PEOs: THE BEST-KEPT SECRET FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY AND SUCCESS Never heard of a professional employment organization? Well, you’re not alone. Yet PEOs have been providing the single most valuable set of services to small business owners for decades, allowing them to do what they do best―serving their clients and selling their products or services. After all, the administrative burdens that are thrust upon today’s small business owner are immense; since 1980 there has been an increase of over 400 percent in employment related laws and regulations. What budding entrepreneur wants to be distracted by shopping for health insurance once a year, going through workers’ compensation audits, sitting through unemployment hearings, stressing over an OSHA fine, creating employee handbooks, or paying out a big tax penalty because they didn’t file something on time? A PEO handles all of this and more for its clients at a cost that is usually less than what the employer would pay by doing it themselves! We Are HR is the new HR handbook, designed to educate small business owners and industry professionals on the origins and future of PEOs, while highlighting the strong value proposition and overwhelming advantage small business owners have when leaving HR to the experts.The bottom line: when you have a tax problem, you call a CPA. If you have a legal problem, you call an attorney. And after reading this book, when you’ve got an HR problem, you’ll call a PEO. A professional employment organization, or a PEO, is a for-profit enterprise that provides comprehensive human-resource services to small-and medium-sized businesses. PEOs work with their clients to create a customized service package, which may include some or all of the following: - Payroll and payroll tax administration - Employee benefits, such as healthcare, other types of insurance, and retirement plans, such as a 401(k) - Safety consultation and access to workers’ compensation insurance - HR policy development and consultation and assistance with federal and state regulatory compliance - Access to HR-related technology Author Bill J. Lyons definitely knows a thing or two about PEOs. Since launching Lyons HR in 1995, he’s had the opportunity to work with hundreds of employers and serve thousands of employees across the United States. Lyons understands that it’s crucial that businesses manage people in a way that keeps them efficient, compliant, and profitable. It’s a human element that makes or breaks a business. That’s why We Are HR! A professional employment organization, or a PEO, is a for-profit enterprise that provides comprehensive human-resource services to small-and medium-sized businesses. PEOs work with their clients to create a customized service package, which may include some or all of the following: - Payroll and payroll tax administration - Employee benefits, such as healthcare, other types of insurance, and retirement plans, such as a 401(k) - Safety consultation and access to workers' compensation insurance - HR policy development and consultation and assistance with federal and state regulatory compliance - Access to HR-related technology Author Bill J. Lyons definitely knows a thing or two about PEOs. Since launching Lyons HR in 1995, he's had the opportunity to work with hundreds of employers and serve thousands of employees across the United States. Lyons understands that it's crucial that businesses manage people in a way that keeps them efficient, compliant, and profitable. It's a human element that makes or breaks a business. That's why We Are HR ! BILL J. LYONS is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Lyons HR, a national Professional Employer Organization based in Florence, Alabama. He has been a trusted business advisor for more than thirty-five years, having served on the boards of several private companies and industry organizations, including the Business Council of Alabama. He is also the former chairman of the Employer Services Assurance Corporation.Bill received undergraduate degrees in business and accounting from Freed-Hardeman University and the University of North Alabama. He later earned his MBA from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Bill and his wife, Kelley, have five grown children and five grandchildren. Bill is active in his local community, having served on the boards of the local hospital, chamber of commerce, economic development, and on the University of North Alabama Foundation board.