As you emerge from Covid-19, it’s more important than ever to view human resources as a key entrepreneurial initiative, as opposed to something you simply have to do in order to pay people. The most successful business leaders view HR as strategic, not transactional.

• Now more than ever, small businesses that want to thrive can lean on their professional employer organization (PEO) partners to help them leverage their HR strategies to enhance recruitment and retention, build employee engagement, and increase profitability, regardless of what tomorrow brings.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Foundation, in its 2020 Small Business Problems and Priorities Report, cited the leading concerns of their membership. Here’s a look at the top five – and how working with a PEO can help you address them effectively:

5 Small Business Problems That Lyons HR Can Help With

Health Insurance

The rising costs associated with health insurance have been the number-one concern of small business owners for the past 29 years. PEOs profoundly influence their clients’ access to affordable insurance options by way of their group purchasing power. They pool employees from various client companies together, which opens the door to medical and other health benefits that rival those offered by Fortune 500 organizations. So if you work with a PEO, you don’t have to break the bank to afford robust health benefit packages or risk losing your best talent to the big corporate player located down the road.

Locating Qualified Employees

Even before the pandemic, there was a shortage of qualified employees in many high-skill positions. And since businesses have reopened, the problem has only gotten worse. Some companies aer being forced to operate with less than ideal staffing, simply because they can’t find the right people.

• Recruiting sites like ZipRecruiter and Indeed are helpful tools, but you often won’t find the most qualified talent there – because they’re usually not looking for a job. This is where your PEO can step up and fill your business-critical staffing needs. Through their vast  databases and client networks, they know where and how to reach passive talent: those superstar  candidates who may not be actively in the hunt for a new career opportunity, but could be convinced if the right one was presented to them.

Taxes on Business Income

PEOs help their clients reduce or eliminate tax liability through strategic benefit plan designs and 401(k) savings plans. And through their co-employment relationship with your company, they become the employer of record for members of your workforce, so employment-related taxes become their responsibility. You still manage day-to-day operations, but without the cost or headache of keeping up with tax issues.

Retaining Skilled Employees

The development of retention strategies that include professional development for employees will be a hotter trend than ever in the years ahead. And with alternative work arrangements emerging as part of the new normal, PEOs will further serve their clients by advising on and helping to implement remote-work strategies.

Government Regulations

Legislation from federal, state and municipal levels can come at a small business owner at a speed that makes it almost impossible to interpret. PEOs provide experts to guide you through it, so you don’t get lost.