Hiring is a task most self-storage companies start out doing on their own. Jobs are posted manually, résumés are reviewed in detail, applicants are personally interviewed, and references are checked. For businesses that are growing, however, this hands-on approach can become overwhelming. It can be difficult for the owner or upper management to search for new hires and handle the interviewing and onboarding processes. And hiring is just the beginning, as employers must take then steps to train, evaluate and retain skilled talent.
Recruiting and hiring are two of the many areas in which a professional employer organization (PEO) can help. Rather than spend valuable time on finding new employees, you can rely on a team of outside experts to attract people who are capable, dedicated and prepared for the work ahead. Following are four ways a PEO can help your self-storage business.
Reduce Costs
Recruiting can use up a lot of overhead, both in calculable revenue and your valuable time. Posting positions on job boards, sorting through résumés and interviewing can impact the thin profit margin and productivity of a growing business.
When working with a PEO, you can rely on innovative technology and efficient experts to find acceptable candidates and handle most of the initial recruiting phases. A PEO can provide a neatly stacked pile of résumés and a short list of valuable, available candidates to choose from with minimal cost and zero time wasted.
Fill Positions Faster
Empty positions can pose extreme hardship to a business. Whether you need a new full-time employee or seasonal help, outsourcing to a PEO can be an effective solution for identifying candidates quickly. PEOs specialize in connecting candidates to employers. No matter what kind of position you need to fill, they have the technology, resources, connections and skills to source a great selection of candidates.
Offer Fortune 500 Level Benefits
Employee benefits are consistently ranked as one of the most important company criteria to a job seeker. However, assembling an attractive, competitive package can be daunting for a small business. Robust benefits packages ordinarily include:
- 401(k) or other retirement plan
- Health, dental and vision insurance
- Pet insurance
- Life insurance
- Flexible-spending and health-savings accounts
It’s expensive to offer and maintain these benefits. Packages that include them are commonly provided by larger companies due to the costs involved. PEOs serve as a market aggregator, giving each client the purchasing power of a large corporation. When you work with a PEO, you have access to insurance products and other ancillary services that can retain top talent at a fraction of the price it would cost to obtain them on your own.
Stay in Compliance
One of the biggest challenges for businesses is staying compliant with the complex federal, state and local laws regarding employee recruiting and hiring. There are regulations that govern what questions can be asked on an application, whether you can require arbitration of disputes as a condition of employment, drug-testing requirements, hiring notices, etc. Keeping track of these laws and the changes that take place each year can be difficult.
Working with a PEO can take the headache out of compliance. By using a PEO as your external human resources (HR) department, it’ll help you stay abreast of legal changes, notify you when there are modifications on the horizon, and help you update forms and practices to limit exposure to a lawsuit or claim.
A PEO can help a small business reduce the cost of recruiting, fill positions faster, offer strong benefits packages and assist with HR compliance. Let one help alleviate the stress and burden that comes with running your self-storage operation.
Jeniece Henson is vice president of strategic business development for AlphaStaff, a professional employer organization that offers a customizable suite of solutions for HR, employee benefits and administration. Services include workforce management, benchmarking data, HR information systems and insurance. For more information, call 888.335.9545; visit www.alphastaff.com.
