Managing HR issues can become an overwhelming challenge for small business owners. Using a professional employer organization (PEO) is a great way to reclaim the time you or your employees would spend juggling HR responsibilities. With a PEO on your side, you and your team can be better focused on the continuing growth of your company.
However, many business owners who have yet to sign up with a PEO are reticent to join. They are concerned that the PEO arrangement means they are giving up some control of their business to an outside organization.
Fortunately, business owners don’t sacrifice any control of their business when they choose to work with a PEO. You remain in control of your employees and you receive help managing the HR aspect of running your business.
When you’re ready to find a PEO to work with your company, turn to NetPEO. As a PEO brokerage, we have the years of experience necessary to find the HR outsourcing solutions that will fit your business best. Call (678) 376-1212 today to schedule your free initial needs analysis with one of your PEO brokers.
Co-Employment and Control of Your Business
In order to receive the services of a PEO, you enter a legal arrangement called co-employment. While the arrangement sounds like you are ceding control to another entity, it is merely a way to give the PEO the right to handle all aspects of your HR functions.
After you sign your co-employment agreement, your PEO partner becomes the “employer of record” for your current and future employees. The HR experts working at the PEO will handle the administrative tasks of HR, based on the terms of your co-employment agreement.
This administrative change does not impact your relationship with your employees. They still report to you for their tasks, are subject to your evaluation of their performance, and turn to you to discuss their wages. Your managerial responsibilities to your workers are completely unchanged.
HR Compliance and Employee Management
Part of the benefit of having a PEO manage the HR aspect of your business is that they help ensure your business’s continuing compliance with all state and federal labor laws. After all, violations can cost your business tens of thousands of dollars.
The terms of your co-employment agreement may require you to notify your PEO partner about HR decisions ahead of time to ensure compliance with the relevant regulations affecting your decision-making process. This is to make sure that you are aware of any risks that may come from your decision, not to stop you from doing what you need to run your business.
What You Get Out of Working with a PEO
Small businesses turn to PEOs to add to their existing HR infrastructure or to replace it wholesale. Under a co-employment agreement, a PEO may take responsibility for:
- Workers’ compensation claims
- Risk management
- Payroll and benefits administration
- Regulatory compliance
- Recruitment assistance
- Employee onboarding and improvement
Not only do you get to have HR experts manage a wide range of administrative needs, you also get:
- More time to do the rest of your job
- Access to improved benefit offerings for your employees, including new health insurance, retirement options, tuition reimbursement, and wellness programs
According to white papers from the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), your business as a whole will see benefits from your PEO relationship. These benefits include:
- Better rate of growth
- Better chances at survival
- Better employee retention
- Better administrative costs per employee
PEO Costs Won’t Break Your Budget
In order to pay for the services of a PEO, there are two payment structures used to facilitate the arrangement.
- Flat price per employee
- Flat percentage of gross payroll costs
When you sign up with a PEO, you can choose the payment structure that works best for your business. If you’ll save more by paying a flat fee per employee, that can be arranged. If your business has enough employees and a low gross payroll, you can opt for the flat percentage.
NetPEO’s Brokers Work with You to Empower Your PEO Search
For many business owners, the idea of searching for a PEO can feel daunting. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by your HR challenges, having to find the right PEO out of the nearly 1,000 options out there is an extra burden. Every PEO has a different management style, offers different services, and provides a different range of benefits for their clients.
Rather than struggling to find a perfect match on your own, you can turn to the PEO experts at NetPEO. Our PEO brokers find the services you need from our trusted network of PEO providers. We’re able to do this because we start with a thorough analysis of your business needs and work alongside you until you have the PEO services that best fit your business.
You can schedule your free initial needs analysis by calling (678) 376-1212. Keep control of your business and find the right PEO by reaching out today!
