For small- to medium-sized businesses, there are a number of critical business functions that can distract focus from company growth and force these companies to invest more time in day-to-day operations. From human resources issues to employee benefits, payroll management to workers’ compensation management, small- to medium-sized businesses can lose their way without assistance.
One of the easiest ways that these businesses can relieve their pain points is through outsourcing.
Through the use of outsourcing, businesses can take advantage of professionals with expert knowledge in specific fields, without to need to employ someone full-time and focus on what is important — their core business. The business functions that are often determined to not being either a core competency or a part of a core offering to clients, but are pain points for small- to medium-sized businesses include the following:
Human Resources
Many small- to medium-sized businesses may not have a dedicated human resources department; instead, they may have one or two human resources professionals who are expected to manage all human resources functions.
Hiring an outsourcing partner can help your business stay in compliance with local, state, and federal labor laws, background screening and assessments, employee training and handbooks, as well as Fair Labor and Standards Act (FSLA) requirements and EEO-1 reporting, as well as recruiting efforts. This can be extremely helpful in finding and retaining your existing talent base.
Payroll Services
If your payroll department consists of one harried bookkeeper and an executive who has to approve all purchases and payroll items, outsourcing payroll services can enable your business to pursue greater growth potential.
When outsourcing payroll services, find a partner who can assist with all aspects of the finance efforts related to your business. This includes help with local, state and federal tax management, W-2 processing, and tax filings and tax deposits services.
Risk Management and Workers’ Compensation
Total workers’ compensation benefits in 2013 were $63.6 billion, while employer costs were $88.5 billion. These numbers are expected to rise as more employees are finding new employment.
Within these areas, the amount of money that is paid by small- to medium-sized businesses continue to rise in relation to growth, which means that these businesses need to have actionable plans not only for workers’ compensation costs, but for risk management plans to try to minimize these costs.
To keep these costs to a minimum, finding an outsourcing partner to help create risk management plans and manage workers’ compensation expectations is critical to help maintain profit levels and minimize risk to businesses and their employees.
Outsourcing OSHA guidance, claims administration, worksite safety evaluations and investigations related to serious accidents and loss trends can be extremely helpful in allowing growth for small- to medium-sized businesses.
Regardless of the size of a small- to medium-sized businesses, finding innovative ways to solve these pain points, such as outsourcing, can offer outstanding results for the long-term viability of these companies.
Gregg Martello is the director of sales operations of Progressive Employer Management Company (PEMCO), a payroll, human resources, worker’s compensation and employee benefits provider for small- and mid-sized companies. As industry expert in providing PEO solutions, he has more than 20 years of experience in working with these types of outsourcing solutions. Contact Gregg at [email protected]
