Why Staff Leasing is a Smart Move for Small- to Medium-sized Businesses

As the owner of a small- to medium-sized business, you may already considering outsourcing as part of your strategy for growing your business. One form of outsourcing you may be seriously considering is staff leasing, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. This strategy is somewhat of a cross between outsourcing and keeping things in-house because the leased employees work exclusively for you, though they work in an offsite location. There are several reasons why this form of outsourcing can be ideal for small- to medium-sized businesses like yours.

Staff Leasing Benefits for Small- to Medium-sized Businesses

Among the best reasons for small business owners to lease some of their staff are:

1. Focus – Most small business owners are pretty hands-on when it comes to running their business, but that doesn’t have to mean you should do everything yourself. In fact, it would ultimately be best for your business if you focused on the core aspects – the things you know best. This can be achieved either by hiring an in-house team to handle the non-core processes that are necessary for the smooth operation of your business or by leasing a team for this purpose. Later we will discuss why leasing is often deemed the better option.

2. Productivity – When you get the opportunity to focus on the things you do best and your employees (both in-house and outsourced) also get to do the same, you can expect the entire team to become significantly more productive. After all, you’re all able to focus your energies on the things you know you do very well and you’re not burdened with responsibilities that may not really be your strong point. Such focus will also enhance the sense of professionalism in your organization, since every member of the team knows exactly what he or she is doing.

3. Savings – Now, this is perhaps the number one reason why many business owners choose to lease staff rather than hire an in-house team if they want to focus on the core of their business. You see, keeping an in-house team requires you to provide office space, equipment, materials, and of course, salaries and bonuses. When you lease, you get to save on the overhead expenses and either save the money for rainy days or spend it on other important business-related expenses. You can save even more by leasing employees from an offshore location, particularly countries where the cost of labor is relatively low, but the quality of the workforce is high.

These are the three most significant reasons why staff leasing is deemed a viable solution for small- to medium-sized businesses. Of course, you’ll have to weigh your circumstances carefully and take some specific factors into account to determine if this solution is also viable for your business or not. Should you decide to take advantage of this form of outsourcing, don’t forget to go through a careful screening process to make sure you hire the right outsourcing company.

How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Staff Leasing

Many of today’s companies are taking advantage of staff leasing services and the perks they bring. However, staff leasing comes with the possibility of several pitfalls. After all, no business strategy can claim to be completely fail-safe, right? The good thing here though is the possible pitfalls of this staffing arrangement can be easily avoided by the clients.

Here now are some of the pitfalls that skeptics have often cited to counter the perks touted by long-time

clients of employee leasing companies. They are followed by tips on how they can be avoided.

1.       The quality of the service matches the cheap rates of the service providers.

This is a very condescending statement which suggests that staff leasing companies cannot be expected to give high-quality services because their prices are very little to begin with. What detractors fail to consider is that many of these companies are from developing countries in Asia and Latin America. Once currencies and conversions are applied, that “little” amount becomes a significant sum for the service provider. Hence, it cannot be said that they are operating on very cheap costs.

TIP: It’s actually right to question if a leasing company charges too little. “Too good to be true” rates aren’t really good sometimes. So when you are screening companies to hire, don’t immediately choose the one that offers the lowest rates.

2.       Since employee management is in the hands of the staff leasing company, clients will have less control over the leased personnel and the work they are doing.

This is an erroneous assumption. In fact, clients will always have the highest authority when it comes to SOPs and delegating tasks to specific employees. The leasing company is always free to give their recommendations; but if the client is adamant about a specific preference, the service provider will comply to keep him satisfied.

TIP: As the client, you need to give clear instructions and make your preferences be known to your service provider because the latter will do what it can to please you.

3.       It will be difficult to train leased personnel, especially if the service provider is overseas. Hence, the arrangement will not benefit the client because the staff won’t know what to do.

On the contrary, staff leasing companies boast highly trained and skilled employees. Clients who pay for their services will in fact benefit more because they won’t have to spend for training the employees. The staff they lease can immediately go to work with minimal instructions and monitoring.

Remember that service providers will offer only the services they specialize in. That’s why we have different kinds of staff leasing companies. Some offer HR services, bookkeeping, computer programming, website optimization, virtual assistance, and so many more. What clients simply need to do is find a company whose staff can fill in the vacant positions in their business.  

TIP: Ask your service providers for ideas and recommendations. If they have been in business for years now, they will have plenty of excellent suggestions that you might be able to use to improve your business operations.

Employee Leasing Services – Debunking the Myths

You may have heard of employee leasing services a few times already, but like many people, you may not really have a clear understanding of it. Worse, you may even have fallen into the trap of holding some common myths about this kind of service as truth. Here we will debunk those myths and try to explain the service to you in the simplest way possible.

Myths about Employee Leasing Services

1. Leasing employees entails more cost.

The opposite is, in fact, true. When you lease employees, you no longer have to worry about setting up these employees in your payroll system, providing them with benefits, and establishing a retirement program for them. That’s because the company you lease employees from will be responsible for handling these financial matters.

2. Leasing employees takes control out of your hands.

Again, the opposite of this is true. The only thing you’re basically doing when you lease staff is outsourcing non-core functions that are necessary for the smooth operation of your business. You’re still in control of the operations per se. You’re just letting someone else handle the mundane tasks that would otherwise distract you from focusing on the core aspects of your business.

3. Using a PEO broker entails more cost.

There are those who recommend using a broker when you decide to lease staff. Some, however, hesitate to do so, believing it will be more expensive. What you may not realize is that a PEO broker causes PEOs to compete, thus driving down their rates considerably. Brokers are also very familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of each PEO they represent, which puts them in the best position to recommend a PEO that best meets your requirements.

What Employee Leasing Services Can Do for Your Business

Just by having the above myths debunked, you already know that when you lease employees, you save on

cost while staying in control of your business. Other than that, though, this service also offers you more flexibility. With leased staff, you can expand or reduce your workforce as needed without having to go through a lot of red tape. Furthermore, the service frees up your time that will otherwise be used for administrative functions. This leaves you free to focus on doing what you do best and will potentially increase your productivity and consequently, your ROI.

Seeing how much you can benefit when you lease employees, there may really be no reason for you to disregard this business solution. You especially need to consider this option if you’re just starting out and can’t afford to hire all the employees you need for day-to-day tasks or if you’re currently going through hard times and need to cut costs. When businesses suffer financial difficulties, they’re usually forced to let go of a few of their employees. By leasing staff from a third-party company, the tasks handled by the employees you let go don’t have to be left unattended.

What to Look for in a SEO Philippines Company

Just because you’ve finally created a company website and accounts on several social media platforms doesn’t necessarily mean you will immediately start seeing a significant improvement in brand awareness and an increase in sales. It can take a lot of time and hard work for you to see the results you want, especially if you’re doing everything on your own. If you want quicker results, you’ll have to get help for certain aspects of online marketing. 

One such aspect with which many business owners choose to seek help is search engine optimization (SEO) and many of them choose to seek help in a Philippine-based SEO company. Should you choose to do the same, it pays to know what characteristics you need to look for in a SEO Philippines company.

What a SEO Philippines Company Should Be

1. Responsive - Regardless of how busy they may be, a credible company always has time for their clients (existing and prospective alike). This means they respond promptly to emails, chats, and calls. When you look for a SEO service provider, therefore, put those that give prompt responses at the top of your list.

2. Flexible - Even if they’ve worked with clients in the same niche as you, a credible SEO Philippines company understands that every client has a unique set of needs and requirements. You should therefore stay away from companies that offer one-size-fits all solutions. When you interview prospective service providers, ask about the techniques and strategies they plan to use in their effort to help you achieve your goals. A credible company will carefully ask you about your goals and then outline their strategies accordingly. If the person you’re speaking with simply spouts off generic strategies and techniques without even asking you what you want to achieve, it may be best to look elsewhere.

3. Consistent - A credible company may not be able to give you the top ranking at all times, but they should at least have you consistently land on the first page (preferably within the top five) of search results. Of course, they should also be able to do the same for their own website. The best way for you to gauge consistency, therefore, is to check a company’s website rankings and ask for references. If a company’s site has consistently ranked well for a considerable amount of time, then there’s a good chance they can do the same for you. 

It’s also a good sign when a company doesn’t hesitate to give you some references. This means they’re confident that their clients (past and existing) will have good things to say. It therefore pays to spend some time talking to some of the businesses they’ve worked with and are currently working with to get a good grasp of how they operate and what work ethics they adhere to. Ask the clients how the SEO Philippines company was able to help them and how consistently they enjoyed positive results.

There are, of course, other qualifications you should look for in a SEO service provider. The characteristics discussed above, however, are among the most basic attributes any SEO company should have.

Why Hire a Staff Leasing Company

For small businesses, it may not be very practical to hire in-house employees for every single process necessary for running the business. For example, a business with only a handful of employees may not really need an entire HR department to handle such things as payroll, income tax, and workers’ compensation claims. In this case, it may be a lot more practical to hire the services of a professional employer organization (PEO), also known as a staff leasing company.

What is a Staff Leasing Company?

A PEO or a company that leases staff to client businesses is basically an umbrella company that handles practically any business process you may choose to assign. Some of these companies specialize in human resource process like payroll, benefits, income taxes, and claims. There are also those that specialize in accounting processes as well as those that specialize in marketing and promotions. When you hire a PEO, they essentially become a co-employer of the team that works directly for your business. You pay them to get a team together and ensure the delivery of your expected results on the agreed schedule.

Benefits of Hiring a Staff Leasing Company

Savings is one of the benefits business owners appreciate most in employee leasing. You are saved from providing office space, equipment, and materials and you only need to pay a fixed amount according to the agreed payment schedule. You also get the assurance that the team handling your business processes is composed of professionals who know exactly what they’re doing. This makes the solution not only affordable, but cost-effective as well. Since an external team is now handling the non-core processes for you, you have more time to focus on the core of your business, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving success.

Another possible benefit you can get from hiring a PEO has to do with insurance and workers’ compensation. For a small business, having one employee falling ill can be a huge problem, particularly since you probably only have limited funds to cover health insurance costs. A PEO can pool your insurance with those of their other clients, thus keeping the premiums to a minimum across the board. There are also PEOs that provide workers’ compensation as well as safety training, thus removing another burden from your shoulders. The training can reduce the number of work-related injuries, thus saving you from having to pay out expensive claims.

There are a lot of regulations you need to comply with when you go into business; it can be very time-consuming and perhaps even a bit frustrating trying to keep up with these regulations. What’s worse is that a failure to comply with just one or two of these regulations can possibly lead to fines or lawsuits, which can be even more frustrating. With the help of a PEO, you can make sure these regulations are duly complied with and that you won’t run into any legal problems at any time.

There are plenty of reasons for you to consider hiring a staff leasing company to handle the non-core processes of your business.

Staff Leasing: What Value It Offers

If you’re into any type of business, then there’s a good chance you’ve heard of staff leasing as one of the business solutions currently growing in popularity. You may even be wondering how it is done and what value it can bring to your business. Basically, this business solution involves an agreement between you and another company (usually in an offshore location) that provides you with a dedicated staff who handles the business processes you specify. You’ll be required to pay for their services based on a payment schedule and terms both parties agree to at the outset.

Benefits of Staff Leasing

Perhaps the biggest value offered by leasing your employees is flexibility where the size of your workforce is concerned. It allows you to easily add or reduce the number of people working for your business as needed, which is something you definitely can’t do without much hassle if you hire all of your employees in-house. Even better news is that you retain full operational control over your staff without being burdened by administrative processes such as payroll accounting, bonuses, and income taxes. That’s because these processes are all covered in the agreed fees and are therefore the responsibility of the staffing agency you hire.

Another huge benefit offered by staff leasing is its cost-effectiveness. The amount you pay the staffing agency is, in general, about 70% less than the amount you’d have to shell out if you hired an in-house team. That’s because the cost of living – and consequently the cost of labor – in many offshore locations is considerably lower than it is in Western countries. Considering that you’re getting the same quality of work or maybe even better, this huge savings is definitely one of the best reasons to lease staff from an offshore company.

Many business owners who have chosen to lease employees did so with a Philippine-based staffing agency and there are lots of good reasons to do so. A study conducted recently by GlobalEnglish Corporation ranked the Philippines as the world’s best country in business English. Yes, they were ranked even higher than the United States! This tells you that communicating with Filipino employees wouldn’t be a problem at all. It is also worth noting that the outsourcing industry is booming in this country, with highly-skilled and well-trained professionals joining the workforce each day. That should answer any worries you might have regarding work quality.

If you’re worried about the time difference, then you shouldn’t be. As mentioned earlier, outsourcing is a booming industry in this country and since employee leasing is simply another form of outsourcing, it is enjoying a boom as well. Staffing agencies have therefore taken to operating on a 24-hour basis, with employees working on shifts. You can be sure someone is taking care of your business round-the-clock. So, start assessing your business needs now to see if it would indeed be wise to lease staff instead of hiring in-house. If the result of your assessment points to leasing as the best solution to your needs, then don’t forget to take the Philippines into consideration in your search for the best staffing agency.