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Hotel managers spend time on revenue growth, customer service, hotel quality and staff training, said Howard Wolfson, regional director for five Hospitality America Hampton Inns. So it's a challenge to keep up with new employment laws, administer the payroll and find a good deal on health insurance.
"We are hotel managers, and we cannot be totally trained in all the human resources aspects of our business," he said. "So we decided to outsource those to a professional employer organization, AlphaStaff."
An estimated 100,000 businesses outsource employment-related chores to professional employer organizations. These firms also obtain access to great employee benefits and professional expertise in HR management. While most PEO clients have an average 19 workers, larger ones such as hotel management firms also use PEOs.
Jeff Swearingen said his company, Columbia Hotel Management LLC, outsourced to a PEO because the cost is reasonable and the PEO provides strong HR support for him as the new director of human resources.
"After being in operations, I am still learning a lot in HR. Our PEO, Adams Keegan, backs me up," he said.
As her company grew, the PEO's HR strength made sense to Tamara Markham, director of operations for Hotel Equities.
"We started with one hotel and today have more than 20. It made sense to outsource the HR and payroll to a PEO," she said.
PEO benefit programs can include major and supplemental health-care choices, including vision and dental care, and 401(k) retirement savings plan, employee assistance programs and even adoption assistance. PEOs find and negotiate the benefit plans; then they manage the regulatory requirements and handle the details of enrollment and administration. Most PEOs provide Web sites where workers can check benefit levels and policies.
"We appreciate being able to give employees access to our PEO broad selection of benefits, which enable them to effectively meet their individual needs," said Bruce Nuzie, chief administrative officer for Westport Capital Partners, owner/operator of Danford on the Sound, Long Island, N.Y.
PEOs secure workers' compensation coverage. They emphasize safety and compliance, provide risk management and manage claims.
"Concord's PEO, Oasis, had a lot of benefits, including dental, vision and life insurance," said Susan Stephen, operations director for Concord Development. "We would not be able to offer these without a PEO."
Many PEOs help develop and document workplace policies and procedures.
"Keeping that consistency across the board as you grow is a way to keep good people," Markham said.
Milan P. Yager is executive v.p. for the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations. For more information, visit www.napeo.org|~.
