Everything You Need to Know About PEO (Professional Employer Organisation)

If you are running a new business, you know how difficult it gets to manage the finances and, at the same time, focus on growth. Many new companies suffer from this difficulty of wanting to expand more and wanting to manage finances. This kind of dilemma is actually very difficult to address because the unsaid rule of the business is that you are going to be expanding it but realistically speaking one cannot overrun pre-decided finances and make choices that would cost them more than their existing budget. The business cannot operate in debt, and, hence, this expectation can put it a stop to your aspirations of expanding your business internationally.

Such situations, though sounding extremely difficult, are not new for investors and businessmen. Where there is a will, there is a way, and in this case, there is PEO or Professional Employer Organisation. PEO helps you expand your business to greater boundaries in minimal financial investment so as to help you accommodate things while keeping in line with your aspirations.

What is a Professional Employer Organisation?

PEO or a Professional Employer Organisation is an outsourced entity to manage business operations at a remote place. It has a pool of small and medium scale organisations on the one hand and teams to manage functions of the organisation like human resources, taxation and other benefits for the employees.

Why is PEO so trusted?

PEOs that have a good knowledge of the local markets can actually help you facilitate the business in a better way. It might take time for a person wanting to expand their newly opened business into a foreign country to do market research, understand the trends of the customers over there and get acquainted with the demands of the population from that particular area. Since a PEO has this information ready with them, many investors and businessmen prefer to opt for it than actually do it themselves. It also offers you the right professional advice on important matters like legal associations, employee benefits, recruitment process, developing business culture, etc. It also has tie-ups with local recruitment companies that help you hire the best local talent without you having to worry about the authenticity of them.

A PEO runs on the practice of co-employment that helps you delegate the responsibilities to various entities and keep all the essential tasks for yourself. It deviates the control of the business in the hands of other people to some extent, which is necessary for you to focus on the expansion of the business.

What are other alternatives of PEO?

The function of PEOs can be performed by a few other entities as well in some capacity. Let us have a look at these:

1. Individual contractors

Individual contractors can be hired to perform functions like recruitment, market research, creating policies for employees, etc. But hiring contractors could turn out to be risky. The risks associated with working with an individual contractor are listed below:

• The foreign countries may not legally allow this kind of professional relationship and partnership for a long time. There is a possibility of you and the contractor both getting stuck in legal glitches. These rules exist in some countries to make sure that the labourers from their country are not exploited by foreign businesspersons.
• The individual contractors may try to enjoy the benefits which are reserved especially for the employees by claiming that they have been the employees of the organisation. A contractor is not an employee of the organisation — they are just the mediator between the people who would actually become employees and the employer. Hence, they are not eligible for the benefits reserved for the employees.
• Hiring an individual contractor would be difficult as you don’t know who to trust in a completely new area with such a vital aspect of your business. On the other hand, PEOs, having set their foot in these areas for a long time, can be trusted with a very little background check.

2. Outsourcing various services

Instead of offering all the services to PEOs, there is an option of outsourcing various services from different entities. The problem with that is that there is less scope for coordination between these individual entities, and hence, it can create huge problems for the investor. Further, there is a higher scope for frauds to happen when you hire different individual entities instead of one single entity that offers you all the services under the same roof.

Benefits of PEO

Let us understand some of the benefits that PEOs offer to up and coming businesses:

1. A PEO saves a lot of time for the business

A PEO can handle a lot of activities that are part of the business, apart from revenue generation. They can get these tasks done in less time than someone from a different country going there and understanding how processes work there and then getting them done. Functions, like payment of the employees, the policies related to employees, the taxation, reporting of the revenue, and processes related to the legal and governmental aspect of the organisation can be performed by a PEO in less time. A PEO with a fair idea of the legal aspects in that particular country can handle these issues in no time.

2. PEOs turn out to be cost-effective for the business

Utilising the services of PEO turns out to be extremely cost-effective for business expansion. The company would spend loads of money to actually go to a foreign country, get acquainted with the work culture there, spend a lot of money and time to get the legal approval for the business expansion and hire the local workforce for the same. All these activities not only take a lot of time but also require a considerable amount of energy and money on the part of the investor. Many businessmen now outsource these functions to a PEO and find this strategy to be a cost-effective one.

3. A PEO would be available to handle the hassles created because of a crisis situation

Situations like instability because of political affairs, or financial instability or the very recent example of a pandemic, the business affairs would definitely be affected. To manage such situations in a satisfactory manner, there is a need for the physical presence of a responsible person who can handle them and pacify any disagreements. PEOs have a host of people who have experience in the same.

4. PEO HR assures you a pool of knowledgeable experts to work with

Since a PEO comprises a group of industry experts, it assures you of the services by those experts. These experts are not only knowledgeable in terms of technicalities but also are adept with current affairs and the effects they have on the economy. Their knowledge and experience, both combined together, offer one-of-a-kind service at an affordable cost.

5. Market entry is made faster by the involvement of PEOs in the process

A PEO with a thorough knowledge of the market demands of all times knows exactly when to buy what and when exactly would something have a higher demand in a particular market. Having studied the market range for a number of years, their predictions about future trends are also more or less accurate, which makes them very trustworthy to foreign investors.

6. Setting up business through PEO saves the hassle of incorporating the business in a foreign country

Since PEOs are aware of legal procedures, they offer you options, wherein you can skip the actual setting up of the business and just hire the staff for groundwork. Doing so saves you time and money that would go in getting approvals of many government officials.

7. PEO would offer business risk protection against additional unnecessary costs

Ignorance of legal and bureaucratic procedures results in heavy fines for businesses. If these mistakes are performed by foreign investors and businesses, then it becomes even fishier for the government, and hence, there is a high level of enquiry into such companies. To save you from these troubles, a PEO offers you a comprehensive package which takes care of all these aspects without you having to worry about studying, understanding and implementing the legalities in a foreign country.

8. PEO offers more benefits for the local workforce as well as good recruitment offers for the business

A PEO wanting to work for the benefit of both the employees and the investors tries to offer the best to them. It offers a higher level of benefits to the local workforce than they would get by working in a local company. At the same time, it offers a highly competent team of a talented workforce for the investors, which works in favour of the company.

A PEO or a Professional Employer Organisation is a lucrative and beneficial way to expand your business in foreign lands. So, if you are starting out and are looking to make a business a global name, you must partner with a PEO.