HRO Frequently Asked Questions

The reasons to outsource HR are many, starting with peace of mind. When you consider the vast amounts of knowledge and expertise needed for HR, especially as a company grows and its workforce increases in size, it begins to make a lot of sense to partner with an outsourced provider—an expert in all things HR.

At XMI, HR is what we do—day in and day out. We have a team of HR professionals, each dedicated to their own slice of the HR pie, to make sure all HR tasks are carried out correctly and on time. Not only that, we’ll bring HR best practices and robust HR technology to your company that will minimize employment-related risks and help you take even better care of your employees.

Outsourcing HR also helps you spend your time wisely. HR work is tedious and since it doesn’t directly contribute to revenue, it can be a drain on internal resources that could be directed elsewhere. When you begin working with an outsourced HR provider, you and your team can start using your time on core activities, like revenue growth and business development.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but HRO can also help you manage costs. When you choose a fully integrated, single-source solution like XMI, it’s easier to forecast employment-related expenses and stabilize employer costs.

The terms HRO and PEO often appear together, and for good reason. HRO refers to the actual service offerings, while PEO, or professional employer organization, is the provider of those services.

In fact, there are two types of organizations that can offer HRO services—a PEO, which uses a model known as co-employment, and an ASO, or administrative services organization, which does not use co-employment and may offer other back-office, administrative services.

Depending on your needs, XMI can serve as your PEO or ASO.

Read What’s the Difference Between PEO Services and Human Resources Outsourcing?

Think about the entire employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding to retiring or exiting—HRO can encompass all of that. Here’s an abbreviated list of services:

Payroll

• Accurate and on-time paperless payroll
• W-2 preparation, tax filing and reporting
• Time and attendance, including mobile time clocks and PTO tracking
• Unemployment claims management
• SUI claims investigation

Human Resources

• Online employee onboarding and new hire support
• Employee handbooks and HR forms library
• Reward and recognition program assistance
• Performance management and succession planning
• Online learning and professional training workshops

Risk & Compliance

• Workers’ compensation coverage and employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)
• Claims administration, resolution and investigation
• Safety training, safety reviews and return to work programs
• Compliance with ACA, FMLA, HIPAA, OSHA, ERISA and wage-and-hour laws

Benefits

• Paperless enrollment and employee self-service portal
• Design and administration of benefits, including group medical, dental, vision, life and disability
• 401(k)
• Wellness programs
• COBRA administration
• Direct access to account manager

HR Technology

• Robust human resources information system (HRIS)
• Cloud-based platform provides secure, anywhere access
• Employee self-service portal
• Add-on solutions for wellness programs, online learning, benefits management and more.

Our experience shows—and research confirms—that HRO tends to provide cost savings over time (versus performing and staffing the same services in house). HR costs go up in proportion with headcount, but just because you’ve outgrown one payroll processor doesn’t mean you have to add another full-time employee. Outsourcing your human resources means you don’t have to worry about growing pains. We can deliver exactly what you need, even if it’s just one-fourth of an FTE. HRO also brings the benefit of improved forecasting of future expenses and a decrease in unexpected expenses.

We think the resources assembled by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations as well as the Society of Human Resources Management are worth a read. We’d also love the opportunity to talk more with you about HRO and how it can benefit your business and your employees. Give us a call at 615-248-9255 or email info@xmigrowth.com.

Employers should proceed with business as usual for addressing poor performance issues, which should include discussions (documented, if appropriate) addressing performance concerns. If the performance issue was poor attendance prior to COVID-19, and the employee is now missing work due to COVID-19, employers should proceed with caution in regards to termination. Employers are not required to keep poor performers and should contact their HR team for support to navigate next steps if termination is warranted.