3 Common Objections To Working With A PEO

For those who are looking to solve an HR function problem in their small business, the idea of working with a PEO has likely come up before. If it came up before and they are still looking for a solution, then it is likely they had some objections to working with a PEO and decided not to pursue one. It’s okay. When things are new they can be scary.

 

The word outsourcing can be an off-putting term to a lot of people, including employees. Most will assimilate the word with lack of control. No one wants to feel as though something important like payroll and benefits is something they have to let go of. We get it. This is one of those common objections to working with a PEO that will stop the efforts before they even start.

 

Maybe it was the notion that when all was said and done, there wouldn’t be the holy grail of  savings that would make going with a PEO worthwhile. The devil you know...we’ve heard that as well.

 

Most PEO shoppers have the same common objections that if not answered correctly will leave them walking away from the table, sure they would have been taken advantage of if they’d signed the paperwork. Let’s go over the top 3 and see if one or more of these objections are yours.

 

The Top 3 Objections To Working With A PEO

1. “We’re too small.” - That is a common one. Some small business owners shy away from the idea of a PEO managing their HR functions because they just don’t think the cost will be worthwhile for them or for a PEO to want to work with them. While not every PEO will work with a business of less than 10 employees, there are some great ones that will. Even if you are not paying your employees on a W-9, they will work with you to correct that and get you up and running without costing you a fortune. If you are worried about not being underwritten, there is no need to stress. You can find a good PEO to work with you, no matter how small you are.

2. “I don’t like the idea losing control of my business.” We understand why HR outsourcing can almost sound like a take over of your business, but we can assure you that it is not. In fact, there is no aspect of your daily functioning as a business that will be lost to your PEO, such as hiring and termination of employees. The only thing you will lose is the hours you spent trying to manage it all yourself. There are plenty of issues to deal with as a small business owner, do you really want to be bogged down with HR paperwork and payroll processing? There is also the reality of staying in compliance with employment law. Are you certain you are in compliance with everything? PEOs worry about that so you don’t have to. What you lose in stress you gain in time to work on your business, rather than in the minutia of HR functions.

3. “It won’t be worth the expense AKA It’s too expensive.” When your business is small and growing, there is definitely an eye on the budget. No one wants to pay for things that aren’t worth it. Who would? When the cost of employee benefits is already so high, it would seem like adding PEO fees on top that would just be too much. The fact is, more often than not, it is the cost of benefits that goes down. Even with adding fees into your budget. Not only that, but the quality of coverage is much better with a PEO than a typical small business plan that a business owner can purchase on their own. If you are like most, you saw your rates go up last year instead of down. Seeing is believing when it comes to savings with a PEO and they are definitely there.

 

The #1 Of All Hidden Objections To Working With A PEO

Out of all the reasons that don’t get mentioned but are in existence, the number one reason is too much choice. For many small business owners, while the promise of a PEO sounds great, they become quickly overwhelmed by the choices out there. Too many to go out and research on their own just to have their head spin over the options. Such a daunting task of narrowing down the pool to a reasonable number is usually why entrepreneurs stop looking into a PEO; it’s too much work to find one.

 

The good news in working with a PEO broker, like PEO Spectrum, is that they narrow down the sprawling field to just a few to chose from. A PEO broker knows the industry in a way that no one can. They know the right questions to ask and which PEOS work best for almost every given scenario that a small business owner might throw at them.

If working with a PEO was something you wanted to do before but decided against for any of the above reasons, now may be the best time to see if one really could work for your business.