I'm helping some small companies set up their infrastructure and ramp up
PROS & CONS of Using Professional Employer Orgs (PEO)
Answers
Everything the initial person said is pretty much true. Great group rates on medical benefits, also benefits such as life insurance, plus short and long-term disability. Downside of some of the larger PEO companies though is that you need to EXACTLY fit their sweet spot/customer profile or you can end-up paying the full overall fees without getting everything you need in return. They operate a "package deal" model so the question to ask yourself (and price) is how much of the package would you buy stand-alone and what would that cost you instead. Smaller PEOs can be more flexible but don't have the same buying power. So you have to balance the pros and cons applicable to your particular situation.
Thanks. The PEO analogy is like my local gymnasium. They sign up hundreds of members and hope that not all of them use the gym everyday. So it seems that way with the HR services and staff the PEO provides. I did some rough math and if my firm does NOT use the HR services and other sundry services, then the PEO fee per employee is very steep for just payroll, EPLI, workers comp and the discount I get on Benefits premiums. So your point is spot on.
One other issue that I just noticed as I dig thru their benefits plan details is that the PEO's use somewhat generic plans as they probably apply to all types of employees, across many industries and the entire US. My client companies are High Tech in Silicon Valley, so most workers are US$125K-400K engineers, sales,
PEO's work great for solving your problems and are the ideal solution for managing a virtual company
What the above posters say are true. I've worked with Insperity at a number of clients and find them to be excellent. The opaque billing is one downside but one way to overcome this is to ask for the COBRA rates. The rest are taxes and fees and they will tell you their fees as well.