Every business comes with a certain level of potential risk. Ignoring this fact doesn’t make it go away. Rather, you need to understand your company’s potential exposure and continually practice responsible, effective safety and risk management.

But how do you find the time or afford the best resources to learn your risk profile, stay compliant, learn to avoid mishaps, and, last but not least, keep everyone associated with your organization safe and healthy?

For an increasing number of small to medium-sized businesses, the answer lies in partnering with a professional employer organization, or PEO.

Why Your Business Should Consider a PEO

A PEO Defined

A PEO provides services under which an employer can outsource such employment management tasks as benefits, payroll, workers’ compensation, recruitment, training, and safety and risk management. When you partner with a PEO, your PEO accepts the risk associated with your operations, investigating and underwriting every potential exposure. This is achieved through a co-employment agreement, whereby your PEO becomes the employer of record for tax and insurance purposes. This outsourcing lets you allocate more time to strategic planning and revenue-producing initiatives to continue growing your business.

A Trusted Compliance Solution

Working with a PEO helps ensure that your company operates within all applicable required employment compliance parameters. This can be challenging to manage, even under the smoothest of circumstances. And, just one slip-up or oversight can be devastating to your employees, your bottom line, and/or your company’s hard-earned reputation.

• A PEO’s compliance and risk management experts stay up to date on regulations and ongoing changes. This helps you respond effectively to any that may impact your business – including reporting requirements such as unemployment, workers’ comp, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) as well as the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) regulations.
• Your compliance policies and procedures should be explicitly outlined and communicated to all employees. Your PEO can help develop handbooks, provide ongoing training, and develop proactive strategies to protect your business from fines, claims, and penalties.
• Your PEO can also help handle any investigations that may arise. The objectivity and expertise of PEO specialists provides assurance that these matters are handled fairly, appropriately, and lawfully.

Want to Learn More About PEO Options? Key HR Can Help!

How much more successful could you be if you could focus solely on running your business, and leave the responsibilities, details, and day-to-day tasks associated with risk management to your very own team of specialists? Key HR has aligned with preferred partner companies to help you meet these needs and more, including employee leasing, payroll administration and taxes, benefits, business, and personal insurance, and general HR management and consultation. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.