ExtensisHR’s Customer-Focus and Knowledge Help Broker Partner Secure Multiple Tech Firms

The Challenge

CJ Partners is an insurance and benefits advisor serving the technology industry, primarily those backed by venture capital or private equity firms, and tech start-ups with a Series C round of funding (typically 80 to 200 employees). CJ Partners’ ideal client profiles are often a perfect fit for the PEO model, according to Chip Parmele, a partner in the firm.

“Since healthcare has become so regulated with significant human resources and compliance demands, it’s almost prohibitive for early-stage companies to spend valuable time with these compliance and human resources issues,” Parmele says. “It makes sense to outsource to a PEO.”

The challenge was finding the right PEO partner in an industry dominated by large, publicly traded firms and those backed by venture capital that are likely to go public. These companies, which tend to be more sales driven, often fail to give smaller companies the attention needed, Parmele says.

The Solution

When CJ Partners was introduced to ExtensisHR, the firm found a PEO with which they could grow their advisory business. In fact, ExtensisHR quickly became their exclusive PEO partner.

“When we were introduced, we were impressed with their knowledge and culture, and they proved to be a perfect fit,” Parmele says. “We do the networking and find prospective clients, while they provide the technical human resources and compliance expertise. Then we close the business together.”

Parmele says his clients appreciate that everyone at ExtensisHR they work with on the front lines can answer their questions right then and there. “ExtensisHR gives them what they want — quick service response, knowledgeable specialists and a dedicated HR person who will follow through on everything.”

Clients are particularly impressed with ExtensisHR’s approach to service, he says. “Whenever possible, ExtensisHR will bring a new client to their offices to meet all their specialists, making the client feel comfortable from the very beginning of the engagement. That makes a big difference.”

The Results

The partnership with ExtensisHR has brought CJ Partners success with tech firms big and small. One prospective client was a small cap technology firm in New York suffering from several critical business issues with its big box PEO provider, one of the largest in the country. Most notably, leadership found a lack of proactive support, forcing the small tech firm to spend too much valuable time going through four or five people to get their questions answered.

“Not only did the previous PEO not lower per-unit fees as the headcount grew, they also over-reserved for claims,” Parmele says. “ExtensisHR conducted an analysis and made recommendations that solved their administrative problems and saved them about 20 percent in fees.” Parmele says ExtensisHR stands apart in the PEO industry: “ExtensisHR is privately-owned, client-focused and supported by a deep bench of human resources and compliance professionals who have been in the industry for a long time,” he says. “They’re an ideal PEO for a broker to build business with.”