Spending too much time on your employee-related tasks and not enough time on revenue-generating duties could be hurting your business more than you think.
With a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), an outsourced HR service, you can turn over many of your business’s time-consuming HR tasks to a dedicated team of HR specialists, so that you can focus on your more profitable responsibilities. Moreover, when you sign on with a PEO, much of the risk and responsibility of employee administration and government compliance is transferred to the PEO.
Here are five ways a PEO can help resolve some of your most frustrating HR struggles.
1. Offer more comprehensive benefits for less
Benefits, such as medical insurance and retirement plans, are commonly a major incentive for job candidates. Unfortunately, since small businesses employ a smaller number of individuals, providers make less money than they do with the big guys. As a result, many providers won’t provide benefits to your small businesses simply because it’s less profitable for them. And if they do, typically, the cost is too much for your small business to bear.
As a PEO client, your employees become the employees of the PEO and its other clients. As one large unit, your PEO has greater buying power with benefit providers. Therefore it’s able to offer your business less expensive and more comprehensive health care and benefits coverage than you’d be able to get on your own.
2. Alleviate administrative overload
Fielding tasks such as payroll processing, writing job descriptions and coordinating benefit packages regularly require undivided attention. All the while, other critical tasks related to the managing and developing your business are put on hold.
For this reason, many small businesses find that handling all the administrative duties in-house can stunt the growth of your business, leaving it stagnant.
With a PEO, you no longer have to take time away from your business to administer, manage and organize employee paperwork. Your HR specialists will take care of most of that for you. So you can spend more time and money on core business activities.
3. Receive at-the-ready HR guidance
Whether it’s firing an employee or addressing a sexual harassment claim, handling employee-related situations can be very touchy. One wrong move and you could find yourself tangled up in a lawsuit that could ultimately destroy your business.
PEOs employ human resource specialists who know the ins and outs of the industry and stay up-to-date on best practices. When you sign on with a PEO, these HR specialists are at your disposal to answer questions and provide assistance when issues arise in your workplace, so you never have to go it alone.
4. Ensure government compliance
As an employer, you must always stay abreast of the changes made to labor laws and regulations. Not only is this an extremely time-consuming task, but for someone not well-versed in law, trying to make sense of the legal mumbo-jumbo can be frustrating.
A PEO will keep a close eye on your business and make sure it’s complying with both Provincial and Federal regulations at all times. Should something be out of kilter, your PEO will give you a heads up and help get things back on track.
5. Recruit and retain good employees
Creating a happy and healthy work environment is essential to maintaining a productive workforce. But many times, small businesses don’t know how to make their company a more appealing place to work.
These days, job-seekers often value a company’s benefit packages as much as the potential salary. And as we mentioned earlier, when you join a PEO, offering these benefits is much more do able.
Also, the HR specialists that work for the PEO can help you implement some extra perks that can help to attract higher caliber candidates. From setting up a paid time off program to improving your compensation structure, they will help you make your business a more sought-after place to work.
The Takeaway
While researching PEOs, determine what your business’s greatest needs are when dealing with employees. Is your greatest challenge finding talent, managing benefits, risk management or dealing with HR problems? Asking yourself these questions, while assessing your greatest challenges, can help you come to the best decision.
Jeffery Reynolds / District Sales Manager / PEO Canada