New Jersey can be an interesting state to do business in, with its own set of challenges and unique business environment to work in. And we believe you can take on whatever issues might come up. Yet there are things, such as payroll, managing HR issues, and benefits administration, that you can do but would perhaps not be the best use of your limited time managing the company. Furthermore, hiring a dedicated HR team might not make sense for your business at this time.
That is why we recommend you consider working with a PEO company. A PEO (professional employer organization) can enter a co-employment agreement with your business, handling the HR, benefits, and payroll management to them while you focus entirely on the day-to-day activities of your business. You are still in control, but your business will have the support it needs to stay competitive, at a cost that is far cheaper than it would be to provide the same benefits on your own.
After reviewing all of the major PEO companies operating in New Jersey, here are our top five recommendations for your business:
Our top choice for New Jersey businesses is Resourcing Edge, which we think just about every organization should at least consider for their HR and payroll needs. While they are a newer PEO, founded in 2003, it is the third-largest privately-held PEO in the USA and currently, works with 30,000 clients.
Resourcing Edge takes the time to work with you and your company to find the very best approach, something you will not find with all PEO providers. You will have an account manager who is your dedicated contact and who knows your business.
If recruitment and retention are going to be major goals for your business in the coming months, then Resourcing Edge should go to the top of your list. They offer easy-to-use tools to help you analyze employee and job performance, plus they offer plenty of options to assist you when your business needs to recruit more talent.
Looking at the services offered, you can expect everything that you might from a PEO company, including payroll processing, benefits administration (complete with some competitive benefit offerings), HR and risk management support, and more. All services are done well, and we can find few if any complaints about the company.
We recommend Resourcing Edge if:
- You are looking for a PEO that offers dedicated, personalized support.
- You are looking for a strong all-around PEO that can offer some additional perks and services.
- You want to work with a PEO company that will be easy to get started with and understands your industry.
2) Amplify PEO
Another excellent option for New Jersey businesses, Amplify PEO is one of the easiest PEO companies to work with, and they are committed to the basic tenants of deadlines, making sure the customer gets what is needed from services, and clients satisfaction. They partner with competitive benefits providers to do so and constantly work on improving their services.
These commitments show, that while Amplify performs well by just about any metric Amplify PEO truly shines when it comes to its customer service. Working with them, you can always expect to talk to a human being in a world that otherwise relies on automated help, and you can trust that whatever questions or concerns you have will be addressed quickly and professionally.
As far as the rest of their services, we find that Amplify PEO is lacking for nothing, and there is an excellent online platform to use for the regular tasks and keeping track of what is going on inside of your business. Pricing is competitive, although we always recommend you get a quote as PEO pricing is always variable.
We recommend ADP Total Source if:
- You have not worked with a PEO company before, are hesitant about doing so, and want a clear and helpful onboarding process working with people whose goal is providing great service.
- You want some of the best customer services in the industry and value always being able to talk to a human being should a problem or question come up.
- You want to work with a general PEO and do not need specialized services for a specific industry.
An unignorable name if you were to look up major PEO companies, ADP Total Source is a giant when it comes to payroll processing, and their PEO services encompass that dominance. They operate across the country managing half a million employees, and they are happy to work with businesses of all sizes in the state of New Jersey. They also have a history in processing data, and that is put to good use in payrolling processing and other services.
Due to their size and structure (they manage over half a million employees), ADP Total Source is able to stay stable and tackle any issue you throw at the company, which is great if you want absolute peace of mind when it comes to the which PEO company you decide to work with. Their structure does make some clients feel detached from the service provider at times, but we find the benefits far outweigh any of the negatives, and customer service is available when needed.
As far as services are offered, there is practically anything if your business is willing to pay for it (though not an exorbitant amount). On a related note, scaling is easy should your business grow, and there will be no friction in moving to a more robust service plan. Yet despite this large pool of options, they are organized and easy to work with, and you should always be able to quickly access the information or inputs you need. Overall, ADP Total Source is a comfortable choice for many New Jersey businesses.
We recommend ADP Total Source if:
- You like the idea of working with a large and stable PEO with a lot of organizational backing behind it.
- You want the best payroll processing possible, and are not as concerned with additional benefits or services for the moment, but like the idea of those services being available.
- You want a customizable service package so you do not pay for services you do not really want or need for your business.
4) Insperity
An extremely experienced PEO company with more than 30 years behind them and one of the largest names in the industry, Insperity serves millions of employees and more than 100,000 businesses (and these numbers are only growing), and they provide all the services you might expect from a provider. Whatever your industry, Insperity can help you.
Insperity is the best when it comes to training options for your employees, and they have a library of thousands of courses and tens of thousands of books on a variety of topics that your employees can take advantage of. To keep your business competitive, you will need to constantly be improving in multiple regards. Insperity helps your business do this.
Insperity is not perfect and might not have some of the health care and other options available from other PEO companies, but it will be an excellent choice for many businesses in New Jersey looking to improve their company and get some of the most reliable services on the market.
We recommend Insperity if:
- You are looking for some of the best training options in the business and have improved your team as a top priority for your business.
- You want your business to work with an experienced PEO company that will remain stable and reliable.
- You want to work with a PEO company that will adjust to the needs of your business and be flexible with the services and options on offer.
5) Justworks
Our last choice for the state of New Jersey is Justworks, which is a PEO company that is easy to work with and is happy to work with the vast majority of businesses operating in New Jersey. Certified and accredited, they are a full-service solution to your HR needs, and they provide some of the more affordable benefits options available.
Justworks excels when it comes to its online platform and technological tools, and both you and your employees will likely be happy with the layout and intuitive nature. This makes it an excellent choice for businesses that heavily use or are entirely comprised of remote workers, which has proven vital in recent times.
In addition to their excellent online platform, they have excellent general PEO services, and as expected from one of our top recommendations all of the standard fare should give you no cause for concern.
We recommend Justworks if:
- You find the technology you work with extremely important and you want you and your employees to have access to a top online platform.
- You like the idea of working with a rapidly growing PEO company that may offer additional options in the future.
- You want to take a more active role in HR management than you would be working with another PEO company.
What Makes for a Top-Rated PEO Company?
Yet with all the PEO companies operating in New Jersey (and there are far too many to go over here), what makes for a good one and what makes for a poor one? What should a business owner look for, and what were our criteria when we picked out the top options?
Every PEO is different, but some things should be excellent regardless of specialization, and there are some things that you should always look at, whether the PEO advertises them or not. They are listed below:
- 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
- Ability to address problems and needs specific to New Jersey
- Personalization or tailoring of services
- Additional unique features or services
Your business will prioritize these differently from every other business, and only you will know exactly what is needed in terms of services and the scale of those services. Carefully consider all options and facets, and you cannot go wrong.
Why You Should Work with a PEO Company
You might still be hesitant about working with a PEO company, especially if you had a bad experience before or have not worked with one in the past. And we understand that completely, considering the costs involved. Still, we nonetheless recommend one to most New Jersey businesses for the following reasons:
- Everyone in your company will have less paperwork to deal with. Onboarding might see a small spike, but it will be smooth sailing after that, saving you and your employees time and frustration.
- You will be able to provide better benefit options to your employees and do so at a cheaper rate than you would be able to get on your own.
- Your business will have help in risk management and abiding by both state and federal regulations, which can be tricky in New Jersey.
- While there is a cost to using a PEO company, you will save money when compared to trying to do everything in-house. Remember to value your own time and energy and think about what you could work on instead.
How to Select and Start Working with a PEO Company
Now that perhaps you have a couple of PEOs in mind that you want to work with, and are at least curious to know more about what they have to offer, what comes next for you and your New Jersey business? Here are how to get started and some tips on what you should do:
- Make sure that the PEO company you are interested in has a certificate of insurance and is capable of dealing with whatever problems or concerns you might have. If you need specialized services because of your industry, make sure your top choice offers them and excels at providing them.
- Read reviews and testimonials from other businesses in New Jersey for the PEOs that are at the top of your list. Ideally, you should look for businesses similar to your own.
- We recommend meeting with a representative of the PEO company you want to work with, either remotely or in person, to go over all the services and the potential onboarding process. Having a plan and knowing what is coming helps the process immensely.
- Read over everything carefully. While none of the PEOs listed above will try to swindle or scam you, it is best to avoid as many misunderstandings as possible.
- Make sure that you notify your employees about the onboarding process and the oncoming changes. Provide as much information as possible. Do so after the paperwork is finalized, however, in case things fall through early or you decide on a different provider.
Conclusion
There is no perfect PEO in general, but we do believe that there is a perfect PEO for your New Jersey business in particular, and we are confident that it is listed among the five options above. Take your time to go over the features and specializations of all of the companies and perhaps talk with a trusted advisor or manager about what would be best. It can be a tricky choice and a bit of a process, but one that is absolutely worth it. Save this page if you need to, and we wish you the best of luck with your decision and your New Jersey business.
