What to know about and questions to ask when exploring Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) for your outsourced HR partner.
Businesses that partner with a PEO see greater growth, retain their employees at higher rates, and are less likely to go out of business. A PEO allows you to focus on what’s most important – growing your revenue and investing in your team.A PEO’s industry focus, services offered, and cost are the three most important factors to finding the right match for your company. FullStack’s goal with this guide is to give you insights into how to ask the right questions when comparing PEOs and understanding the potential all-in-costs of partnering with one. We understand the challenge of taking on any new partnership, but considering one that has nuances – like a PEO – may come with additional questions. We want to ensure you know exactly what you’re paying for, what services are included in the cost, and avoid any surprises by an unexpected fee. This guide will equip you with everything needed to help you make your PEO partnership decision easier.
Be sure to download our free PEO Buying Guide Checklist for a full list of questions to ask throughout your PEO buying journey!
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Although most PEOs will manage your company’s payroll, administrative HR, compliance, and benefits, each has additional services that could make that PEO the best first for your company. Consider these questions:
The PEO industry is expansive – there are a lot of options and PEOs are very diverse in scope and focus. Some are industry-based while others focus on serving companies of a certain size. There are national, publicly-traded companies you’ve heard of before – others are local or regional. Dig deeper into the PEOs you’re considering by doing the research and asking these questions.
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.
The PEO industry is expansive – there are a lot of options and PEOs are very diverse in scope and focus. Some are industry-based while others focus on serving companies of a certain size. There are national, publicly-traded companies you’ve heard of before – others are local or regional. Dig deeper into the PEOs you’re considering by doing the research and asking these questions.
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
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
Most PEOs will offer specialized services, such as consulting or educational opportunities. To learn more about a PEO’s additional services, ask these questions:
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.
Next, let’s take a look at some of the different ways a PEO can make money. This can range from a simple administrative fee, to hidden markups, to brokerage fees on health insurance. Some PEOs complicate this information, making it difficult to know exactly what you’re paying for. Here are some questions to help you learn more about a PEO’s payment structure.
Now that you’ve done your research, spoken with representatives, and have narrowed down your list of potential PEOs, an important next step is to ask for references in order to get an honest understanding of how a company like yours benefits from utilizing their PEO. Here are some questions to ask during those conversations:
For a full list of questions to ask during your search, please download our free PEO Checklist!
