Webinar: The Ins and Outs of PEOs

Providing employees with a robust benefits program is vital to attracting and retaining staff while growing an organization, but many small and medium-sized businesses lack the resources and time necessary to manage such a program. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) offer a solution.

Whether your business is considering joining a PEO or planning to transition out of one, you won’t want to miss Alera Group’s April 15 Engage webinar, “Finding, Using and Transitioning Out of a PEO.”

PEOs, for the uninitiated, work with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to manage employee benefits and HR tasks, enabling business leaders to focus on daily operations and long-term growth. SMBs that partner with a PEO generally find that they are able to offer higher-quality benefits programs, including 401(k)s and other savings plans.

Services provided and client profiles

Areas in which PEOs typically serve businesses include: 

• Health insurance
• Workers’ compensation
• HR and tax compliance
• Employee recruiting and training 
• Payroll and 401(k) management
• Technology.

Among the clients PEOs most commonly serve:

• Established businesses with 10 to 500 employees
• Newly funded startups 
• Businesses with employees in multiple states,
• Nonprofits 
• U.S. offices of foreign corporations.

Key distinction, range of options

Professional employer organizations are often referred to as HR outsourcing services, but , as jobs and hiring platform Indeed notes, there’s an important distinction between PEOs and non-PEO outsourcing companies: PEO’s contract with their clients in a co-employment arrangement, with the two parties sharing liability over workers and payroll requirements for the duration of the arrangement. In non-PEO outsourcing of HR services, the company doing the outsourcing retains all liability.

PEOs include industry giants such as ADP, Insperity, Paychex and TriNet, as well as smaller organizations capable of serving national companies and operations that are more regionally focused. Their strengths vary, with some being better suited to particular industries or clients of a certain size.

As MarketWatch reported in its guide “Best HR Outsourcing Services in 2024,” PEO service fees can range from about $500 to $1,500 per month for businesses with fewer than 50 employees and from about $1,500 to $5,000 per month for medium-sized organizations.

Making an informed decision

During our webinar, we’ll help you:

• Decide whether a PEO is right for your business;
• Learn about the various types of PEOs and choose which would make the best partner for you;
• Determine when a PEO may no longer be cost-effective for your growing company, and devise a strategy for transitioning to a self-run employee benefits program and HR operations.

Our presenters for the webinar will be PEO consultants Mary Beth Crowley and Joseph Schnepf of PEO Spectrum, Alera Group’s office specializing in PEO comparisons.

You’ll come away with a fuller understanding of how working with a PEO can save you money, improve employee satisfaction and generally operate more efficiently. You’ll also develop a clearer vision for what your organization may look like in a future where you’re large and well-established enough to work with a traditional employee benefits brokerage.

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

About the author

Brian Parker
National Benefits Technology and Services Practice Leader
Alera Group

Brian plays a lead role in consulting and delivering outsourcing services and solutions for Alera Group clients. He has over 30 years of experience supporting strategic advisement and support for all aspects of benefits outsourcing and HR support.

Contact information:

• brian.parker@aleragroup.com
• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn