NAPEO
February 2026
THIS MONTH'S FOCUS: Employee Engagement, Culture & Wellbeing
THE ACCIDENTAL OPERATOR: HOW MIKE SUSKO BECAME THE STEADY HAND BEHIND CENTRAL STAFF SERVICES
What truly sets CSS apart, Susko believes, is its uncompromising commitment to customer service. During office hours, there is no voicemail. Someone always picks up the phone.
BY CHRIS CHANEY
February 2026CONTENTS
FEATURED
A CULTURE THAT CAN TRAVEL: WHY ENGAGEMENT DEPENDS ON SYSTEMS MORE THAN LOCATION
Internal communication carries more cultural weight than external branding. Employees experience the organization through the tone, clarity, and consistency of what they hear and experience.
BY CYNTHIA HAYES
February 2026
CREATING CULTURE IN DISTRIBUTED TEAMS
The most effective distributed teams normalize written updates, clear decision logs, and transparent progress tracking so that no one is disadvantaged by geography or schedule.
BY NAMI BARAL
February 2026
EMBRACING DIVERSE, NON-TRADITIONAL BENEFITS TO STRENGTHEN PEO CLIENT ENGAGEMENT
By offering diverse options—from mental-health resources and financial-wellness tools to lifestyle benefits and industry-specific programs PEOs can differentiate themselves without increasing employer costs while improving client/employee satisfaction and retention.
BY STEVE OTT
February 2026
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT METRICS THAT MATTER AND HOW PEOS CAN HELP DRIVE SUCCESS
PEOs can help employers select and implement the right engagement tools, ensure consistent and secure data collection, and provide expert guidance on interpreting results.
BY NATE OLSEN
February 2026
WOMEN’S HEALTH: A STRATEGIC PRIORITY FOR PEOS
PEOs can improve health care affordability and access for women by working with health benefits carriers to address coverage for health issues beyond fertility and childbirth.
BY DAVID IACINO
February 2026
WHY PEO WELLNESS PROGRAMS ARE THE FUTURE OF CLIENT RETENTION
If medical insurance is now a basic utility, wellness programs are what helps retain employees. This is where PEOs need to shift their focus to really drive retention.
BY DANIEL CLINE
February 2026
Cracking the Culture Code: Building Blocks for Creating Organizational Culture in a Distributed Workforce
While company culture occurs across various company environments, it is complex and yet remains an organic element that shapes regardless of intention, strategy, or cultural mindset
BY ABRAHAM GONZALES-POLLICK
February 2026TRACKS
“Stay tuned for ways to get involved and support NAPEO PAC in 2026. It’s important for our advocacy efforts to have a robust and engaged PAC, especially in an election year. ”
BY BILL MANESS
February 2026PEOS IN THE COMMUNITY: WANDA SILVA AND THE COMFORT OF PRESENCE
Wanda felt that comfort was something she could share. After seeing Wellstar Tranquility Hospice in her community, she signed up to volunteer.
BY JAKE LEVINE
February 2026SCALING FROM FAMILY BUSINESS TO GROWTH COMPANY
When my father retired from our business, it was still built around him- his instincts, his skills, his processes. As Brad Fisher, an expert in scaling small businesses, often quotes Jim Collins, it was a “genius with a thousand helpers” model: every decision ran through the CEO. That structure is common in founder-led companies, but …
BY SUSANNAH ALBRIGHT
February 2026
“It’s no coincidence that all of the progress noted above led to a tremendous membership renewal period. We’re committed to using your resources wisely to build the association our industry needs.”
BY CASEY M. CLARK
February 2026NACHA 2026: THE RULE CHANGES RESHAPING PAYROLL SECURITY
There’s quite a bit that PEOs need to know and understand about Nacha’s new fraud monitoring requirements including operational impacts and how to prepare before the March 20, 2026, effective date. The ACH network is the financial backbone of payroll, taxes, benefits, and countless employer-related transactions processed by PEOs every day. As fraud grows more …
BY JOE MIGNECO
February 2026INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: A RENEWED RISK LANDSCAPE FOR PEOS
In May 2025, the Trump DOL announced it would no longer enforce a strict Biden-era rule that deemphasized any “core” factors and adopted a broad, multi-factor economic realities test.
BY CATHERINE “REE” HARPER, ESQ.
February 2026BALANCING WORK-LIFE BOUNDARIES IN A CONNECTED WORLD
Policies only work when organizations normalize boundaries and encourage employees to unplug without penalty. When leaders model respect for personal time, it signals that rest is part of professional responsibility, not resistance to it.
BY CHARLES SPINELLI
February 2026SILENCE ISN’T GOLDEN: WHY AVOIDING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS HURTS COMPANY CULTURE
Conflict conversations. Critical conversations. Difficult conversations. These are all phrases people leaders have heard over the years to describe conversations that deliver anything but positive feedback and good news. These phrases all have one word in common: conversation. In the office, my team is used to hearing me say, “It’s just a conversation.” However, the …
BY CONNOR CROSS
February 2026