Diving Deeper into the PEO Buying Guide

This week we’re getting further into our PEO Buying Guide and taking a look at the individual areas a PEO can help your company and what questions to ask when doing your research.

Diving Deeper

Now that you have a better understanding of your company’s needs and have narrowed down your list of potential PEO partners, it’s time to schedule meetings with representatives from each one you’re considering. During these meetings, ask questions that will help you better understand the PEO’s offerings and how this partnership can benefit your company.

In the following section, we break down specific questions for each category of the services provided by PEOs that will help you navigate the decision-making process and get the answers you’re seeking.

Payroll can be difficult to navigate depending on your team’s structure. Here are some important questions to ask to learn more about how a PEO handles payroll:

• Does your PEO outsource payroll to an outside firm, or is it done in-house?
• What is required of my team during payroll week?
• Can I or my accountant access and customize payroll reports for our accounting needs?
• Where do my employees go with payroll questions?

Benefits can often make or break your team. Small companies that utilize PEOs can offer benefits comparable to larger organizations, which can help attract top talent. Consider asking these questions about benefits when chatting with a PEO representative:

• Who are your current insurance carriers?
• Have your benefits plans changed in the last 3 years? Why or why not?
• What’s the employee experience going to be like during onboarding and open enrollment?
• How does your team support employees when they have a benefits question?
• Will working with your PEO help control my renewal increases? How?

HR compliance is where a PEO partnership can alleviate the time you spend on complex paperwork and the money you spend on paying billable hour professionals to complete for you. Ask these questions when discussing compliance with a PEO representative:

• How do you handle employee handbook reviews and updates?
• What does the compliance process look like when our company hires employees in states where we don’t currently employ anyone?
• Do you take care of compliance with all of the relevant employment laws for my size company?
• How will you as a PEO support our company’s culture and policies, even when this differs from your PEO’s culture and policies?

Onboarding and employee relations from a PEO can make a world of difference for a company. From helping update handbook policies to difficult HR conversations, there are a wide variety of ways a PEO can help with HR. Here are some questions to ask:

• What’s the process for onboarding new employees? What is our’s versus the PEO’s responsibility for onboarding?
• How do we engage your team during disciplinary or termination conversations?
• What HR documentation do you help with that’s included in the cost? What is available at an additional cost?
• Can your PEO assist with implementing or revising our performance review process?
• Does your PEO provide EPLI insurance to our company?

Most PEOs will offer specialized services, such as consulting or educational opportunities. To learn more about a PEO’s additional services, ask these questions:

• Outside of the basic HR services, what strategic services do you offer?
• Do you offer training and development opportunities for managers and employees? What’s the format?
• Do you offer HR consulting for strategic HR/talent decisions?
• Is the cost included in the quoted price or are these additional cost add-ons?

Most PEOs leverage software and partners to help create the best outcome for their clients.Here are some questions to help you learn more about software and partners.

• What softwares are utilized by the PEO and what is our interaction with it?
• Will my team have interactions with any partners of the PEO – i.e. 401K Financial advisor, benefits broker, or software provider?
• What ancillary services or software products are available through partners and how are these priced?

Have questions or want to learn more about what FullStack PEO can do for you and your employees? Schedule a call today.