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McLean Chamber -- February 2001
PEOs Offer Array of Cost-Effective Health
Care Benefits and Much More
By Mark Loving and Jim Biever
Administaff, Inc.
In order to recruit and keep top talent,
small businesses are finding that what once was considered
an extra perk is now becoming standard fare. According to
the 2000 Retention Practices Survey released by the Society
for Human Resource Management, voluntary resignations have
increased over the past three years, with better compensation
and benefits packages cited as one of the primary reasons
why employees resign. Respondents named health care benefits
and competitive salaries as the most effective tools in terms
of retention tactics.
Offering good medical benefits is often
easier said than done, especially for small businesses. However,
thousands of companies have found that by turning to a Professional
Employer Organization (PEO) they gain access to a comprehensive
benefits package typically available only at large companies.
A PEO functions as an off-site human resources department,
allowing business owners to outsource time-consuming employer
responsibilities such as payroll administration, benefits
management, workers' compensation claims, training, safety
audits and other administrative matters.
This approach frees the business owner
from having to keep up with the finer points of various health
care plans, ever-changing federal and state workplace regulations
and other human resources issues. With a PEO, an owner or
HR manager can have peace of mind knowing that such important
tasks are being handled by HR experts. As an added benefit,
owners can spend more time focusing on core business issues
such as improving and delivering proprietary products and
services, winning customers and expanding operations.
While many organizations initially turn
to a PEO as a way to access better benefits for workers, a
full-service PEO like Administaff (NYSE: ASF) also can provide
other vital employment resources such as professional recruiting
assistance, compensation strategies and productivity-based
training courses. Many companies find these services just
as valuable as payroll and benefits packages because they
can help a company grow strategically. For instance, Administaff
specialists can work with clients to create job descriptions
for all positions, perform salary surveys within geographical
areas and provide on-site training to supervisors to teach
them how to give effective performance appraisals. Other training
classes teach employees time management and communication
skills.
In addition, a full-service PEO also can
benefit small and medium-sized businesses by using its buying
power to give clients and worksite employees access to special
offers from a network of best-of-class service providers.
Administaff provides such offers through bizzportSM ,
an eCommerce portal where clients and worksite employees can
get discounts on a wide range of products and services, from
computers, airline tickets and cell phones to insurance, online
banking and bookkeeping and accounting.
If you're a small business owner looking
to access great benefits and grow your business, you'll want
to check out the services of a PEO. For more information on
PEOs and their services, contact Administaff at 800-465-3800
or visit Administaff's Web site at www.administaff.com.
Administaff opened its second Washington,
D.C. area office last March in McLean where Mark Loving is
a district manager and Jim Biever is a sales consultant.
Reprinted with permission
from the McLean Chamber, February 2001.
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