What Are Employer Services?

Whether a large corporation or a small business, managing employees is one of your primary responsibilities; however, there’s more to employee management than meets the eye. Companies must issue pay statements, manage unemployment benefits, ensure compliance and much more. This means turning to an employer services provider for many small, mid-sized and large organizations.

Employer services refer to a wide range of products employers can use to manage their workforce. Often provided by third-party companies, these services can be accessed online to help HR and payroll teams streamline processes and increase efficiency. In this guide, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of employer e-services, including how they work, how they save companies money, what they offer and more.

What Are Employer Services and How Do They Work?

Employer services refer to the tools, resources and expertise an employer services partner offers another company to help support employees and manage their workforce. HR and payroll teams often use these services to improve overall operations, attract and retain talent, and create a productive workplace. Additionally, these services can benefit a wide range of companies, including those in health services, insurance, manufacturing, retail, engineering, accounting, legal, staffing, PEO and financial services industries.

So, how do employer solutions services work? This depends on the exact product or resource a company uses. However, the overall goal of these services is to help employers manage their workforce more effectively. Here’s what you can expect when enlisting this help:

• Communication: When working with a provider of these services, you’ll work together and communicate to ensure business processes are running smoothly. A quality partner will work with you to determine areas of your business that need support and can offer the solutions you need to fill any gaps.
• Workforce management: Using these services can help with your workforce management. Employer solutions help to create a co-employment relationship where the service partner manages specific responsibilities, such as processing payroll, managing unemployment benefits and identifying tax credits. In contrast, the employer focuses on managing standard business operations, such as making hiring decisions, offering customer service and tracking inventory.
• Shared responsibilities: While an employer services partner will take on certain employer responsibilities with the employer handling other business operations, there are specific shared responsibilities between the partners. For example, business owners must ensure a safe working environment, while an employer services partner will help ensure compliance to protect employers and employees.

Overall, employer services work by partnering with a business to help improve efficiency, ensure compliance and help manage workforces more effectively. With the right partner, you can help take the administrative burden off busy HR and payroll teams to focus on other responsibilities.

How Exactly Does an Employer Services Partner Save Companies Money?

One of the top goals of any business is increasing its bottom line and saving money. One of the best ways to save money is by partnering with an employer solutions services provider. Using these services online can help your business save money in a variety of ways, including the following:

• Identify tax credits: The federal government offers a wide range of tax credits that employers can claim, which are incentives that can help reduce the overall tax liability of your business. Tax credits can help organizations save money that can be put elsewhere in the company by reducing the amount of taxes owed. Even better, tax credits don’t have to be repaid and offer a dollar-for-dollar reduction of income. A provider of these services can help companies identify tax credits they’re eligible for and handle the documentation and application process to ensure all forms are filed correctly, and deadlines are met.
• Retain employees: If your company has poor processes that result in high employee turnover, you can lose your company money. A partner can help improve employee satisfaction to boost retention rates. High retention can help save money by reducing recruitment costs, hiring and onboarding, and  increase employee productivity and morale.
• Increase efficiency: Human resources and payroll teams have a lot of tasks on their plates, from managing payroll to responding to employee requests. These administrative tasks can be burdensome and decrease productivity. An employer services partner can help streamline operations to reduce the time required to complete administrative tasks, such as benefits administration and compliance. Outsourcing these responsibilities can produce a better ROI by giving employees time to focus on core business goals, such as customer service.
• Maintain compliance: Running a business comes with many labor laws to abide by, which can be overwhelming for HR teams without the resources or expertise on legal compliance. Employer services partners can offer professional guidance on compliance with labor law regulations to help prevent noncompliance fees and penalties that can cost your business money and damage your reputation.
• Receive better rates: Another money-saving ability employer services offer is the potential to negotiate on behalf of businesses to receive better rates for various services like insurance and benefits.
• Manage risk: Employer services can help organizations manage risk, offering significant cost savings. For example, employer services can offer digital labor law posters and ensure compliance to keep employees safe and reduce the risk of workplace accidents that can cost businesses money through reduced productivity and workers’ compensation claims.

These are just some ways an employer services partner can save companies money. Outsourcing employer services can be a great way to streamline operations, improve workplace efficiency and ensure compliance to improve your bottom line.

What Does an Employer Services Partner Offer? (What Makes Experian Employer Services Different?)

An employer services partner can offer companies a wide range of services that can help them save money and improve the employee life cycle. At Experian Employer Services, we help businesses manage their workforce efficiently through our comprehensive suite of products for employers, including the following:

• Income and Employment Verification Fulfillment: You need to hire the right employees to build a strong team. With our solution, you can access income and employment verification solutions that maintain compliance with data privacy laws and offer income and employment verification information that can be used to make confident hiring decisions.
• I-9 Administration: When bringing on new team members, proper I-9 administration is essential. At Experian Employer Services, we offer comprehensive dashboard reporting that balances technology with human expertise. Your team can ensure federal compliance, seamlessly transition to a paperless solution and stay ahead of missing data to help reduce your audit risk.
• Tax Credit Management Services: When partnering with us, you can gain access to tax credit management services that can help you maximize your possible return and increase your bottom line. Our team can help provide strategic tax credit management for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Employee Retention Tax Credit, Research and Development Tax Credit, Disaster Zone Tax Credit and Family Medical Leave Act Tax Credit.
• Compliance Library: With our employer services, you can gain access to our compliance library, which offers an automated onboarding workflow, access to digital labor law posters, required state compliance forms and proactive monitoring of state-level compliance requirements. You can manage an ever-growing remote workforce across multiple state lines.
• Tax Withholding Compliance Solutions: Improving tax information accuracy and compliance is necessary for any business, and Experian Employer Services can help make that happen. With our Tax Withholding Compliance Solutions, you can ensure employees complete the proper tax forms correctly and are filed by the correct deadlines to ensure compliance and provide a better payroll tax experience for your internal teams.
• Pay Statements: We make it easy to create custom pay statements to meet state and company requirements. From sending text and email alerts to offering universal access to all pay statements and those of former employees, managing payroll has never been easier.
• Payroll Tax Services: Our employer services allow your team to streamline their payroll tax process to lower internal costs and increase compliance. When working with one of our payroll tax professionals, you can receive strategic tax consulting to navigate the federal, state and local payroll tax processes. You can also eliminate tax overpayments and receive detailed updates consistently.
• ACA Reporting: Our ACA Reporting services help ensure timely delivery and compliance to stay one step ahead during tax season. We can help fulfill 1095-B and C Forms either electronically or by print and mail to maintain compliance with IRS and state-specific regulations.
• Year-End Tax Statements: Don’t make the end of the year more stressful than it has to be. With our year-end payroll reports and tax statements, you can increase your payroll team’s productivity by allowing them to deliver multiple tax statements on one form, manage reissues and corrections easily, and generate end-of-year payroll reports.
• Unemployment Management: Automating the unemployment claims management process is made possible with Experian Employer Services. We can help reduce the risk, cost and burden of managing unemployment benefits by recovering overpayments, creating an intuitive workflow, offering hearings representation and remaining compliant.

Would an Employer Services Partner Replace My Department or Work With It?

Working with an employer services partner creates a co-employment relationship where employers and the employer services partner work together. An employer e-service partner won’t replace your HR or payroll teams but will provide access to valuable resources, tools and expertise that can help make their jobs easier to increase efficiency and reduce internal costs. Employer services and HR teams can streamline workflows to deliver a better employee experience by managing unemployment claims, handling pay statements, maintaining compliance and more.

Would an Employer Services Partner Provide Consulting?

Yes, a partner can provide consulting services for various needs to address challenges and help businesses achieve their goals. Examples of consulting services include strategic tax planning, compliance and regulatory consulting, HR consulting, merger and acquisition consulting, and more.

How to Choose the Right Employer Services Provider

When looking for an employer services provider, it’s important to take your time and look for the right qualities. There are a few factors to consider when choosing an employer services partner, including the following:

• Track record: Your services provider should have a proven track record of success. A reputable partner will have the experience and expertise to deliver great results to help your organization improve workforce management processes, save money and maintain compliance.
• Employer services products: The right partner should also have an expansive library of products that your HR and payroll teams can access to improve their workflow and the overall employee experience. Examples of products include I-9 Administration, Tax Benefit Management and Unemployment Management services.
• Customer service: Operating a business is a 24/7 commitment, meaning your employer services provider should offer exemplary customer service whenever you need it. To ensure quality customer experience, read reviews and testimonials to see firsthand accounts from real businesses.
• Accreditations: When signing on with an employer solutions services provider, ensuring they have the necessary accreditations is essential. Employer services handle important and confidential information, as well as handle fiscal tasks like tax withholding. This means ensuring your partner is certified by the IRS.
• Compliance expertise: Your provider should also offer compliance expertise to ensure you abide by all state, local and federal regulations.
• Partnerships: A reputable partner will also be able to tap into their network of partners to add more value to your business. Experian Employer Services has an expansive network of partners in HR, payroll, staffing, consulting and benefits industries.

Conclusion

Employer services can help businesses of all sizes in a variety of ways. From ensuring compliance to streamlining workflows to creating a more productive workforce, employer e-services can save your company money and improve the employee lifecycle. At Experian Employer Services, we offer a variety of products, from I-9 Administration to ACA Reporting. Contact us today to see how we can help.