The term PEO can trigger confusion for business owners and HR managers who haven’t previously encountered a Professional Employer Organization. However, once you have a better understanding of the services that PEOs offer, we suspect you won’t soon forget the value packed into this acronym.
The services offered by a PEO can significantly improve your business outcomes, saving you time and money and mitigating much of your human resources-related risk. You can attract and retain a higher quality of employee and boost productivity, directly improving the bottom line.
And perhaps most important, using PEO services lets you get back to doing what you do best — running and growing your business.
What Is a PEO, or Professional Employer Organization?
PEOs provide a valuable suite of services that take the burden of human resources (HR) management off your hands.
Once called employee leasing companies, now PEOs are commonly referred to as co-employers. Legally, your employees become employees of your PEO. However, this relationship is in name only. You remain free to make all your own employee-related decisions.
What you don’t have to do is … almost anything else.
PEOs typically handle all payroll, benefits administration, HR-related reporting, compliance and payroll tax filing. They also handle onboarding, employee manuals, employment verifications, drug testing and employment status verifications.
But wait, there’s more. Your PEO also carries the workers’ compensation coverage for your employees. So if someone gets injured on the job, they will oversee the claims process.
If you’re wondering what the catch may be, you can relax. There isn’t one.
PEOs Help You Save Time & Money While Improving Productivity
Because PEOs assist many different companies, they have hundreds of thousands of employees on the books. Thanks to the economy of scale, this means that their costs are substantially lower. Your staff will get better benefits for less money (and likely a reduction in the amount of your contribution). You won’t have to spend time managing these tasks — or paying an HR person to handle them for you.
Your employees will appreciate the improvement in their benefits package, and as result, you’ll have lower turnover and happier, more productive employees.
PEOs Help Mitigate HR-Related Risk
Because your PEO has expertise in and handles tasks such as filing and paying payroll taxes, verifying applicants’ I-9 statuses, tending to compliance matters, etc., your business’s risk will be significantly lessened.
You will have to follow all applicable laws in your employment practices; however, your PEO can provide guidance and assistance to keep you on track.
PEOs Let You Get Back to the Business of Running Your Company
When you have to handle every HR function and issue yourself, it can take a significant amount of time — either yours or a dedicated employee’s. With a PEO, you can get these time-consuming tasks off your desk without having to worry if they are being done right.
And that means you can get back to the important tasks associated with running and growing your company. For small businesses and startups, these services provide exactly what you need, allowing you to focus on the future.
In Salt Lake City and the surrounding communities of northern Utah, WTA Inc. has offered a comprehensive suite of HR services for more than 15 years. When you’re ready to discover all the ways a PEO can help your business grow and thrive, contact us to schedule a personal consultation.