Need advice on new PEO

Bola,

Are you looking for a true PEO, or just an integrated services provider? With 51 employees, some of the benefits of doing the PEO route are diltuted, and it becomes pretty expensive (my personal cut-off for going in house is around 20 people).

That being said, Tri-Net is the big dog in the game. There are smaller regionals (basically accountants who have moved up). I was associated with TeamWorks in the bay area that does such stuff, and I'm sure that there are some local to you where you'll get the personal touch.

Finally, there are the newer services like Emplicity and NetPEO that seem more competitive...although I can't comment on their service vs. ADP.

Cheers,

KP

Bola,

While some in the PEO industry do have larger clients, the average, when I was chairman of the industry accounting practices committee, was 22 employees. That gives you an idea of the size (and sophistication) of clients that are using the service. No doubt they add value especially for small companies. The economics of the PEO's model are also partially driven by the fact that they can not unbundle HR compliance due to their being a co-employer. As a result the model typically doesn't work for larger employers especially for those over 50 employees. You may want to consider providers that can provide the infrastructure you need without the co-employment model.

Bests,

Doug

Bola,

Adding to Doug Devlin's point, consider bringing your staff in house and outsourcing the HR functions. This will give you more control and flexibility as you grow. I worked with a top line firm in the SF Bay Area (Centricity-Solutions.com). Excellent outsourcing service in this function requires that you have a local contact for site visits, so I would look for a similar firm in your geographic.

Best,

Ken

My company also did not have a good experience with ADP TotalSource, they absolutely oversold and under delivered. We have recently partnered with Insperity and we are off to an excellent start, I highly recommend you add them to your search. www.insperity.com