New Frontiers
The landscape for PEOs is getting interesting. A brand-new type of business is emerging, HR industry disruptors are revealing lessons and opportunities for PEOs, the possibility of serving international clients is opening up, and changes in the workforce are leading to new ways to reach employees. All of these developments present new frontiers for PEOs.
The gig economy has gotten a lot of attention. This new business model has taken off, well ahead of the legal and regulatory framework’s ability to answer questions about the employee rights, data security and privacy, and independent contractor issues that have already arisen. A serious issue, worker misclassification, poses risks to the gig companies themselves and the PEOs that work with them. Flexibility, adaptability, and proper administration of gig workers, however, can mitigate these risks.
The initial apprehension felt when online-only HR providers—Software as a Service—came on the scene has subsided somewhat, at least for now. It’s clear now that PEOs have advantages over these companies—PEOs are strategic partners with customized, hands-on service, with the emphasis on service. Furthermore, the “disruption” allowed PEOs to reexamine the quality and effectiveness of their own marketing efforts and revitalize their service delivery and user experience.
Global opportunities are opening up for PEOs, too. One particular PEO has developed a global market strategy by working with a local economic development organization, which opened the door to international companies interested in expanding to the U.S.
Now that most everyone has a smart phone, Millennials populate the workforce, and people expect around-the-clock service and access, PEOs are shifting to mobile-first design. This allows access to employee self-service for people in industries that don’t necessarily use computers in their work, caters to the way Millennials work, and makes services and information available 24/7.
While technology has played a big part in these developments, PEOs will always be people-centric, setting them up for success in these new frontiers.
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