Georgia has two of the five fastest-growing counties in the United States with Jackson and Dawson counties each showing more than 5 percent gains in population over the past several years.1 These counties northeast of Atlanta are driven by retail, health care, manufacturing, and agriculture – industries that, in general, require more employees to remain operational.
Some large international companies such as Mercedes-Benz® have moved operations into Georgia and boosted foreign direct investment in the state, but the Peach State’s economy is also driven by its 1.2 million small businesses, which is 99.6% of all businesses in the state.2
Georgia has much to offer, but employers might need help with regulations that impact businesses and their HR operations. Navigating the HR landscape takes time and could result in fines if done incorrectly. According to a Paychex survey, almost two-thirds of companies spend as many as 11 hours per week on HR administration at a cost that is as high as $350,000 annually.3
Let’s look at how a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can help your Georgia business.
Why Work With a PEO in Georgia?
A PEO supports HR, payroll, benefits, compliance, risk management, and more. In this arrangement, a business and a PEO establish responsibilities in the relationship through a service agreement. The PEO helps support the HR responsibilities related to employee benefits administration, processing payroll, safety in the workplace, and maintaining compliance. Employers continue to oversee managing employees. A PEO can add value if you don’t have an HR team and it can even help support an in-house HR staff.
Georgia has added nearly 74,000 jobs in 2024, according to the most recent report from the Georgia Department of Labor, which puts it at an all-time high of more than 4.97 million.4 The state is seeing all-time highs for jobs in the private education sector, health services, and leisure and hospitality.
Working with a PEO can help keep you up to date on compliance requirements such as the state’s E-Verify mandate that requires businesses with 10 or more full-time employees or any business with a public contract to use the federal online verification system to confirm the identity and eligibility of new hires to work in the country.
How Can Your Business Gain Efficiencies and Insights With a PEO?
Using an all-in-one HR technology platform can help simplify tasks by creating efficiencies with payroll, benefits information, and enhancing communication. The Paychex HR PEO* can help facilitate:
- HR administration: Get dedicated HR support to help with hiring, employee handbook development, onboarding, performance management, training, development, and much more.
- Payroll administration: Save time and gain peace of mind as errors are being mitigated, and with payroll tax calculation and remittance your company has help staying compliant.
- Employee benefits: Gain access to Fortune 500-level offerings such as retirement and health insurance to help stay competitive in a tight labor market. Working with our PEO also can save you time because we vet benefit packages directly with carriers and then facilitate enrollment and administrative tasks.
- Risk management: Businesses in Georgia with three or more employees are mandated to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Coverage can be more affordable with the collective buying power of Paychex HR PEO.
- Compliance: Stay updated with information on compliance mandates such as Georgia’s E-Verify law, as well as on OSHA workplace safety regulations. Our PEO offers you a dedicated HR Professional to proactively help identify risks and offer actionable HR advice.
- HR technology: Simplify tasks and improve communication with a self-service platform that allows employees to update information on payroll, benefits, and personal data.