Empower HR

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president and CEO of an acquisition company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Empower HR?

We needed to replace our professional employee organization (PEO) because we weren’t getting the support we needed. We don’t have an HR department so my CFO and I were handling HR ourselves. 

We are a small business so we were looking for a company that could provide full staff support, be accessible to us, and provide us with an HR manager that could come on-site as needed. We also needed to improve our payroll service because we have hourly and salaried personnel, and interns and apprentices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We utilize their risk management, compliance, administration, payroll, and employee benefits services. They basically act as our HR department. They built a portfolio and manage our healthcare affiliates, and they work closely with our CFO on the payroll. 

They supply us with a benefits administrator that helped us evaluate employee benefits, which reduced costs. They also helped us improve our investments and 401K program. They dedicate an HR staff member to our company, who is available for us to contact through email or the company portal. We expanded the agreement to add a recruiting portion called Werkberry, which creates and posts job descriptions, sources and screens candidates, and schedules interviews. 

They help train our internal leadership team regarding how to properly conduct interviews and train employees. They have updated and created policy manuals. They update and maintain our employee handbook as we change and add benefits. They help onboard new employees. They support us with grants and essentially do everything an HR department would.

What is the team composition?

We work with an account manager who coordinates the project, an HR specialist, and a benefits administrator.

How did you come to work with Empower HR?

They came recommended to us through one of our affiliate partners. We evaluated 2–3 PEOs and ended up choosing Empower HR.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Empower HR in June 2021, and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The partnership has been much better than our previous PEO, and Empower HR has produced considerable cost savings. We saved between 20%–30% from our last provider.

They considerably improved our employee benefits program, especially in relation to healthcare deductibles.  They enabled us to improve the company contribution to the 401k and enhance life insurance. They reduced yearly healthcare deductibles by roughly 50%, so our employees pay less out-of-pocket costs now.

Their recruitment help has been crucial as we continue to grow and hire new employees. They bring us highly qualified candidates for our open positions, and we just a candidate hired from them earlier in the year. Our team has responded to the partnership really well. 

How did Empower HR perform from a project management standpoint?

They are excellent. Our account coordinator is responsible for the entire group and always keeps us updated. 

The team is always available to help our staff including our engineering, manufacturing, machine, shipping, logistics, procurement, and sales departments.  Even if someone is not available or on vacation, they will maintain communication with us. We can leave voicemails or send emails, and someone always gets back to us.

They are wonderful to work with. We typically use Zoom or Microsoft Teams for video conferencing. We also communicate via phone, and email, and occasionally meet in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am most impressed with the services they offer, and their rates for small businesses. Their entire staff is knowledgeable and capable. They have a lot of expertise behind the scenes, and they are very communicative. I like that they’re local to us and have offices in many locations. Empower HR are not robots; they’re real people, and very hands-on. It feels like they work on our internal team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As with any business, there’s always room for improvement, but I don’t have much constructive criticism overall. They could enhance and add features to their communications portal, and I think launching a mobile application would be really helpful. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to do your research, be prepared, and map out your pain points, so you can communicate those to Empower HR. Go into the partnership with a layout of your needs based on the services they provide. 

Define what you’re looking for, and if you need a breadth of expertise, Empower HR is a great partner for that. Also, listen to what they have to offer because you might have overlooked areas that Empower HR can help with to increase cost savings.