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Implementations are arguably the most important part of any PEO relationship.  They set the tone.  They are the litmus test for whether or not you were "sold a bill of goods".  Far too often implementations are also the first time the folks that actually use the system get to see the system! (crazy I know).

 

One of our favorite PEO Sales reps describes the implementation process as like getting ready to go scuba diving.  There is a boatload of equipment and discomfort that goes into it... and that first payroll is like the moment you're sitting on the side of the boat about to thrust yourself into the deep blue ocean below.  It's enough to give any sane HR person thalassaphobia.  And that first payroll WILL be rocky.  We've been doing it long enough to know that 95% of the time, there are mistakes that will need correcting.  Just as those first few seconds after throwing yourself off the side of the boat are incredibly loud, frothy, and frantic... so is the first payroll.

 

But then something magical happens... payrolls 2, 3, 4, 5 get calmer and calmer, and eventually your HR life gets so much easier that just like in Scuba, you get to look around and notice the beautiful world of HR you never knew or forgot existed because you've been living in a completely different world.  You'll have the time to notice things about your organization that are strategic and not tactical.  You'll be less worried about getting payroll out the door or setting up a new tax id in a state you just hired someone in, and able to ponder... is there a better way to structure reporting in our company?  Are the right people in the right positions?  Do we have a plan if our CTO who seems disgruntled leaves?

 

What you're left with when implementation is done, is truly a better way to HR.

 

So how much time should you budget for implementation and how can you avoid surprises?

 

Our advice is, budget 7 hours of work per module you're migrating to PEO.  For Example:

 

IF the PEO is doing:

Payroll

HRIS

Applicant Tracking System

Learning Management Software

Benefits

Worker's Comp

 

your team should budget 6 x7 or 42 hours of work during implementation.  It's not meant to be a perfect estimator, but it does a pretty good job of getting at how much time spread across how many team members you can expect to spend.

 

It may seem like a lot, but the payoff on the backend is 10x easily.  Nothing makes us crazier here at PEO Distillery than hearing stories of CEOs or VPs of HR worried about benefits reconcilliation, payroll discrepancies, or data entry errors etc.  This is below your paygrade... get a PEO in place and think about these things once a year as opposed to every other day/week/month.