To be a PEO, you have to do certain things for your clients—human resources, employee benefits, payroll and taxes, and workers’ compensation—through the co-employment relationship.
That doesn’t sound very colorful. How much variety can you create with just these four elements? As it turns out, quite a lot.
A frequently asked question about health insurance products is whether a PEO or an affiliate of a PEO can receive commissions or other fee payments from the sale of health insurance products. Analysis of the issue requires a consideration of both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and state insurance law. This article will discuss the former, while it is anticipated that a PEO Insider® article late this year will address the state insurance law aspects.
Benefits have long been a means by which employers have demonstrated their commitment to their employees. Yet, over the past several years, employees have taken on more responsibility for their benefits as employers adjust their strategies to address rising costs, the implications of an uncertain economy, and the institution of healthcare reform. Through their benefits offerings, employers generally hope to retain employees, control health and welfare benefit costs, and increase employee productivity.
I am frequently asked such questions as, “How do I get to the next step,” or “How can I compete?” As a smaller PEO, you may feel more vulnerable to a variety of influences, including economic swings, marketplace availability, legislative changes, and, of course, the competitive landscape. How do you compete with the “big boys” and still retain your profits? In the risk management context, there are ways to protect and grow your business and make you stand out from your competition, although not all of them relate directly to workers’ comp and risk.
With the feature of this issue of PEO Insider® examining the PEO business model, it might be interesting to look at the evolution of the PEO sales process. I last chronicled this evolution in a PEO Insider article in December 2003. I will briefly revisit this so we can assess where we are and where we’re headed.
Is this title an oxymoron? Good grief—any cheerful pessimist would bet even odds that snapping up dirt-cheap workers’ compensation is an impossible endeavor. Actually, it’s not impossible and there are several ways for a start-up PEO to establish a workers’ compensation program.
By now, many PEOs are using the statistical research in their marketing that proves companies that use PEOs outperform those that don’t.1 Yet, it has been said that while we all spell PEO the same way, that is where the similarities end. Thus, we have this interesting dynamic: at the macro level, businesses greatly benefit from PEO services, yet, at the micro level, PEOs provide their services in many different ways.
In this space, I have often written about the importance of engagement—the importance of our members (i.e., you) connecting with local elected officials to carry the PEO message. In the last month, we’ve had three good examples of members around the country who have stepped up and engaged with their local officials, each in his or her own way.
As most of you know, NAPEO has undertaken for the past two years a concerted effort to raise the visibility of the PEO industry. Up until now, our efforts have primarily focused on small business owners and executives in the form of our “Find a PEO” website, extensive online advertising, white papers highlighting the small business benefits of using a PEO, and more.
Bob Burbidge, CEO of Genesis HR Solutions, hosted a legislative briefing and tour for members of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development at Genesis headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, on June 1, 2015. Members from ADP TotalSource helped facilitate the event, which was held under the banner of the New England Leadership Council.
Rumor has it that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) have joined forces on a project to update a 2006 Workers’ Compensation Large Deductible Study. Is this true, and, if so, do PEOs and NAPEO fit into the project?
This column, “PEOs in the Community,” explores how PEOs are developing and nurturing relationships in their communities. Being embedded in the small business world, PEOs are uniquely positioned to lend their time and expertise to serving their communities, while at the same time enhancing industry visibility. This month, Lee Yarborough of Propel PEO, Inc. shares her company’s core values and how they are reflected in Propel’s approach to community service.
A few years before starting his PEO, Chris Dollins managed about 150 sales reps on four teams across southeast Texas for Sprint. He then left that position and opened his own retail location for the company, his first entrepreneurial venture. Three years later, with partners Michael Hopkins and Mike Greathouse, he entered the PEO world by founding Employer Flexible in Houston, Texas, in 2005. Wait a second—jumping from selling phones to PEO?
As Americans celebrated the July 4th holiday last month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce celebrated a major milestone for Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative that helps veterans, businesses, and our economy.