Small business owners in Utah enjoy plenty of benefits. We have robust systems in place to facilitate small business growth, and we consistently rank high in lists for best states to start a business. But if there's one pain point that nearly every business in Utah faces, it's human resources.
That's why so many businesses in the United States use Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) to help them manage their HR responsibilities, save money on benefits, and adhere to local, state, and federal standards. Unfortunately, many businesses overpay for PEOs. While PEOs generate an average return on investment of 27%, it's easy to find national PEOs that charge high costs per employee without providing any additional benefits.
Luckily, Utah businesses have an advantage. Due to the same benefits that business owners enjoy, local PEO firms can operate with lower overhead than national competitors — making Utah-based PEOs incredibly affordable. So how do you pick the right one? Ultimately, it comes down to three factors:
- Cost (e.g., pricing structure, hidden fees)
- Services (e.g., HR administration, benefits, workers' compensation)
- Trust (e.g., history, understanding of local laws)
How to Choose the Right PEO in Utah Based on Services
Whether you're in Salt Lake City, Orem, or Provo, you should be looking for a PEO that offers a wide array of HR services. The more services you outsource, the higher your overall ROI will be. Plus, a trustworthy and highly-functioning PEO should be able to take over most of your HR administration responsibilities. If they only handle a few select components, this forces you to use multiple outsourcing agencies, resulting in higher costs and more internal friction.
Generally, you want your PEO to be capable of handling the following responsibilities:
- Payroll: Your PEO should be able to handle all of your payroll needs. This includes computing pay, paying taxes, adhering to payroll compliance needs, dealing with tax garnishment and child support, and handling liens during the payroll process.
- Tax Remittance: Employee taxes can be complicated and work-intensive. Your PEO should handle all forms (e.g., W2, W3, W4, SUTA, FUTA) In addition, best-in-class PEOs can lower your SUTA rates and work hand-in-hand with you during tax audits.
- Workers' compensation insurance: PEOs will come equipped with their own workers' comp insurance. You won't have to pay anything upfront, and you'll unlock better rates thanks to economies-of-scale.
- Self-funded medical solutions: PEOs provide access to PPOs and HMOs.
- Health benefits: 72% of employees admit that having access to better benefits and a greater variety of benefits would boost their job satisfaction. PEOs should help you find high-value, low-rate plans like dental, vision, and life insurance.
- 401k administration: Frustrated by 401k administration compliance? Don't worry! Your PEO takes care of all your 401k administrative responsibilities.
- Compliance: This is a big reason that you want a Utah-based PEO. They know the lay of the land. You have local, state, and federal compliance needs. A local PEO can help you navigate COBRA, ERISA, OSHA, and your local requirements.
- Claims management: As we all know, unemployment claims happen. Sit back; your PEO should handle these.
- HR software: Any reputable PEO will bring their own tech stack. From self-service portals to payroll technology, your PEO should provide you access to their tech stack — reducing your upfront costs.
A PEO should be able to handle all of your HR administration needs — leaving internal HR to focus on facilitating a strong and robust company culture. When your HR team has to focus on benefits, they have little time to build amazing workplace cultures and hire the best-equipped job candidates. By outsourcing, you break their chains and allow them to focus on growth strategies, not redundant and repetitive tasks like payroll.
How to Choose a PEO in Utah Based on Cost
If you want low costs, go local. Running a business in Utah is far more cost-effective than the majority of states. Your PEO will pass that low overhead and tax benefits onto you. Large national PEOs have offices across the nation. And, they pool the costs of all of those offices into their monthly bill. So, you're essentially paying upper-tier prices in a low-cost state. They have a wide reach, but they have even higher overhead. And, the truth is, you don't need their national offices.
You Need a Utah PEO You Can Trust
At Zamp HR, we're not just a PEO; we're a Utah-based PEO. We understand the local compliance needs better than almost anyone. We can deliver unparalleled service for a fraction of the cost of our national competitors.
Keeping things local pumps money into our incredible state economy. But it also saves you time, headaches, and hassle. 98% of businesses that use PEOs would recommend one to their colleagues. Want to see how we can provide better service at a lower rate than our national competitors? Contact us. Let's put you in the 98%.
