As Business Leader, You Know That Change is the New Constant
The pandemic transformed organizations from centralized teams to distributed workforces spread across the country. The growing gig method of working has led to HR teams supporting more part-time and contract employees and leveraging digital solutions to keep up. Rapidly shifting demographics mean adopting new technologies to support how the next generation of workers think and operate.
And yet, while you and your team must navigate these timely challenges, the work you have to manage on a daily basis remains: updating and running payroll; managing employee onboarding and offboarding; keeping track of compliance requirements; identifying the most compelling benefits offerings, setting them up, and communicating them to employees; and making progress on other company- and industry-specific HR goals.
HR teams have been feeling the weight of these tasks as well — according to research from software firm Sage, 60% of HR leaders reported that their teams experienced an increased workload consisting of more administrative and strategic tasks. Unfortunately, 57% of executive leaders reported viewing HR as primarily administrative despite the department playing a more strategic role during the pandemic and that they expect the added value to be temporary.
While a significant part of HR is administrative, the department can and should play a more strategic role in an organization. How can HR leaders and teams balance the necessity of doing the work employees trust them to do while also providing greater strategic value in a constantly changing environment? Engaging a PEO model service provider is a great first step, and one that can provide the most rapid benefits.
Understanding the PEO Model
The professional employer organization (PEO) model outsources many of the essential yet understandably time-consuming administrative tasks to a reliable, proven service provider whose sole focus is executing them on your behalf. Relieving your team from this work isn’t the only benefit, however.
Periods of unexpected change or rapid company growth are all reasons to lean on a PEO company for support. For example, venture-backed startups throughout the market can benefit greatly from PEO engagements, as investors want their portfolio companies to hone in on product and sales to prioritize revenue generation and customer acquisition.
The bottom line is this: your company wasn’t established to worry about HR- and employment-related responsibilities. It was established to fill a specific need in its respective market. Being able to spend less time on the myriad administrative aspects of HR and more time focusing on your mission and what you’re best at is what matters. Let’s explore a few of the key ways the PEO model helps you do exactly that.
7 Ways the PEO Model Supports Your Success
Scalability
Whether you’re a recent startup or already have a few dozen employees, if you’re looking to scale your organization up, the PEO model empowers leaders and HR teams to focus less on daily tasks and HR programs and on more strategic objectives. These include developing a strong company culture, strengthening employee learning and development, and recruiting top talent. And when companies are enabled to maintain the momentum they’ve generated for themselves, the results can be significant.
Case in point: See how the PEO Model helped one SaaS company achieve outcomes that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible.
Buying Power
One of the keys to a strong culture and recruiting program that consistently produces top talent is having a great benefits package. Building this is often challenging for smaller companies that don’t have thousands of employees. Fortunately, PEO model service providers bundle all of their clients under their own name. This increases their buying power when negotiating with brokers and carriers on benefits, provides your business — regardless of size — with the most competitive rates possible, and preserves the working capital your business needs during its early stages of growth.
Case in point: Learn how the PEO model helped this 15-employee nonprofit get a competitive benefits package that made employees feel cared for.
Attracting Talent
We’ve touched on this a bit already, but it can’t be overstated — having experienced, highly engaged, and high-producing talent can make or break a growing business. While identifying and ultimately hiring these employees must fall on your shoulders, the PEO model provides support for interviewing them and handling all the administrative tasks to get them onboarded, support them during those critical first few months, and continue supporting them so they feel covered. The PEO model also extends the capabilities and sophistication of your HR program, which in addition to benefits is essential today as the new generations entering the workforce expect sophisticated tools to interface with HR.
Case in point: Using a PEO service provider helped this telepsychiatry company focus on tripling its headcount with critical talent — without having to worry about backend HR work.
Reduce Risk
With a growing company comes more risk — more employees, more HR tasks, more benefits planning, and so on. Those risks are even greater today with distributed/remote workforces becoming the norm. Fortunately, when you use a PEO model service provider, they naturally assume some of the risk involved. This relieves some of the pressure put on smaller HR teams that might not have expertise in remote work compliance, benefits administration, policy development, workers compensation, and other strategic areas of HR. With less risk to worry your team, they can focus on providing exceptional HR experiences and driving the business forward.
Case in point: This academic publishing company transitioned from DIY-everything to using PEO services, removing the stress of full responsibility for HR functions.
Technology
Unless you’re in the business of HR consulting or software, it’s likely that you won’t have all the solutions you need to cover the various areas of this function. Even if you did, that would be a lot for your internal team to manage. With the PEO model, all of these functions are handled by the PEO service provider with industry-leading technology tools in place to keep the HR train running smoothly while also meeting the new generation’s preference for digital solutions.
Case in point: The best PEO services providers will offer technology that covers the full spectrum of HR, from payroll and benefits administration to talent management and more.
Navigate Change
For startups and large companies alike, when change comes around, it can be difficult to navigate — particularly when that change is unexpected. Whether it’s new compliance requirements, an acquisition or merger, a growing remote workforce, or some other industry shift, your PEO service provider will be there to provide guidance and support, ensuring that your employees remain covered and your business is protected.
Case in point: Explore a full library of informative webinars on everything from diversity and inclusion to employee wellness and return-to-work strategy.
Expert Support
Last but not least, it’s important to remember that your PEO partner is an expert in all HR-related matters. As outlined above, the PEO model is designed to alleviate pressure, repetitive tasks, and hard-to-navigate compliance matters — in addition to the baseline functions of HR. Whenever you have questions about policy, laws, compliance, or change, they can advise you. They also support your employees with any specific questions, showing that you care about having a strong solution in place.
Case in point: HR consulting services are a great way to lean on the expertise of a proven HR firm and get the insights you need to best serve your employees.
Cognos HR is a Leader in PEO Model Execution
It’s clear that the advantages of working with a company that specializes in the PEO model are many, and that they’ve never been more crucial to the success of businesses both large and small. At Cognos HR, our team has been providing PEO services to companies nationwide for years. We’re ready to put that expertise to work for your business and your employees.
We recognize that there’s no one-size-fits-all PEO solution, so we’ll work with you to customize this essential service in a way that supports your business goals right from the start. Connect with our team today to learn more about our expertise and how we’ll support your success.