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Longevity

The PEO industry is relatively young, a mere 33 years. The oldest company in the world that is still operating is Kongo Gumi, a construction business in Japan established in 578. There is a restaurant in Austria, Stiftskeller St. Peter, that opened its doors in 803, and a pub in Ireland, Sean’s Bar, that started up in 900. Now those are old industries.

Still, the relative youth of the PEO industry does not diminish the accomplishment of long-lived PEOs. We’ve all seen PEOs come and PEOs go, but more important, we’ve seen companies that have endured the ups and downs of the economy, the hard and soft insurance markets, and the constantly changing regulatory environment.

Despite the industry’s challenges, we see PEOs reaching the 10-, 20-, and even 30-year marks. In an industry that pretty much invented itself, with no road map or play book, companies are achieving longevity. Read on to learn the principles behind how eight PEOs have done just that.

Know More

Departments

Legal Currents

HIPAA Compliance Concerns Continue for PEOs

For many employers, the acronym HIPAA continues to conjure up thoughts of complex privacy and security rules that apply to all employee medical information. The truth is that the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA’s) privacy and security regulations (HIPAA rules) in the employment context is quite limited, although when applicable, the rules can be numerous and complex. However, PEOs familiar with the reach and contours of the HIPAA rules will make better use of their compliance resources and be more prepared for an increasing level of enforcement.

Human Resources

Using HR Analytics to Make Better Decisions for Clients

Over the last decade, we’ve seen an explosion of data analytics in the technology sector. While the notion of using data to predict future business outcomes may have seemed like a fad in the 1990s, it is now—based on a record of producing meaningful results for both large corporations and small businesses—common practice for many organizations. From an HR standpoint, we see a growing desire to capture and leverage analytics to generate actionable results on the people side of business.

Sales

Considerations in Scaling Your Sales Team

Most of my ideas about scaling your sales team come directly from my portfolio of mistakes. Although experience is certainly a great teacher, it can also be quite expensive. Many of the poor decisions occurred when times were good and sales were headed north—times when “big picture thinking” became the norm and attention to detail was left for another day.

Start-up Guide

Human Resources in the PEO Context

For a start-up PEO, scalable and saleable services provide the foundation for success. While much of a new PEO’s focus may be on developing core functions, such as payroll and workers’ compensation administration, the human resources function is another invaluable service offering. In fact, back-office HR management and compliance support is frequently a prospect’s greatest need. A start-up PEO is therefore well-served to consider whether and how it can deliver HR services to clients in a cost-effective and efficient manner.


Columns

The Inside Word

The Value of Life

This space is typically dedicated to providing, hopefully, insightful industry-related commentary. As I write this, however, I am digesting a couple of significant life events, so I’d like to focus on life in general, priorities, and, frankly, getting the most out of it.  In April, my wife Laura and I were blessed with the opportunity to visit southern Africa. Seeing the circle of life playing out before us in the bush was simply amazing. It is abundantly clear that each creature clearly understands its priorities.

NAPEO Notebook

Good Times with NAPEO Patrick J. Cleary

As I write this, NAPEO’s PEO Capitol Summit has just wrapped. We had a great turnout and a great program, but more on that later. The week before the Summit, I jumped in the car and headed north to the Holy Land—New Jersey. While some believed I went just to prove to Andy Lubash that I don’t always travel south, in truth I went to join in Abel HR’s 25th anniversary celebration.


Statehouse Update

The ABCs of PEO Regulation Daniel Harris

DCA, BWC, DOI, and DOLWD are not just acronyms. These are just some of the agencies regulating PEOs across the country. When issues arise relating to licensing and regulating PEOs, they are who PEOs contact. As the industry continues to grow and benefit from the legislative framework NAPEO and many others have created, it is imperative that the industry cultivates a positive working relationship with these regulatory agencies.

Capitol Comment

PEO Advocacy Day Lays Groundwork for Future Engagement Thom Stohler

Every year, as part of the PEO Capitol Summit, NAPEO schedules a day on Capitol Hill for NAPEO members to meet with Members of Congress, with the purpose of educating them and their staffs about the PEO industry. This year, we took a different tack. With a new Congress and administration, NAPEO determined that the PEO Capitol Summit was an excellent opportunity for NAPEO members to meet with officials from the new Trump administration in addition to the Capitol Hill meetings.


NAPEO Advisor

Cal/OSHA, OSHA Rep Update, OSHA Electronic Recordkeeping, Auto-Enroll IRAs Farrah L. Fielder, Esq.

Q. Has there been clarification about non-employee union representatives accompanying OSHA investigators on non-union worksites for inspection? A. Yes. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently pulled back a 2013 letter of interpretation that allowed for non-employee union representatives to do walk arounds with OSHA on non-union worksites.

PEO Index

Employment Index Trending Down John Slavic

The PEO Employment Index is trending down for the first time in six years. Despite most other economic indicators being positive, including the gross domestic product (GDP), the index has shown weakness.


PEOs in the Community

Teaching through Junior Achievement and Providing Holiday Cheer Dawn M. Hines

Pay Plus Benefits, Inc. has been affiliated with Junior Achievement for more than 18 years. Many Pay Plus Benefits employees have participated in teaching classes at our local schools, as well as forming a bowling team to raise money.

PEO Spotlight

ContinuumHR: Bobby Sarver Chris Chaney

When Bobby Sarver left college to pursue a career in aviation, the future CEO of Ft. Myers, Florida-based PEO ContinuumHR thought he would spend his career in the cockpit. But after flying nearly 15,000 hours from the mid-1980s to the 1990s, Bobby needed a career change. “I was flying a 747 and back then you didn’t have laptop computers, and email and cellphones, so when I was gone, I was gone,” said Bobby.


The Big Picture

A Lasting Solution to the Regulatory Nightmare Thomas J. Donohue

Our economy has benefited over the last three months from a massive rollback of harmful regulations on issues ranging from energy to labor to broadband. Now we have a historic opportunity to reform the regulatory system itself so that we can cement these changes and prevent future regulatory onslaughts like the one we saw over the last eight years. This opportunity for reform was bolstered by the introduction this spring of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) in the Senate.

 

Special Section

PEO Capitol Summit Coverage


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