Running the HR functions of a business is a daunting process, especially for those business owners without a background in the field. There are many legal requirements you must meet, and HR functions can take over large portions of your workday.
Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) offer HR support services designed to make running a small or medium-sized business simpler. PEOs offer a wide range of services that can help get you back to running your business, rather than dealing with the headaches that can come from carrying out HR functions.
How a PEO Provides HR Support
When you decide to partner with a PEO, you sign a contract known as a co-employment agreement. This contract sets the terms of your relationship with the PEO. While you continue to run your business, the PEO becomes the employer of record for your employees. This allows the PEO to run certain HR functions on your behalf.
When you sign the co-employment agreement, you determine the sort of HR support you need. You may be looking for help with a few key HR functions, or you may be interested in a more robust HR outsourcing solution. Different PEOs offer different services, so it’s important to know what your options are.
Administration of Payroll and Benefits
One common area of HR support that PEOs help businesses with is payroll and benefits administration. The extent of the HR support that a PEO can give you in this area depends on your preferences and the terms of your co-employment agreement. Your PEO partner could simply provide you with the software you need to complete your payroll and benefits administration, or it could handle everything on your behalf.
Many small businesses struggle to provide competitive benefits packages for their employees. Typically, health insurance can be expensive for employees of small businesses because insurance rates are determined by the number of employees in a group. With a co-employment agreement, your employees are part of a larger pool of all of the businesses partnered with your PEO. This means access to higher quality insurance plans, often with cheaper premiums for you and your employees.
Employee Support
PEOs can make dealing with HR issues easier for your employees as well. Your PEO partner can design and administer an Employee Self-Service (ESS) website to make life easier for your employees. An ESS website can allow employees to see previous paystubs, clock hours worked, and even access your employee handbook.
Don’t have an employee handbook? Your PEO partner can help you create one. This can help codify existing policies and even create new guidelines that will be helpful as your business grows.
Compliance
Keeping business in line with major labor laws is important, whether it’s at the federal, state, or local level. On top of the general laws all employers must follow, you may have industry-specific regulations that you must adopt. Keeping track of updates to legislation that could affect you is important too, as new laws can change your legal requirements.
When you partner with a PEO, you can trust that your HR functions are being handled in a way that complies with all of the relevant regulations. The HR professionals at your PEO partner will be responsible for ensuring business compliance and giving you advanced warning of new regulations as they come. Your PEO partner can also be responsible for handling workers’ compensation claims, should they arise.
Trust a NetPEO to Find a PEO for HR Support
While the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) reports that there are nearly 1,000 PEOs operating in the U.S. today, finding the right one can be tricky. A PEO broker like NetPEO can help.
Even if you’ve used a PEO before and weren’t satisfied with the arrangement, NetPEO is here to help. We listen to your needs and use our national network of partners to find the right PEO that offers the services you need. If you ever feel less than satisfied with your PEO partner, NetPEO will be there to help you at no cost.
When you’re ready to match with your new PEO partner, call (678) 376-1212 or use the forms on this site. One of our representatives will be in touch within 48 hours to learn more about your business and help you find the PEO that can provide the HR support you need.
