NAPEO
September 2026
THIS MONTH'S FOCUS: PEOs: Small Business Champions
ARKENSTONE DEFENSE: A MISSION-READY PEO
For Arkenstone, security is not an add-on. It is foundational. The company adheres to rigorous, Pentagon-level data and cyber security protocols.
BY CHRIS CHANEY
September 2026CONTENTS
FEATURED
MOVING BEYOND AWARENESS TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING AND TRUST
In many cases, a prospect's first interaction with the PEO model may no longer come from a salesperson. It may come from an AI-generated response, a comparison article, a thought leadership piece, a webinar, a digital resource center, or a recommendation shared within an online community.
BY JAY ZAMFT
September 2026
THE MODERN PEO BUYER HAS CHANGED. HAS YOUR GROWTH STRATEGY?
By the time they schedule a meeting, they've already formed opinions about the companies they're considering. If your sales team is still spending the first half of every discovery call explaining the basics of a PEO, you're already playing catch-up.
BY RONDA McCULLOUGH
September 2026
MARKETING TO THE MODERN SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Most effective PEO marketing really has two audiences: the small business owners themselves and the advisors who already have the owners’ trust. Both play a part in keeping a regular flow of good, qualified opportunities coming in.
BY MARK STEIGER
September 2026
THE GREAT EQUALIZER: POSITIONING THE PEO AS A STRATEGIC TALENT ARCHITECT IN A TIGHT LABOR MARKET
Beyond benefits, employee retention is inextricably tied to workplace culture and professional development. SMB owners are often brilliant visionaries in their specific crafts, but they rarely possess formal training in organizational psychology or human capital management.
BY PAUL HUGHES
September 2026
WHY WINNING TALENT HAS MORE TO DO WITH WHEN YOU PAY THAN HOW MUCH YOU PAY
93% say workplace wellbeing support is as important as salary. Only 38% are satisfied with what their employer currently offers. That's a wide open door for PEOs.
BY JENNIFER MING
September 2026
TALENT AS INFRASTRUCTURE: PEO IS A STRATEGIC ALLY DURING M&A FOR SMBS
This is precisely the gap a PEO is built to close. Not as a vendor brought in to process paperwork, but as a strategic ally that gives an SMB access to the kind of workforce infrastructure that larger, better-resourced companies take for granted during a transaction.
BY KARA BLOOMBERG
September 2026
WHAT SMBS SHOULD LOOK FOR IN AN HCM PROVIDER: PURPOSE-BUILT TECHNOLOGY, PROVEN PARTNERSHIP AND SCALABLE GROWTH
For PEOs, working with an HCM provider that has a mature reseller partner channel can also support business growth.
BY CHRIS KIKLAS
September 2026
SCALING WITH CONFIDENCE: WHY GROWING BUSINESSES NEED STRATEGIC HR PARTNERS, NOT JUST HR SUPPORT
The strategies and processes that served a business well in the early years rarely deliver the same results as an organization matures. Every growing company eventually reaches the point where what got us here won't get us there.
BY BRANDON HARTSAW
September 2026ADVERTISEMENT
TRACKS
“I look forward to building on the foundation we have established and continuing to strengthen NAPEO’s ability to support and grow this remarkable industry.”
BY BILL MANESS
September 2026MAXIMIZING THE VALUE OF YOUR NAPEO MEMBERSHIP
In a complex and highly regulated industry, no PEO should have to navigate every challenge alone. Changes in employment law, tax administration, benefits, workers’ compensation and state licensing can quickly affect a PEO’s operations and its ability to serve clients. At the same time, PEO leaders must develop employees, enter new markets, evaluate emerging technology and respond to clients who expect timely, …
BY Andrea Desmond
September 2026THE NEW SMB PLAYBOOK: HOW BUSINESS LEADERS ARE REALLOCATING RISK TO DRIVE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Supporting SMB success will require collaboration across the broader business ecosystem. Reducing administrative costs is not enough.
BY AARON CALL
September 2026
“When we advocate for PEOs, we are also advocating for the small and mid-size businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”
BY CASEY M. CLARK
September 2026RETIREMENT COULD BE THE PEO DIFFERENTIATOR HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
What now separates one platform from another comes down to a unified experience, and whether the retirement benefit feels like part of the product, or a place where the product ends.
BY OMAR EZZELDIN
September 2026GROWTH BY ACQUISITION IS A SOLID STRATEGY. BUT DON’T MISS THE BOAT ON BRAND.
Brand structure should be addressed early in the integration, before new materials are created and different teams begin explaining the acquisition in different ways.
BY AMANDA ORTEGA
September 2026OPERATING METHODOLOGIES THAT DRIVE SUSTAINABLE PROFITABILITY: MCHENRY CONSULTING’S CORE ELEMENTS
The highest-performing organizations identify the measures that truly influence enterprise value and incorporate them into everyday decision making.
BY MATT CLAUS
September 2026WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR SMB CLIENT’S NEXT HIRE LIVES OVERSEAS
Global employment is an adjacent need, not a competing one, and PEOs are better positioned to understand the solution than almost anyone.
BY SEAN DAZET
September 2026HOW AI-DRIVEN LEARNING TURNS PEOS INTO STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Offering AI-driven learning moves the PEO from the cost column to the investment column.
BY RACHAEL ALPERT
September 2026SCALING WITH CONFIDENCE: WHY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SMBS DON’T DO IT ALONE.
This is what separates the most effective PEOs from the rest, not just the ability to process information, but the ability to turn complex, evolving data into actionable insight.
BY SRIDHAR IYER
September 2026STATE-RUN RETIREMENT PLANS
If your PEO operates in any states affected by retirement plan mandate, businesses need your help.
BY JASON WROBLEWSKI
September 2026MARKETING THE PEO MODEL TO THE MODERN SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: CLOSING THE RETIREMENT GAP
The small business owner walking into your pitch today is not the same one who sat across from PEO sales reps a decade ago. According to NAPEO’s 2025 Annual Tracking Survey, 76 percent of business decision-makers now name economic uncertainty as one of the most challenging parts of running a business — the first time …
BY ANDREW GUNNING
September 2026THE GROWTH INFRASTRUCTURE SMBS DON’T SEE: WHY PEOS MATTER MOST DURING TIMES OF EXPANSION
Adding more staff is easy. Building scalable systems to support growth without increased operational risk is the true challenge.
BY JAY MINCKS
September 2026THE RISK YOUR SMALLEST CLIENTS CAN’T SEE AND WHY PEOS ARE POSITIONED TO FIND IT
A PEO that diagnoses where risk lives, targets development where it's actually needed, re-measures to confirm the shift, and sustains it over time becomes embedded in the client's risk posture rather than their back office.
BY MAK CHOWDHURY
September 2026CoAd Launches as New Brand Uniting CoAdvantage and PrimePay, Unbundling PEO Services for the First Time
September 2026ADVERTISEMENT
