How HR Managers And PEOs Make An Excellent Team

PEOs are designed to make a small business owner's life easier by providing HR solutions so the daily grind of human resources doesn’t take over their company’s growth. What if a small business already has an HR manager? The idea of a PEO can send shivers down the spine of any HR Manager. It makes sense. When a business owner tries to sell an HR Manager on the idea of working with PEO, they are usually met with anger and resistance. To an HR Manager, a PEO is a job replacement strategy, not a strategic partner. HR Managers and PEOs make an excellent team once they understand how a PEO helps an HR Manager be more efficient and improving for the company they work for. 

PEOs can certainly be an HR department for small businesses that are too small to have one. PEOs are the perfect solution for the busy small business owner who doesn’t have time to learn how to do HR Management. There are plenty of small businesses that have grown to include an HR Manager. These positions are usually created to take over the mundane tasks of HR management that the small business owner doesn’t have time for. But HR professionals did not go to school to learn how to file things and push papers across desks. They had dreams of being an intricate part of the success of the businesses they work for. 

HR Managers And PEOs Are The Winning Combination To Company Growth 

HR Managers are usually resistant to the idea of PEOs because they typically are not educated on how a PEO can help them do the job they want to do. PEOs handle things like HR compliance, payroll processing, onboarding and off-boarding paperwork, and benefits management. These are task-oriented things that detract an HR Manager from being able to work strategically when it comes to HR in an organization. 

What were the dreams your HR manager had when they started working for your small business? Do they still have plans to build a workplace culture they can be proud of? Would they like to be more focused on implementing training programs that help your employees find an inspiring career path that makes them invest more of themselves in your business? When was the last time your HR department was able to perform an employee survey to find out what their job satisfaction is? These are all the strategic things your HR department should be doing instead of making sure employee files are up to date. 

Growth Is Possible With HR Managers And PEOs Working As Strategic Partners

The coming year is going to present new challenges to HR Managers and small businesses that are focused on growth. The exploding trend of hiring remote workers is presenting new challenges for HR Managers who are unaware of how to manage employment compliance for out of state workers. Every state is nuanced in its requirements for HR law. Your HR Manager is going to need a trusted partner to help them work through what is needed to stay compliant and find great talent no matter where they live. 

HR Managers and PEOs can be a harmonious force working for the good of your company when both sides understand how they will work together to help your small business succeed. Helping your HR Manager understand you have no plans of replacing them and only want them to succeed by working with a PEO goes along way in successful PEO implementation. Here is how you can help your HR Manager feel good about helping you pick the right PEO:

• Make a list of HR projects you want HR to focus on
• Ask your HR Manager what stands in the way of getting projects done
• Involve your HR Manager in the buying process
• Let them ask questions of your PEO Sales Rep. 
• Discuss what the role of HR will be after a PEO contract 
• Help your HR Manager craft a change management strategy 
• Create a communication plan for employees about how HR is included 

Once your HR Manager understands how a PEO can help them be the success they want to be, it will be easier to go forward. Keep your HR Manager by your side throughout the buying process. They will feel better if they are part of the decision making. Transparency is the key to this kind of change. 

Engaging A PEO With HR As Your Decision Team 

Your PEO will be happy to work with your HR department. There is no reason not to get them talking together as early on in the process as possible. HR Managers and PEOs work better when there is transparency between them. PEOs work with lots of HR departments. This is not new to them. Ask your PEO sales representative to talk to HR about how they typically engage with HR departments. It will make them feel at ease to know there are plans and a process in place for working with an existing HR team. 
Are you ready to talk about PEOs? We invite you to contact us today to set up some time to speak to your HR Manager about how a PEO can best serve them. 20 minutes is all it takes to help you and your HR Manager understand how a PEO can take your small business to the next level.