It’s true that PEOs face competition from business service providers offering a la carte services to prospects in the PEO market. These services mimic PEO services and appear less expensive.
While these competitors do not offer true PEO services, PEOs have to compete with them. To do that, PEOs need to show prospects their roots, so to speak. These roots anchor the PEO to its true value: the co-employment relationship. Prospects have much to gain from choosing the PEO relationship over the services of other vendors. More than just selling businesses products and services, PEOs partner with their clients to improve business processes, advance employee well being, manage risk, and increase profitability. And, PEOs do this for clients efficiently.
The risk assessment and analysis process is essential to properly vetting potential clients.
PEOs have built their administrative value proposition around business compliance: compliance with items ranging from human resources duties and workplace safety to payroll practices and tax assessment. In addition, most PEOs have expanded their value proposition to include the administration of health benefits enrollments and billings, and larger firms have gone further to sponsor their own health plans.
Small business owners prominently rank “Uncertainty Over Economic Conditions” and “Uncertainty Over Government Actions” as their second and fourth most serious problems in the quadrennial National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report, “Problems and Priorities.”
As the 2013 NAPEO State Government Affairs Action Plan is melded into its final form this month, it is important to understand the metrics and parameters the Leadership Councils, the Board of Directors, and NAPEO staff look to.
As part of the association’s strategic plan, NAPEO is implementing a public affairs program to support the PEO industry’s federal legislative and regulatory efforts. We are taking steps to increase the visibility of the PEO industry and to educate policymakers about what PEOs are and how PEOs help small and mid-sized companies grow and prosper.
On April 25, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new enforcement guidance, “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Want proof positive that government policies profoundly impact an economy? Look no further than California. The Golden State has everything going for it—vast natural resources, rich agricultural land, its position as gateway to the Pacific, and innovative high-tech industries. So why has such a blessed state gone from an economic powerhouse to the verge of bankruptcy? Government policy.
The most important thing my employees and I strive to do every day is to make Odyssey OneSource indispensible to our clients. We do this by improving the lives of small business owners and improving their bottom lines.
With this, my final “Inside Word” column, I want to talk to you about the future of the PEO industry.
Q. Can I use the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) to screen applicants for employment?
One of my first trips as NAPEO CEO was to Tallahassee, and the summer of 2012 found me in Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Trenton, and Columbus. My travels to these state capitals remind me how important it is for us to build relationships with state legislators.
At Modern Business Associates (MBA), we have recently taken our community service efforts to the next level. MBA has always supported multiple non-profit organizations and people in need.