HOW INNOVATIVE BENEFITS CAN HELP IMPROVE A PEO’S BOTTOM LINE

Did you know that 70% of U.S. workers would be willing to switch jobs for better benefits? In today’s fiercely competitive job market, employees have higher expectations on what their employer – or future employer – can offer them. Gone are the days where a standard benefits package will cut it. Employees expect more. “How will you support not just me but my family?” “How do I know that you actually care about me as an individual beyond the work I produce?” The bar is higher and if employers want to retain their top talent and attract new employees, they must think about what they can offer the employee in return. Not to mention that it can be difficult to navigate health plans and determine what is the best value that won’t also break the bank.

Unfortunately, for many small and mid-size businesses that have tight budgets and limited resources, it becomes extremely difficult to offer anything beyond the basics. This creates an opportunity for PEOs. Beyond providing payroll and HR administrative support, what if a PEO could help cover the gap in what the employer can offer in terms of benefits beyond the basics?

The same competitive landscape that employers are navigating for talent, the same can be true for PEOs vying for new clients. Differentiation is no longer a luxury but a necessity. PEOs must offer something unique and valuable to catch the attention of prospective clients as well as retain current customers. Offering innovative and attractive benefits for worksite employees can be the deciding factor for a company choosing between PEOs, staying with their existing PEO or choosing to do business on their own.

If PEOs are able to provide creative and innovative benefits traditionally reserved for Fortune 500 companies at Fortune 500 costs, the employer then begins to see the PEO as the crucial piece of its entire employee engagement experience, creating more sticky clients who want to retain their employees and know they cannot do it on their own.

Insperity has taken this approach and made strategic decisions to help fill the gaps for its clients. For example, Insperity offers its internal employees access to Cariloop, a comprehensive caregiving support service that provides employees and their families with personalized coaching and resources to manage their caregiving responsibilities and their own health struggles, allowing them to better balance work and home life. Last year, it also rolled out Cariloop to its worksite employees, which has helped Insperity’s clients have more present and engaged employees.

“Employee benefits are typically one of the heftiest expenses for a small business. At Insperity, we recognized this challenge and have taken it upon ourselves to help solve as much as we can,” said Joy Awe, Wellbeing Manager at Insperity. “If we can help take on some of the financial burdens and roll out custom benefits to our entire worksite employee population, we are helping to position our clients competitively in the market.”

Benefits that are more concierge, such as caregiver support or fertility help, or hyper niche offerings, such as pet insurance or diabetes management, are not something small businesses can offer due to the cost of implementing it themselves for a small employee population. However, due to the structure of PEOs and the rates they are able to negotiate with insurance and other benefit providers, offering highly custom and exclusive solutions becomes a reality for their clients.

In order for worksite employees to remain at their organizations, they need to feel that their employer values their well-being and is doing what it can to support them. PEOs that leverage platforms like the PrismHR Marketplace have the ability to offer clients solutions to retain them. In September 2024, Cariloop also began working with PrismHR to provide PEOs access to the solution so they can add it into their portfolio seamlessly. In order to create the best offerings for PEOs, and thus position the PEO as a must-need to clients, PrismHR is constantly identifying and bringing forward the latest benefits that can help clients better serve their worksite employees.

“We want the PEOs we partner with to succeed and be profitable, providing the best possible service for their clients and ultimately the worksite employees,” said Jonathan Wall, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at PrismHR. “The small and mid-size businesses across the country deserve the same opportunities as the Fortune 500 companies to attract and retain their talent. That is exactly why we are always adding new solutions to the PrismHR Marketplace to create more opportunities for PEOs to fill that gap for their clients. We want to give them the shots they deserve to stay competitive.”

PEOs need to move beyond a transactional relationship with their clients and instead shift into a source of expertise and guidance, which ultimately builds confidence and trust with its client base and worksite employees. The ability to showcase leadership and stay ahead of the competition ultimately comes down to what you can offer that others cannot – or haven’t decided to offer. PEOs that are slow to adopt new offerings risk becoming outdated and losing their appeal.

There is a tremendous opportunity for PEOs to step into the role of a robust benefits provider. Continuous innovation in benefits is not just about staying current; it’s about anticipating the future needs of clients and worksite employees. And the reality is that these clients need support.

Will you be the PEO that provides it, or will you let your competitor step in? By keeping an eye on emerging trends and being quick to integrate new benefits into your portfolio offering, you can consistently offer something new and valuable that smaller companies need to retain their talent, which will ultimately make it more compelling for them to partner with you. Will you help fill the gap for your clients and worksite employees? The time to act is now.