. The identity and access management company requires every new hire to be vetted in person at one of its global offices before receiving system access, a laptop, or other company equipment.

To support this global process, Okta brings new hires from more than 25 countries together at regional hubs across six key locations — the United States, Canada, Ireland, India, Japan, and Australia.

“

We needed a way to bring new hires together without placing that financial burden on them.

Michelle Fontaine

Director of global travel, meetings, and events

Before Navan

While the in-person experience helps Okta verify each new employee’s identity and introduce them to the company culture, it also creates a significant travel and payment challenge.

Many participants are recent college graduates or early in their careers. Under Okta’s previous process, airfare was covered through a corporate card, but employees were expected to pay for their hotel and incidental expenses out of pocket, then submit an expense report for reimbursement after joining the company. Depending on the country, reimbursement could take several weeks — or up to a month.

For new employees traveling to high-cost cities before receiving their first paycheck, that could mean fronting thousands of dollars to attend onboarding.

“We have a large number of employees that don’t sit near an office, and our offices don’t have the capacity to host all employees,” says Michelle Fontaine, director of global travel, meetings, and events at Okta. “We needed a way to bring new hires together without placing that financial burden on them.”

A seamless payment experience across global hubs

After Okta’s existing corporate card provider could not offer the virtual payment solution the company needed, Fontaine turned to Navan to explore whether Navan Travel Payments could support the program.

Once a new hire accepts their offer and passes Okta’s security checks, the People Operations team sends a Navan guest invite. Navan’s travel payment is then applied to the employee’s airfare and hotel, allowing Okta to cover the trip directly without requiring the new hire to pay out of pocket.

The process is consistent across every participating region. Okta collects key information — including the employee’s cost center, entity, and region — through the guest booking workflow, while the same virtual payment process supports travel across all six countries.

“Once we have that process in place, it’s a seamless rollout,” Fontaine says. “It doesn’t matter the country or region that they’re in. It’s the same simple process.”

The implementation required minimal operational change. Okta added an additional payment method in Navan and established a process between its Talent, People Operations, and Travel teams. From there, the teams could manage new-hire travel in one platform rather than stitching together multiple systems.

“

Navan Travel Payments relieved the stress of having to figure out how new employees were going to pay for something.

Michelle Fontaine

Director of global travel, meetings, and events

Giving new hires a more welcoming start

By removing the need to front travel costs, Navan allows new employees to focus on the onboarding experience itself — from meeting their colleagues and learning about Okta’s culture to touring the office and completing the in-person vetting process.

“Navan Travel Payments relieved the stress of having to figure out how new employees were going to pay for something,” Fontaine says. “Navan allows new hires to just focus on the job at hand and be fully engaged in the new-hire introduction process.”

The experience also reinforces Okta’s employee-first culture before a new hire’s first day.

“I think our partnership with Navan demonstrated that Okta has empathy and respect and takes care of our workforce by not putting that burden on them,” Fontaine says.

New hires receive access to their virtual card through the Navan app 24 hours before departure, giving them a clear view of their payment details before checking into their hotel. Okta has received strong feedback from employees, including those using Navan for the first time.

Simplifying reconciliation for internal teams

The program has also streamlined the administrative work behind new-hire travel. Because transactions and trip details are captured in Navan, Okta’s teams no longer need to rely on employees to collect receipts and submit reimbursement requests.

All relevant information is available on the platform, making it easier to reconcile charges, run reports, and track onboarding travel. Cross-functional teams can also see who has booked, who has not, and how each trip is progressing.

The results reflect a broader positive experience with Navan. Okta’s program has achieved 98% customer satisfaction and 76% mobile adoption, giving employees a simple way to manage travel and access payment information while they are on the move.

For Fontaine, the most important factor in the rollout was collaboration across teams. “The cross-functional collaboration between the Talent team, the People Operations team, the Travel team, and Navan made the process seamless,” she says.

“

Navan Travel Payments enabled Okta to enforce a critical global security mandate without placing a single-dollar financial burden on our incoming talent.

Michelle Fontaine

Director of global travel, meetings, and events

Supporting security without creating unnecessary friction

Okta’s onboarding program demonstrates that strict security requirements and a welcoming employee experience can work together. With Navan Travel Payments, Okta can enforce in-person security requirements while giving new employees a seamless, stress-free travel experience.

“Navan Travel Payments enabled Okta to enforce a critical global security mandate without placing a single-dollar financial burden on our incoming talent,” Fontaine says.