A center of business and education alike (among many other things), Massachusetts is a competitive state to run a business in, and you will need to put your best foot forward when it comes to running your business and keeping up with everyone else. On top of that, there are plenty of regulations to comply with while payroll and general HR tasks take up a good chunk of your time every week.
To deal with all that paperwork and those HR headaches, we recommend that you consider working with a PEO company in the state. A PEO company (short for professional employer organization) is a company your business can enter a co-employment relationship with so that they can handle payroll processing, HR tasks, benefits administration, and a number of other important things.
Yet which PEO company is right for your business? Do not worry, as we have looked through all the major options for you. Here are our top recommendations for PEO companies in Massachusetts:
Our top choice for Massachusetts as it is our top choice for many states. Resourcing Edge is a growing PEO company that is also growing in reputation, both in terms of its excellent offering and also exceptional customer service.
This is not a PEO offering an out-of-the-box, checklist solution. Instead, Resourcing Edge focuses on leveraging the latest technology to offer clients a personalized experience that fits their business needs and goals. Customer service is also a priority, with a dedicated account manager who knows your business so you won’t have to explain your problem more than once or spend time trying to find the right department.
While offering all the usual services you’d expect from a PEO such as payroll administration, benefits administration, risk management, etc. there are also useful recruitment, job analysis, and time tracking tools to help you get the most out of your talent.
We recommend Resourcing Edge if:
- You have not used a PEO before and would like a great option to get started and ideally continue indefinitely.
- You are looking for a PEO that offers excellent online tools and embraces technology.
- You are looking for PEO that prioritizes customer support.
2) Amplify PEO
Our next choice is Amplify PEO, which is a fantastic PEO company operating across the country with a wide variety of businesses. They are easy to work with, easy to get started with and offer plenty of different options so that businesses of all types can get what they need.
Amplify PEO excels when it comes to customer service, and if you do not want to have any concerns in that department, Amplify PEO is a clear choice. You can always expect to talk to a human being, and you can always expect a quick and effective response to the issue or question you might be having. This is incredibly valuable when good customer service is hard to come by as time goes on.
As for their general services, we find there is nothing lacking, and you can trust that their services are affordable for what you are getting (though we do recommend getting a quote). Employees and business owners alike will also find their online platform easy to use, which is always helpful in an increasingly tech-oriented world.
We recommend Amplify PEO if:
- You want to work with a PEO company that places customer service first and you value always talking to a human being when you have a problem.
- You are looking for a PEO company that is easy to work with and get started with.
- Your business is not in a specialized industry that will need specialized PEO services and HR assistance.
3) Insperity
Our third choice is Insperity, one of the best known PEO companies in the business, and with good reason. Serving more than two million employees and more than 100,000 businesses, Insperity has been around a long time and has adapted its services to remain competitive in the field and relevant in changing work culture.
Insperity is one of the best PEOs when it comes to training options for yourself and your employees, and by working with them you will have access to thousands of online courses and have tens of thousands of online books and materials at your disposal. Whatever you need your employees to learn, especially if it involves HR or safety information, you can get a resource.
As expected of a PEO company of its size and experience, Insperity has excellent general PEO services, and everything from payroll to risk management will be handled flawlessly. We did find that some other options on this list had them beat when it came to health insurance options, but Insperity remains competitive overall and is worth your consideration, especially if you are a medium or larger business.
We recommend Insperity if:
- You value training and personnel development greatly and would like to work with a PEO company that can provide help with that.
- You are looking for a PEO company that is highly experienced and stable and can easily adapt to changing regulations or common workplace conditions.
- You like the idea of working with a PEO company that is a bit more flexible than average.
4) Justworks
Our fourth recommendation is Justworks, a PEO company that works with businesses of nearly any size and industry. They have built up an excellent reputation for themselves and have many satisfied clients in Massachusetts and beyond due to how easy it is to work with them and their focus on the constant improvement of their services.
Justworks might be most lauded for its excellent online platform, which both you and your employees will approve of for its intuitiveness and its ability to keep you in the loop even in a remote work situation. Given recent times, this has become ever more important, and Justworks can make the transition to remote work easy if you are considering making a permanent change along those lines.
As expected from one of our top recommendations, Justworks is able to provide excellent general services, and whether you need HR help, simple payroll processing, or much, much more, your business will not be disappointed.
We recommend Justworks if:
- You value a more advanced online platform and technology to manage your team and benefits.
- You are willing to take more of a front seat when working with the PEO and handling the management of your employees.
- You like the idea of working with a PEO company that is rapidly growing and introducing new features and perks.
5) TriNet
Our last choice for Massachusetts businesses is TriNet, which is a longstanding PEO company of more than 30 years that can work with employees in all 50 states. They offer all the usual services one would expect from a PEO company, and they already work with more than 15,000 clients.
TriNet is great if you are looking for a PEO company that can work with remote employees in multiple states or even entirely remote businesses. They have an established online platform that will take care of all needs, and their experience working everywhere means that there should be no issues no matter where your employees are.
TriNet has more in store for potential clients however, in that they offer some of the best benefits packages and options you can find in Massachusetts from a PEO, and there are some additional perks and discounts your employees will be able to utilize as well. This can be important for employee morale and retention, and TriNet has it as a priority.
We recommend TriNet if:
- You have plenty of remote employees across the country or run an entirely decentralized business.
- You are looking for a PEO that can offer excellent benefits for your employees as well as some neat perks.
- Your business is in a specialized industry that could use expert help and specialized HR services.
What Makes for a Top-Rated PEO Company?
Now that we have gone over our main recommendations, what criteria did we use to evaluate all the PEO companies operating in Massachusetts? What should you be looking at? These are complicated companies that perform many tasks, and that means there is no one way of looking at them.
Instead, while it may take some time, you will want to consider and look at the following for each PEO company you are interested in:
- Payroll and tax processing competency
- HR assistance and management
- Recruitment and retention assistance
- Training options and services
- Industry-specific offerings and services
- Benefit offerings and benefits administration
- Workers’ compensation insurance offerings and support
- Compliance assistance and risk-management services
- The quality of the online portal
- Availability and quality of time tracking and productivity tracking tools
- Customer service, timely response to requests,
- Positive response to feedback
- Personalization or tailoring of services
- Additional unique features or services
- The ability to accommodate Massachusetts-specific needs and comply with local regulations
Overall, you will want to consider how you will want to prioritize these facets (not every PEO company will be perfect at everything), and only you will be able to make the best final call for your business. Just make sure to do your homework and perhaps consult trusted advisors, and you cannot go wrong.
Why You Should Work with a PEO Company
You might already have systems or arrangements to deal with your HR needs or you might be concerned about the costs of working with a PEO company, and both are perfectly good reasons to pause on just signing up with a PEO company. However, there are some clear benefits from working with one, and you should stop considering them.
Here are a few of the main benefits, though certainly not all of them, to consider:
- You and everyone at your business will have less paperwork overall to deal with, with the PEO company picking up the slack and automating some processes. There might be a jump at first due to onboarding and getting used to the systems, but matters will get much easier quickly.
- By working with a PEO company, your business will be able to get access to benefits packages otherwise not available and do so more affordably. PEO companies have a lot more bargaining power with benefits providers, and it shows.
- While it does cost money to work with a PEO company (usually a small percentage of your total payroll), the cost pales in comparison to what it would cost in both money and time trying to set up everything yourself and offer what a PEO offers.
- Your business will have the support needed to navigate the often complicated regulations that exist in Massachusetts. Whether you need help on the state or federal level, you can avoid problems and penalties by working with a PEO company.
How to Select and Start Working with a PEO Company
At this point, you might have some idea about which company you want to work with, or at least have a shortlist. Yet what comes next and what can be done to make things easier for you and your business? While it is a long process and deserves separate research on top of going over this article, we recommend you do the following over the course of selection and onboarding:
- Make sure that all the PEO companies on your shortlist have a certificate of insurance, and similarly make sure that they offer all of the services that your business needs, industry-specific or not.
- Read whatever reviews and comments you can about the PEO company. Take things with a grain of salt of course, but you can get a general impression about a company and some of the nuances of working with them via the testimonials. Specifically, look for ones from businesses in your area or in the same industry as your business.
- Make sure to schedule a meeting with a representative of the PEO companies you are most interested in. This can be done in-person or remotely, but pay close attention and do not be afraid to ask questions.
- If you receive any documentation, be sure to go over it carefully. The last thing you want is a misunderstanding to start off your relationship with the PEO company.
- Notify your managers and employees about the shift to a PEO company as soon as possible once the arrangement has been confirmed. You do not want to blindside them with the news, even good news. The onboarding process can take time, and prepping your employees or giving them advance notice of it can minimize friction.
Conclusion
There are many other PEO companies operating in Massachusetts than the ones listed above, and there is no perfect PEO, but we are confident that you will find the perfect fit among our five recommendations. Whether you run a small business, a growing business, or something else entirely, we hope that you find exactly what you need, and we wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors.
