By Barbara Pinckney<\/p>\n
It is hard enough to run a business in
\na tight economy without having to worry
\nabout things like employee health insurance.<\/p>\n
For many years now, business owners
\nhave turned to outside firms for help with
\nsuch human resource functions as staffing
\nand payroll. But with the Affordable
\nCare Act–a.k.a. Obamacare–looming
\nover them, and workers looking for more
\nthan a paycheck, increasing numbers of
\nemployers are turning to these same firms
\nfor another reason–employee benefits.<\/p>\n
“[Employers] are looking for more,”
\nsaid Dhianna Yezzi, owner of Integrated
\nStaffing, which has offices in Glens Falls.
\n“Expectations have changed a bit.”
\nIntegrated Staffing specializes in placing
\nworkers with companies, primarily
\nmanufacturers, for longer assignments
\nthan a “temp” firm might handle. The
\nfirm’s average assignment is seven-anda-
\nhalf months, after which many workers
\nbecome permanent employees of the
\nclient company. But during that sevenand-
\na-half months, they are employees of
\nIntegrated Staffing.<\/p>\n
This means Yezzi employs about 200
\npeople at any given time, giving her the
\nbuying power to provide employee health
\ninsurance, life insurance, dental coverage
\nand vision coverage.<\/p>\n
“We also offer holiday and vacation
\npay, which are big selling points for us,”
\nYezzi said. “Plus we do fun things, like
\npay our associates for six hours a year of
\nvolunteer work.”<\/p>\n
Employees are also given full background
\nchecks–including verification
\nof education and previous work experience–
\nand drug screenings, at no extra
\ncharge to the client.<\/p>\n
“So there are a lot of things we add
\nthat are definitely advantageous,” Yezzi
\nsaid. “A lot of the HR people at smaller
\ncompanies don’t want to put as much
\ntime into onboarding as we do. It is time
\nconsuming.”<\/p>\n
But the health insurance may be the
\nbiggest benefit of working with a staffing
\nfirm. Under Obamacare, all companies
\nwith 50 or more full-time employees must
\nprovide them with coverage. Smaller firms
\nare exempt, but know they can better attract
\nworkers–who must have coverage
\nunder the law’s individual mandate–if
\nthey provide benefits. Working with a staffing firm allows them to offer health,
\ndental and vision coverage to an employee
\nwhile they are deciding if that person is
\nthe right fit for a permanent position.<\/p>\n
Once a person is hired for a permanent
\nposition, employers have another
\noption–a professional employer organization.
\nA PEO takes over some or all
\nemployee management tasks, including
\npayroll, worker’s compensation, taxes and
\nbenefits, and leaves the owner free to concentrate
\non running his or her business.<\/p>\n
“For most of our clients we enter into a
\nco-employer relationship, which allows us
\nto handle all of the administrative aspects
\nof having employees,” said James Whitten,
\nowner of CheckMate Management
\nin Saratoga Springs. “Making sure the Ts
\nare crossed and the Is are dotted can run
\ninto a lot of time. And time is money. The
\nsmall-business owner wants to run his
\nbusiness and not deal with all this stuff.”<\/p>\n
CheckMate–which Whitten, also a
\nSaratoga Springs attorney, founded in
\n1996–works with about 100 companies
\nthroughout the Capital Region. They range
\nin size from two to more than 50 employees,
\nand include restaurants, auto repair
\nplaces and professional firms. In most
\ncases, CheckMate becomes the “employer
\nof record” in the eyes of the government.<\/p>\n
According to the National Association
\nof Professional Employee Organizations,
\nthe industry generates more than $90
\nbillion a year in gross revenue. The trade
\ngroup said that about 250,000 businesses
\nnationwide use a PEO, and cited a 2013
\nstudy that showed that these businesses
\nsave at least 21 percent a year on HR
\nadministration, and hire 10 percent more
\nworkers than companies that do not use
\na PEO.<\/p>\n
The study also found that PEOs provide
\nmore than 6 million people with access to
\nhealth insurance.<\/p>\n
CheckMate provides not only health
\ninsurance but higher education funding,
\nlong term care insurance, retirement
\nplans and other benefits that employers
\nthemselves often find out of reach.
\n“Clients just have to write a check and
\nthat’s it,” he said. “It all gets bundled
\ntogether.”<\/p>\n
He said the firm’s administration fees
\nare comparable to those of a payroll service,
\nwhich most businesses use anyway.
\n“Everyone is outsourcing payroll one
\nway or another,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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