A PEO, (Professional Employer Organization) can take on many different structures, shapes, sizes and services. The concept behind PEOs is co-employment, where two employers, your company and the "PEO" co-employ the individuals who work for your organization.
The PEO typically handles the administration side of employment, providing paperwork, establishing and maintaining employee files, processing payroll, filing payroll taxes, developing employee handbooks, benefit administration, workers compensation management, compliance assistance and human resource support.
A PEO is NOT a temporary firm, staffing agency, a simple payroll service, or a placement agency.
A quality PEO will become a valued business partner who provides administrative relief by assuming and/or sharing many of your responsibilities as an employer.
A PEO serves as an offsite HR department, providing:
- Employment administration services
- Quality benefit options and/or benefit administration
- Employer liability management tools and services
- Technology to improve employee administration and productivity
Nobody goes into business to have employees... they just find themselves with the burden of having and managing employees as part of their business enterprise. The more successful they become the more overwhelmed they are with the responsibilities of having employees.
With a PEO, you can focus on "Growing Your Business", you become free from many of the administrative issues and details that are part of being an employer. FOCUS on doing what you do best, grow your business, a quality PEO can help you with the tools to motivate and increase employee loyalty and retention.
"Why the boom (in the staff leasing industry)? It lowers the costs for firms."
-Forbes 2005-04-20
"PEOs free up managers to focus on the business rather than on employment-related rules, regulation, and paperwork. To spend up to one-quarter of one's time on employment-related paperwork is indeed..."
-Harvard Business School 2005-04-20