4 PEO Services That May Surprise You

Quick look: While professional employer organizations (PEOs) are known for services like employee benefits and payroll, their capabilities extend far beyond those essentials. In honor of National PEO Week (May 18-24), discover four lesser-known PEO offerings, from recruiting to employee surveying, that can help businesses succeed.

Many small- and medium-sized business (SMB) leaders are aware of PEOs, but may not fully know the wide range of services they offer. Beyond employee benefits and payroll, PEOs deliver a variety of HR solutions—some of which may surprise you.

There is no better time to explore the full scope of what a PEO can do than during National PEO Week, which occurs annually during the third week of May. In 2025, National PEO Week falls from May 18 through May 24 and “celebrates the important contributions of the PEO industry, which provides payroll, employee benefits, compliance assistance, and HR services to hundreds of thousands of SMBs that employ more than 4 million people.”

In recognition of this week, here are four lesser-known PEO services and how they can benefit your company.

1. Recruiting services

With a rapidly changing job market and the need for specialized skills, recruiting the right candidates has become more challenging than ever.

While some PEOs assist with certain aspects of recruiting, ExtensisHR’s full-cycle recruiting services are included at no additional cost within its PEO solution and feature:

• Recruiting for most staff-level positions
• Access to dedicated recruiting specialists
• Job advertisement creation
• Candidate sourcing
• Offer letter consultations
• And more

PEOs can also perform salary benchmarking and compensation analysis, in which third-party salary data is reviewed to ensure each position within your organization pays fairly. These services can be used for both internal and external job postings, and can aid in attracting and retaining top talent.

Another recruiting service that some PEOs provide is skills assessments. When you receive dozens of applications for a single role, choosing the right candidate can feel overwhelming. Skills assessments simplify the decision by evaluating candidates through sample work projects, job simulations, cognitive ability tests, and more, offering insights into their skill levels. Better yet, the recruiting experts at a PEO can conduct the assessments, so all you need to do is review the results and make the hiring decision.

2. Professional training

In addition to helping business leaders recruit top talent, PEOs can also help develop existing staff through a variety of professional training programs, including:

Employee training and development

PEOs can administer a wide range of employee training and development programs for both general learning and role-specific needs. Enabling employees to learn new or improve existing skills can empower and help retain them, and companies benefit from increased institutional knowledge.

Leadership coaching

The right leadership is crucial for business success. A PEO can help strengthen organizations’ leadership teams by providing coaching focusing on communication, emotional intelligence, time management, and more. Some PEOs also offer access to a learning management system with on-demand immersive content that can be developed according to company goals.

Compliance training

Another perk of working with a PEO is that its compliance experts stay updated on employer regulations, so you don’t have to. From cybersecurity threats to non-compete bans, PEOs provide training on various compliance topics so you can focus on the projects that will grow your business.

PEOs not only ensure your company maintains compliance, they also help you establish and maintain a safe work environment. By closely examining your claims history, they can identify accident trends and workers with repeat claims. They may also offer:

• Personalized claims and state unemployment claim management
• Safety and loss control and prevention
• Return-to-work programs
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and leave of absence (LOA) management

3. Actionable data

Data drives positive outcomes, and a PEO can supply plenty of it to help organizational leaders make informed decisions. Companies can leverage data to improve:

Talent acquisition

Some PEOs offer access to employee survey tools that deliver valuable insights into your workforce. You can uncover how your staff heard about their jobs and the organization, where they went to school, and their feedback on the interviewing and onboarding processes. This information can be used to improve your recruiting strategy. For example, if a significant number of employees attended the same university, visiting career fairs at that institution could be effective for future hiring efforts.

Employee retention and performance management

A PEO can equip employers with a performance management system to help identify high performers and support employees who may benefit from additional assistance. Celebrating strong staff performance and aiding those having a more challenging time can improve employee retention. Performance data can also help spot trends within departments, and uncover areas for improvement across the organization.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives

The right metrics can contribute to an equitable workplace. For example, ExtensisHR provides customers with access to a DEI Dashboard that features valuable, real-time DEI data on pay equity, salary trends across gender and race demographics, employee turnover, promotions, and more.

Business forecasting

PEOs can help small businesses grow sustainably by providing figures to forecast growth and predict future budgets, required office space, and more.

4. Employee surveys

Employee pulse surveys offer SMBs many benefits, including enhanced retention rates, lower absenteeism, increased productivity, higher employee morale, and better customer service.

PEOs can simplify many aspects of employee surveying by helping business leaders design and implement an effective survey, analyze the results, and develop an action plan based on feedback. The three primary types of employee surveys include:

• Employee opinion and satisfaction surveys: Assess workers’ views, attitudes, and perceptions
• Employee culture surveys: Measure staff’s point of view and assess whether it aligns with that of the organization and its departments
• Employee engagement surveys: Evaluate employees’ commitment, motivation, sense of purpose, and passion for their work and the company

PEO: a partnership that keeps on giving

While employee benefits and payroll services are important, PEOs offer far more. The recruiting, professional training, risk management, analytical, and employee survey services provided by PEOs can help SMBs develop well-rounded, data-driven operations.

However, not all PEOs are the same, and business leaders should do their due diligence to find one that matches their organization’s unique requirements.

For example, some PEOs have dedicated customer service teams that answer phone calls in seconds, while others rely on automated queues. Additionally, there are hundreds of PEOs operating across the U.S., so it’s essential for employers to verify credentials. Look for a partner that is an IRS Certified PEO (CPEO) and accredited by the Certification Institute and Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC).

To learn more about how PEO solutions can positively impact your company, read our blog, “7 Advantages of PEO for Small Businesses,” or contact the experts at ExtensisHR today.