It is not Wall Street, the large multi-national corporations or even the vast banking institutions that are the driving force behind the American economy. Small businesses remain the dominating factor that figure into the continuing success of the U.S. Economy. Small businesses with less than 500 employees support more than half of the private sector American workforce. By hiring a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to help stay profitable in turbulent financial times, small businesses are able to reduce their operating costs, raise the efficiency of their management and stay competitive in the marketplace, thus keeping them playing a successful role in U.S. economy.

Small businesses do the following:

• Employ over half of America’s private sector workforce.
• Are responsible for hiring at least 40 percent of workers in the technological fields such as science, engineering and computer programming.
• Include over 50 percent of home-based businesses.
• Make up nearly all of the firms dedicated to employment.
• Generate the majority of new inventions and innovative breakthroughs in science and technology.

Despite the fact that banks and other lending institutions are currently creating more barriers than providing assistance to small businesses relying on loans to establish credit lines for commercial mortgages, vehicles, equipment and leases; as well as the fact that government regulations are making it increasingly difficult and more expensive per employee to stay in compliance, it has never been more crucial for small businesses to survive in the down economy.

Your PEO to the Rescue

For the reasons above, Professional Employer Organizations are coming to the aid of small business and providing hope for the future to many small business owners.

Why use a PEO? To help small businesses survive in a down economy,­­ a PEO will offer the following solutions:

• Establish an employer relationship by contractually assuming many employer risks by becoming the employer of record for government compliance, safety and worker’s compensation and employee/labor relations.
• Incorporate optional health benefits, 401k administration, general liability coverage, background checks, recruitment services and payroll services.
• Provide relief from the burden of HR management, employee benefits, employee leasing and HR audits.
• Improve employment practices, compliance and risk management in order to reduce a business’s liabilities.
• Allow access to a comprehensive administrative service, employee benefits and HR Consulting.

With advancing technologies currently dominating the marketplace, companies are seeking the help of Professional Employee Organizations (PEO’s) to find the qualified employees they need in order for to stay competitive.

Searching for talent can be a big ticket item and many businesses are finding they are coming up empty handed without enlisting the help of human resources specialists whose sole focus is to find, train and retain skilled employees.

The Benson Strategy Group released a 2009 study indicating that as high as 62% of employers reported difficulty finding employees that met the criteria of the positions they needed to fill. Based on the online surveys and telephone polls of 1,000 workers and over 600 employers, findings indicated that the shortage of qualified employees has had, and continues to have, a negative impact on businesses.

As a significant percentage of the jobs that are opening up are in fields such as advancing technologies, medicine, clean energy research, biotech and engineering, many companies are struggling to gain access to a job pool with the required skill set.

The biggest problem seems to be a discrepancy between the supply of qualified applicants and the demand for them. Most of the higher paying jobs with attractive benefits packages once drew plenty experienced candidates, but the tasks of filling these positions has become more time consuming and expensive than many businesses can afford in a down economy.

This is why many small and mid-sized businesses are adapting to the times and hiring PEO’s to do what they can’t: fill open positions for skilled labor. A professional employer organization offers recruitment services and HR management that includes human resources outsourcing, benefits outsourcing, employee/labor relations, employee leasing, HR consulting, payroll services, safety and worker’s compensation and many other HR services.

A full service PEO provides solutions for businesses staffing shortages and specializes in matching the most qualifies employees with the right employers. A PEO’s goal is not only to recruit the best candidates for their clients but also to increase job satisfaction and retention rate.

Utilizing the Hr services of a PEO is the ideal solution for businesses that are experiencing staffing shortages. Many companies are realizing they are not only cost effective, but are an advantage in regards to their production rate as well as to their bottom line.

Get on-site support exactly when you need it with our talented HR pros. Whether it’s a day, a week or a year, our HR experts can bring a wide range of services to your door, including:

• Employee Relations and Talent Acquisition
• Benefit and Payroll Management
• Training and Organizational Development
• Compensation Planning and Administration
• Safety and Workers Compensation Administration
• Government Compliance and Liability issues

Not ready to commit to an on-site rep? We offer phone support too, or a mix of both. Just tell us what you need and GHRO is there.