Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions? We´ve got answers.The concept of a PEO relationship has been popular and working successfully for years. Business owners who try it find they can´t believe they went so long without it. Those who use Professional Staff Management frequently recommend our services to other business owners.
Since the idea of a PEO may be new to you, here are the answers to some of the questions business owners typically ask while they´re growing comfortable with using Professional Staff Management for their employee administration.
- Are Professional Staff Management's services affordable?
- Because my company's name is no longer on the employees' paychecks, will I lose their loyalty?
- Do applicants expect assessments?
- Give me a typical scenario.
- How can you help me?
- How do I motivate front-line employees?
- How do I pay for the services?
- How does a PEO relationship with Professional Staff Management work?
- How many Americans are employed in a PEO relationship?
- In hiring, are resumes, references and interviews enough?
- Is it more important for me to focus on my customers or employees?
- Tell me about PSM.
- This whole area of occupational assessments is new to me. I feel uncomfortable, can you help?
- What about the cost?
- What do the statistics say about assessments?
- What do you need from me to get started?
- What does "Performance-Based" mean?
- What is the payback for my organization?
- When do I use what occupational assessment or service?
- Where do we start?
- Who is responsible for employees' wages and employment taxes?
- Who is responsible for maintaining workers' compensation coverage for employees in this relationship?
- Why are PEO services attractive to so many small businesses?
- Why do employees like PEO's?
- Why do I need your services?
- Why is training important for my company?
- Why use pre-employment assessments?
- Will I lose control in a relationship with Professional Staff Management?
- ARE PROFESSIONAL STAFF MANAGEMENT'S SERVICES AFFORDABLE?
- BECAUSE MY COMPANY'S NAME IS NO LONGER ON THE EMPLOYEES' PAYCHECKS, WILL I LOSE THEIR LOYALTY?
- DO APPLICANTS EXPECT ASSESSMENTS?
- GIVE ME A TYPICAL SCENARIO.
- Employee Handbook
- Policies and Procedures
- Personnel Administrative Structure, Procedures & Forms
- Due Diligence Support for Mergers & Acquisitions
- Recruitment & Selection Programs
- Needs Analysis
- Job Descriptions
- Wage and Salary Programs
- Performance Evaluation & Management Systems
- Group Benefits Programs
- Human Resource Staff Training
- Support for Company Growth or Restructuring Training
- HOW CAN YOU HELP ME?
- HOW DO I MOTIVATE FRONT-LINE EMPLOYEES?
- HOW DO I PAY FOR THE SERVICES?
- HOW DOES A PEO RELATIONSHIP WITH PROFESSIONAL STAFF MANAGEMENT WORK?
- HOW MANY AMERICANS ARE EMPLOYED IN A PEO RELATIONSHIP?
- IN HIRING, ARE RESUMES, REFERENCES AND INTERVIEWS ENOUGH?
- Want to put the right people into jobs
- Provide employees with effective training
- Help their managers become more effective
- Promote people into positions where they will succeed.
- IS IT MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME TO FOCUS ON MY CUSTOMERS OR EMPLOYEES?
- TELL ME ABOUT PSM.
- THIS WHOLE AREA OF OCCUPATIONAL ASSESSMENTS IS NEW TO ME. I FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, CAN YOU HELP?
- WHAT ABOUT THE COST?
- WHAT DO THE STATISTICS SAY ABOUT ASSESSMENTS?
- WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM ME TO GET STARTED?
- WHAT DOES "PERFORMANCE-BASED" MEAN?
- WHAT IS THE PAYBACK FOR MY ORGANIZATION?
- WHEN DO I USE WHAT OCCUPATIONAL ASSESSMENT OR SERVICE?
- WHERE DO WE START?
- Conduct a comprehensive review of each aspect of your training function to identify specific areas that need improvement to meet the current and future needs of the organization.
- Review your HR administrative systems to determine their effectiveness in maintaining complete, accurate records and reporting relevant information for compliance with federal and state regulations.
- Recommend and prioritize changes, enhancements and new approaches to allow you to maximize the effectiveness of your training effort.
- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EMPLOYEES' WAGES AND EMPLOYMENT TAXES?
- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR EMPLOYEES IN THIS RELATIONSHIP?
- WHY ARE PEO SERVICES ATTRACTIVE TO SO MANY SMALL BUSINESSES?
- WHY DO EMPLOYEES LIKE PEO'S?
- WHY DO I NEED YOUR SERVICES?
- WHY IS TRAINING IMPORTANT FOR MY COMPANY?
- WHY USE PRE-EMPLOYMENT ASSESSMENTS?
- Two of three new hires will disappoint in the first year.
- Two of three employees would rather work somewhere else
- 95 of 100 applicants will "exaggerate" to get a job.
- Most hiring decisions are made in haste- during the first five minutes of an interview
- One of three businesses will be sued this year over an employment issue
- Turnover costs thousands of dollars for every departing employee
- Eighty percent of employee turnover is avoidable
- WILL I LOSE CONTROL IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH PROFESSIONAL STAFF MANAGEMENT?
The overwhelming majority of our clients feel that we provide them great value for the money and agree that we are a cost-effective way to help them fulfill their duties as an employer while remaining focused on growing their business. Our experience shows that companies who agree with this line of thinking will see a great return on their investment with us. Companies looking to us as a way to save a few dollars on health insurance or workers´ compensation premiums will not. By focusing on providing solutions, we have seen client retention rates consistently above 99% annually. This is the best testimony we can offer to the value our clients see in our services.
While this was a common concern for many of our clients initially, they found that by improving the benefits offered and the support available to their employees, there was actually an improvement in loyalty among their workforce. If we had any negative impact on the loyalty of our customers´ employees, no level of service we provide could offset that.
As reported in Molding Systems (May, 1999, v57, i5, p56(1)), a survey found that 92% of job applicants accept testing as part of the job qualification process. Only 3% resent it, while 5% were neutral.
Here´s a situation that´s very common: A company is managed by a competent, but small staff of managers or owners. Typically they must wear several hats, with everyone being responsible for a variety of administrative and operational functions; such as marketing & sales, manufacturing or service delivery, financial management, purchasing, production, distribution, technical services. etc.
Responsibility for administering the company´s human resource function is usually assigned to an office or payroll employee, under the direction of the Controller or President. Usually, only the very basic essentials of HR are being attended to: recruitment, some record-keeping, processing of payroll and benefits paperwork, and some face-to-face interaction with employees as needed when problems occur. Understandable, considering the sometimes overwhelming amount of daily demands placed on the staff.
The company needs to carefully control overhead costs to maintain a reasonable profit margin, especially given today´s competitive environment and changing economy. For this reason, it cannot afford its own full-time human resources management professional to develop and maintain required programs and systems. But,these are so essential to attracting, motivating and retaining quality employees- the basis for the company´s continuing success.
Professional Staff Management offers the expertise to develop, install or re-engineer a variety of human resource management programs and processes, such as:
We can help you identify the human resource issues critical to your company´s success and stability.
Our relationship with your organization can vary from that of consultant, to an outsource provider of personnel services, to providing human resource services at your site. These approaches can help organizations like yours fulfill their needs to provide competent human resources support, without the cost of full time professionals on the payroll. Our services help ease the burden for busy owners and managers, while helping you to achieve compliance with employment laws which affect your business every day.
Motivating employees is something that you can´t do to them, since motivation comes from within each person. It is the function of leadership to create the proper conditions within the work environment to stimulate motivation on the part of employees. It is also leadership that helps employees maintain their motivation through recognition, rewards and encouragement. Training for leadership and supervisory skills can make a positive impact on motivation.
Professional Staff Management will collect the following each pay period - gross wages, employer taxes (FICA match, Federal Unemployment, State Unemployment), workers´ compensation premiums, employee benefit premiums, 401(k) match, and Professional Staff Management fees. These dollars are collected via an Automated Clearing House draft to your account, and supporting documentation is provided to ensure accuracy. Our clients find this simplifies their general ledger posting process, eliminates payroll account reconciliation, and improves cash flow.
The foundation of our relationship with our clients and their employees is a concept called co-employment. In simple terms, co-employment is a contractual relationship that allows Professional Staff Management to be recognized as the administrative employer of record for a company´s employees. We assume responsibility for tasks such as payroll & tax processing, workers´ compensation & risk management, benefits administration, unemployment administration, legal & regulatory employer compliance, 401(k) and retirement plan administration and employee assessments for hiring and promotion decisions. Our clients, on the other hand, still manage their employees and retain control over the day-to-day operation of their companies. We handle the "business of employment", while our clients focus on their businesses.
Somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million Americans are co-employed in PEO arrangements. PEO operate in every state, and the industry is growing at a rate of 20-30% annually. The PEO concept has been in existence since the early 1980s and continues to grow in popularity.
Historically, employers depend upon resumes, references and interviews as sources of information for making hiring decisions.
In practice, these sources have proven inadequate for consistently selecting good employees.
In a survey of recent college graduates, 95% said they would be willing to make a false statement in their resumes in order to get a job. 41% admitted they had already done so, according to a report in Nation´s Business (May, 1999).
Once hired, when training employees, a "one size fits all" approach has failed to provide the desired results. When selecting people for promotion, otherwise excellent employees have too often been miscast into roles they could not perform satisfactorily.
Clearly, an essential ingredient for making "people decisions" has been missing from the formula.
The use of assessments has become essential to employers who:
If you don´t have happy, friendly, helpful, motivated employees, you may not have many customers to focus on. How can you expect to really "wow" customers with employees who do not exhibit those qualities, especially given today´s heated competition in the marketplace? Keep in mind that your front-line employees will treat your customers in the same manner that their supervisors treat them. If you are serious about delivering superior customer service, the focus must begin with your employees and the conditions within which they interact with your customers. Our supervisory training is a good place to start.
Professional Staff Management began as the first Professional Employer Organization in the State of Indiana. Founded in 1991 by Harlan Schafir, Professional Staff Management has enjoyed an enviable track record of growth and stability since inception. Our staff has solid professional experience throughout our areas of practice.
PSM has been recognized by the business community as a leader.
Recent awards include Wayne County Small Business of the year from SBDC in 2002, recognition for 2000, 2001, 2002 as one of the 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Indiana by the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and a finalist for the Earnst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Indiana.
We will be glad to provide start-up and on-going support for the occupational assessments. We are human resource consultants, and we will be sharing with you the "best practices" of how to implement a good assessment program.
Our charges are flexible, based on each client´s needs. We charge for our services on an hourly or daily rate, depending on the nature of your requirements. For example, a client may ask us to only develop their Employee Handbook; or if we conduct an HR audit for a customer, they may feel that a verbal discussion of the results will be sufficient and that they don´t need a formal report. In that case, they wouldn´t have to pay for the time involved to prepare that document. We can do as little or as much as is prudent, and your needs and budget allow.
Experience shows only a coincidental correlation between the ability to deliver well in an interview and to deliver well on the job.
Studies peg this correlation at 14%-- one good employee in every seven hires. Even background checks don´t help much. The success rate becomes 26%, but that´s only one good hire in every four. Assessing behavioral traits improved the hiring success rate to 38%. When both thinking abilities and behavioral traits are assessed, the right people are hired 54% of the time.
When assessment of occupational interests is added, successful results improve to 66%.
The most impressive results are achieved, however, when an integrated assessment is used- one that measures behavioral traits, thinking, occupational interests plus "Job Match"- these assessments successfully identify potentially excellent employees better than 75% of the time.
Just call or email us by clicking here. We can discuss your challenges and get started immediately on helping you and your organization meet your human resources and business objectives.
"Performance-based" means focusing on the end result, versus the process used to obtain it. You need to first determine the job performance you are ultimately seeking. Once this "end-result" is determined, only then can you decide the strategies and/or training to facilitate it. If you´re simply delivering "off-the-shelf, canned" training programs without analyzing the end results you´re after, then you´re thinking method rather than performance. What you ultimately want is effective job performance. Training and other strategies are the means to an end, not the end itself.
We can identify the human resources issues critical to your company´s success and, working with you, design and implement solutions to reduce costs, improve your return on investment, and increase your organizational effectiveness.
Although it would be tough to quantify, the potential cost avoidance could be huge. Organizations seldom realize that they have a compliance issue, or that they are unnecessarily open to claims of harassment or discrimination, until it´s too late. The time to involve us, is before the problem hits your desk.
Our relationship with your organization can vary from that of a consultant, that of trainer, to being an extension of your existing human resources staff, to actually handling your total human resources function. If you cannot afford a full-time or part-time HR staff professional, we can fulfill that need.
Our services help ease the burden of "people management" by cost-effectively implementing critical HR management project, which otherwise may never get done. Successful implementation will result in improved personnel management and risk reduction.
The most common pre-employment occupational assessment is "The Profile" assessment. Other occupational assessments and services provide information based on your needs. A personal review of your individual needs is the best approach in deciding what would work best for you.
A great place to start is with an evaluation audit of your training practices, processes and programs.
During the audit we will:
Professional Staff Management is liable for the payment of wages and compliance with all rules and regulations pertaining to collection, reporting and remittance of payroll taxes. The IRS recognizes Professional Staff Management as the employer for federal income, state, local and unemployment taxes, and case law affirms the principle that Professional Staff Management is responsible for all payroll taxes.
Professional Staff Management is solely responsible for providing workers´ compensation coverage for all employees within the co-employment relationship. It is also our responsibility to ensure that all employees are properly classified based on NCCI requirements.
Most smaller companies are attracted to our services because they like the idea of outsourcing things that are distractions and replacing those distractions with projects that can help them grow their businesses faster. In many cases, companies are already outsourcing these functions to several independent providers - we just allow them to consolidate everything with us. In addition, the ability to offer a wider range of benefits and the opportunity to remove employer liabilities are key reasons many small businesses find our services attractive.
For many employees of small companies, access to quality benefits is limited, at best. Partnering with Professional Staff Management gives employees access to a wide array of benefits typically seen only in much larger organizations. As well, we are staffed to answer the benefit questions that invariably arise for employees and their dependents. The ability to access better benefits with improved support is a significant factor in helping employees feel wanted and appreciated. Ultimately, this leads to happier and more productive employees.
Expenses related to employees are a significant investment; for many organizations, more than 50% of their total operating costs. Costs of hiring, wages and salaries, payroll taxes, training, insurance, benefits, sick leave, vacations, holidays, workers compensation and unemployment claims really add up. Furthermore, inappropriate or inconsistent application of company personnel policies has, for many organizations, led to costly litigation.
At Professional Staff Management, examples of our services include assisting companies with the human resource issues critical to employee selection, retention and performance; compliance with EEO, Affirmative Action, OSHA and other regulations; and can develop pay and benefits programs to enhance company profitability.
Our cost-effective services ease the burden of "people management" for busy owners or executives of organizations. We can function as your advisor, as your trainer, as your consultant, as an adjunct to your existing HR staff, or as your complete outsource provider of HR services.
Training comes in two forms- formal or informal. Formal is planned, has a purpose and creates a consistent result. Informal is on-the-job, often delivered by poorly skilled coworkers, and seldom produces consistent behaviors. Formal training costs a little more up front, but has a much higher payback.
We can identify training issues critical to your company´s success and, working with you, design and implement training solutions to significantly reduce errors, improve employee attitude and increase your organizational effectiveness.
Our relationship with your organization can vary from that of consultant or trainer, to being an extension of your existing training staff, to actually handling your training function.
Our services help ease the burden of "people development" by cost-effectively implementing training projects which otherwise may never get done.
Again, this is another initial concern that is common for business owners unfamiliar with the co-employment concept. Professional Staff Management serves as an administrative warehouse for most of the "general employer" functions (payroll, taxes, benefits, 401(k), legal compliance, etc.). Our clients still maintain complete control over hiring decisions, setting wages, motivating employees, performance reviews and the like. By letting Professional Staff Management handle the unproductive tasks, many of our clients feel they actually gain more control over their business because they have more time to interact with employees and can now concentrate on some of the more profitable tasks that might have been slighted before.
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