There are a variety of challenges that face today’s business owner when dealing with human resources (HR).  HR departments are responsible for all the behind the scenes HR Administration duties that ensure a company runs effectively including payroll, employee benefits, workers’ compensation, federal and state legal compliance, hiring practices, HR training and timekeeping.  These HR Administration tasks are becoming increasingly complicated in today’s business world as employers struggle to stay up-to-date with the varying responsibilities of an HR department.

Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) Alleviate HR Administration Duties

For many businesses the answer to its HR needs is a professional employer organization (PEO).  PEOs are HR specialists that cost-effectively help companies manage its human resources duties.  Businesses contract with a PEO to assume HR responsibilities and provide expertise in human resources management. This allows the PEO’s client to concentrate on the operational and revenue-generating side of its operations and leave its human resources administration functions to the professionals at the PEO.

PEOs provide great value to clients by providing relief from the burden of HR administration, an integrated and professional HR solution and improved employment practices.  The following illustrates just how successful a partnership with an ethical PEO can be.  As you will see, this Phoenix company not only had reduced HR activities to deal with, but it also added money to its bottom line.

Here are a couple of real-life case studies on HR Outsourcing and how CBR is helping our current clients thrive and reduce costs:

The PTE Real Estate Group, also known as PayingCashforHouses.com, is a company that buys homes from homeowners who are looking to have a quick escrow and hassle-free sale. They have eight employees and are based in Phoenix.  Owned by Nick Lynum and Alan Robinson, PayingCashforHouses.com understands the need to have professional outsourcing for its human resource functions.  Having worked with PEOs for two years, the owners have an appreciation for and awareness of the work that PEOs do to relieve the burden of many day-to-day HR tasks.

In addition to working with PEOs, PayingCashforHouses.com has used an in-house human resource representative.  The employee was responsible for recruitment, hiring practices and employee relations and also acted as the main point of contact with the PEO.

After working with a Phoenix-based PEO for a year, PayingCashforHouses.com decided to accept proposals from other area PEO providers.  One of the PEOs that put together a new proposal was Creative Business Resources (CBR), a PEO providing human resources outsourcing to small- and medium-sized businesses in Arizona and the greater Southwest. CBR is well known for providing excellent HR services and products through access to superior knowledgeable and ethical, energetic professionals.

CBR promotes a high level of integrity and respect for its clients and strives to deliver quality programs and excellent customer service.  The company is an active member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) and the Western Pension & Benefits Council. CBR is dedicated to ethics and the local community and has been honored as a Better Business Bureau Ethics Awards finalist for several years. In 2007, CBR received an “Arizona Company to Watch” award from the Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA) and was named one of the “Best Places to Work” in the Valley by BestCompaniesAz and the Business Journal Phoenix.

After working with a Phoenix-based PEO for a year, PayingCashforHouses.com decided to accept proposals from other area PEO providers.  One of the PEOs that put together a new proposal was Creative Business Resources (CBR), a PEO providing human resources outsourcing to small- and medium-sized businesses in Arizona and the greater Southwest. CBR is well known for providing excellent HR services and products through access to superior knowledgeable and ethical, energetic professionals.

CBR promotes a high level of integrity and respect for its clients and strives to deliver quality programs and excellent customer service.  The company is an active member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) and the Western Pension & Benefits Council. CBR is dedicated to ethics and the local community and has been honored as a Better Business Bureau Ethics Awards finalist for several years. In 2007, CBR received an “Arizona Company to Watch” award from the Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA) and was named one of the “Best Places to Work” in the Valley by BestCompaniesAz and the Business Journal Phoenix.

The PEO Proposal: Benefits of working with CBR revealed

While reviewing PayingCashforHouses.com’s background for the PEO proposal, the professionals at CBR recognized that PayingCashforHouses.com may have been overcharged on its payroll taxes.

CBR conducted a labor burden analysis to show PayingCashforHouses.com what the company was paying in taxes through its former PEO.  The analysis was a breakout of all expenses including wages, workers’ compensation insurance premiums, taxes and administrative fees.  It was through this analysis that CBR was able to determine that PayingCashforHouses.com was being overcharged by as much as $55,000 per year on its payroll taxes.  The company’s former PEO had overlooked a major responsibility and the company’s bottom line was suffering for it, unbeknownst to them.

Once PayingCashforHouses.com became aware about this discrepancy and reviewed CBR’s PEO proposal, the owners recognized that CBR was the PEO that would best meet their needs.  CBR provided an ethical and professional service that put everything on the table, which was exactly what PayingCashforHouses.com was looking for in an HR partner.  CBR provided a line-by-line explanation of expenses, offering PayingCashforHouses.com a level of full disclosure they hadn’t enjoyed in the past.  PayingCashforHouses.com made the decision to work with CBR and signed on as a client in March 2007.

CBR was initially contracted to handle payroll services for PayingCashforHouses.com only.  CBR’s responsibilities included bi-weekly payroll, payroll taxes and workers compensation.  PayingCashforHouses.com immediately saw the value in working with CBR and began to look at other services that it offered.

CBR next reviewed PayingCashforHouses.com’s employee benefits program.  CBR found that a variety of oversights were being made with benefits administration, costing PayingCashforHouses.com thousands of dollars in unnecessary premiums.  Once again, CBR was able to provide upgraded benefits to PayingCashforHouses.com while decreasing the burden to the company’s bottom line.

PEO Relationship Resulted in a Tremendous Impact on the Business

These two fundamental changes to payroll and employee benefits saved PayingCashforHouses.com approximately $65,000 by working with CBR.  In addition to the monetary savings, PayingCashforHouses.com also benefited from the attentive and professional manner with which their CBR representative handled their account.

“I am so happy to be working with a company that prides itself on being honest and forthcoming,” says Alan Robinson, one of the owners of PayingCashforHouses.com.  “The professionals at CBR have not only saved us money, but have shown me excellent customer service every step of the way.”

As CBR continued to produce superior professional results, PayingCashforHouses.com began to look to them for additional HR services.  Over the next few months, CBR began providing the following services to PayingCashforHouses.com:

• Vacation/paid time off tracking
• Health insurance packaging and enrollment
• Life insurance and long-term disability offerings and enrollment
• Employee handbook updating
• Time and attendance tracking system

PayingCashforHouses.com fully embraced the variety of HR services that CBR was able to offer them.  The company quickly transitioned from a payroll services client to a client that took advantage and enjoyed the benefits of the CBR’s full spectrum of PEO product offerings.

Today, PayingCashforHouses.com continues to utilize CBR for all of its professional human resource needs.  It has embraced all of what a PEO can do for its business and has made CBR their partner in the human resource arena.

Successful PEO Partnership Leads to Big Savings

In total, CBR saved PayingCashforHouses.com approximately $120,000, including monies saved from payroll taxes and benefits payments.  These savings, combined with the invaluable client service that CBR provides, has created a successful partnership that benefits both parties.

While  PEOs are not ideal for every company, companies that do work with them can increase savings and satisfaction by taking advantage of the extensive expertise and services that PEOs have to offer.  A partnership with a reliable and ethical PEO can save business’ time and money, while improving employee satisfaction and decreasing problems resulting from HR-related matters.  A true marriage of a company and its contracted PEO can result in a seamless function that benefits the business and its employees.