By Jonathan Marino
The Defense Security Service late Tuesday announced it has located enough funding to partially resume processing of security clearances.
In a brief statement posted on its Web site, the agency said it has started processing initial requests for secret clearances. It still has not resumed its work on Top Secret clearance requests – which take more time – or on re-investigations of already cleared contractors who are renewing credentials, but said it will do so when additional funding is available.
The agency's move came on the eve of Senate and House committee hearings Wednesday to examine how DSS ran out of funds to process clearance requests, and what can be done to remedy the situation quickly. DSS' unexpected move to halt clearance processing late last month stunned and enraged some private sector managers who said it exacerbates recruitment problems. Some requests take more than a year to process.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=34105&dcn=e_ndw
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
Crisis at GSA
Agencies take their business elsewhere
After a decade-long stretch of red-hot IT sales at the General Services Administration, other federal agencies started looking elsewhere for IT procurements in 2004. In 2005, for the first time in years, GSA’s IT sales actually declined.
GSA’s information technology business is even more troubled than its chiefs initially let on. Revenues for its niche business of assisting agencies in buying highly customized systems and services — known as IT solutions — plummeted nearly $3 billion — about 40 percent — in the last two years.
Click here for full story
After a decade-long stretch of red-hot IT sales at the General Services Administration, other federal agencies started looking elsewhere for IT procurements in 2004. In 2005, for the first time in years, GSA’s IT sales actually declined.
GSA’s information technology business is even more troubled than its chiefs initially let on. Revenues for its niche business of assisting agencies in buying highly customized systems and services — known as IT solutions — plummeted nearly $3 billion — about 40 percent — in the last two years.
Click here for full story
Telework in the Buff
There is one advantage to working from home you won't hear about from those who advocate for greater flexibilities in government agency's telework policies. According to a recent survey, 10 percent of teleworkers worldwide work in the nude. Another 39 percent wear sweats when working out of their homes.
Click here for full story
Click here for full story
Lives of the Rich and Famous Tax Deadbeats
GAO finds 10 percent of GSA contractors owe back taxes
About 10 percent of all contractors hired by the General Services Administration owed $1.4 billion in unpaid taxes as of last June 30, GAO officials testified Tuesday before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.
In the third hearing on delinquent contractors, GAO officials told the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that the agency does not routinely check whether prospective contractors have tax liens against them or have failed to pay the payroll taxes they have collected from employees, which is a felony.
Some abuses were so egregious, said Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Norm Coleman, R-Minn., they could be turned into a reality TV show called, "Lives of the Rich and Famous Tax Deadbeats
Click here for full story
About 10 percent of all contractors hired by the General Services Administration owed $1.4 billion in unpaid taxes as of last June 30, GAO officials testified Tuesday before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.
In the third hearing on delinquent contractors, GAO officials told the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that the agency does not routinely check whether prospective contractors have tax liens against them or have failed to pay the payroll taxes they have collected from employees, which is a felony.
Some abuses were so egregious, said Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Norm Coleman, R-Minn., they could be turned into a reality TV show called, "Lives of the Rich and Famous Tax Deadbeats
Click here for full story
How a Loss Can Turn Into a Win
Thank you to the US Department of Health and Human Services for this story from their most recent newsletter: HHS Pulse. Subscribe here.
In 2003, the owners of a relatively new company, TurningPoint Global Solutions, pursued a small business contract with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). TurningPoint was one of 23 companies that submitted a bid even though it had no prior relationship with FDA staff. Not surprisingly, TurningPoint didn’t win the contract.
Instead, the firm’s managing partners, Bangalore Shivacharan and David Hughes, used the procurement post-award debriefing as an advantage to get TurningPoint’s foot in the door and meet what would soon become its future client. “The debriefing presented us with the opportunity to meet the FDA staff and develop personal relationships and gain the confidence with the individuals at FDA who make the procurement decisions,” said TurningPoint’s Hughes.
To learn How to Do Business with HHS and Access a $600 Billion Market click here.
In 2003, the owners of a relatively new company, TurningPoint Global Solutions, pursued a small business contract with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). TurningPoint was one of 23 companies that submitted a bid even though it had no prior relationship with FDA staff. Not surprisingly, TurningPoint didn’t win the contract.
Instead, the firm’s managing partners, Bangalore Shivacharan and David Hughes, used the procurement post-award debriefing as an advantage to get TurningPoint’s foot in the door and meet what would soon become its future client. “The debriefing presented us with the opportunity to meet the FDA staff and develop personal relationships and gain the confidence with the individuals at FDA who make the procurement decisions,” said TurningPoint’s Hughes.
To learn How to Do Business with HHS and Access a $600 Billion Market click here.
10 Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs
Fortune Small Business (FSB) is out with an interesting list of ten cool colleges for entrepreneurs. Instead of ranking schools, FSB opted to list schools that are doing interesting and innovative things in terms of teaching entrepreneurship.
The list includes:
-DePaul
-Florida International (FIU)
-Harvard
-Howard
-Simmons College
-Sitting Bull College
-University of Arizona
-Tucson
-University of Colorado
-Boulder
-University of Texas
-Austin and the University of Rochester
Several of these schools (FlU, Howard, and Rochester) were winners of grants from the Kauffman Campuses Initiative, sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. Others had unique niches like Sitting Bull College’s focus on Native American entrepreneurship, Colorado’s stress on “green” entrepreneurship, and Simmons College’s focus on supporting women entrepreneurs.
Click here for the article “Ten Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs,” by Patricia Gray, which appears in the March 2, 2006 edition of Fortune Small Business.
The list includes:
-DePaul
-Florida International (FIU)
-Harvard
-Howard
-Simmons College
-Sitting Bull College
-University of Arizona
-Tucson
-University of Colorado
-Boulder
-University of Texas
-Austin and the University of Rochester
Several of these schools (FlU, Howard, and Rochester) were winners of grants from the Kauffman Campuses Initiative, sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. Others had unique niches like Sitting Bull College’s focus on Native American entrepreneurship, Colorado’s stress on “green” entrepreneurship, and Simmons College’s focus on supporting women entrepreneurs.
Click here for the article “Ten Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs,” by Patricia Gray, which appears in the March 2, 2006 edition of Fortune Small Business.
Security Institute Conference
The Third Annual Government Security Market:Opportunities and Challenges
•April 24-25, 2006
National Press Club529
14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20045
The Security Institute was created to further the education and information sharing among providers of security services and security end users. We partner with many leading organizations and associations working to improve security by opening additional lines of communication between commercial vendors of security products and services and a wide range of security end users, including the corporate and government communities. The Security Institute offers educational programs for security service provider management regarding business operations and marketing, as well as targeted programs for security end users.
For more information and registration, click here
•April 24-25, 2006
National Press Club529
14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20045
The Security Institute was created to further the education and information sharing among providers of security services and security end users. We partner with many leading organizations and associations working to improve security by opening additional lines of communication between commercial vendors of security products and services and a wide range of security end users, including the corporate and government communities. The Security Institute offers educational programs for security service provider management regarding business operations and marketing, as well as targeted programs for security end users.
For more information and registration, click here
OSDBU Conference April 20, 2006
Come by the TargetGov booth #205 on Thursday, April 20, 2006
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Show Place Arena
14900 Pennsylvania Avenue
Upper Marlboro, MD
The OSDBU Procurement Conference is a national conference fostering business partnerships between the Federal Government, its Prime Contractors, and small, minority, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, and women-owned businesses.
The cost to attend the OSDBU 2006 Conference is $100 for industry attendees registering before 4/1/2006 and $175 for industry attendees registering on or after 4/1/2006.
Click here to go to the secure on-line attendee registration form.
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Show Place Arena
14900 Pennsylvania Avenue
Upper Marlboro, MD
The OSDBU Procurement Conference is a national conference fostering business partnerships between the Federal Government, its Prime Contractors, and small, minority, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, and women-owned businesses.
The cost to attend the OSDBU 2006 Conference is $100 for industry attendees registering before 4/1/2006 and $175 for industry attendees registering on or after 4/1/2006.
Click here to go to the secure on-line attendee registration form.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Hiring Strategies for Entrepreneurs Seeking Top Talent
Identifying and hiring the top team to help take a company to the next level is one the toughest challenges faced by entrepreneurs. A new collection of articles on the Kauffman eVenturing website addresses that challenge, looking to help business owners become more successful in their quest to hire more “A-list” winners. Filled with practical, actionable advice written by experienced entrepreneurs and hiring experts, the articles emphasize the longer-term value of using a more structured, disciplined approach to add an element of ‘science’ to the art of hiring the best people for an entrepreneurial company.
To read the full collection on “Methods for Evaluating Top Team Candidates” please visit Kauffman eVenturing at www.eVenturing.org.
To read the full collection on “Methods for Evaluating Top Team Candidates” please visit Kauffman eVenturing at www.eVenturing.org.
Monday, March 06, 2006
U.S. Department of Defense Contracts
McDonnell Douglas Corp, St Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $240,060,000 firm fixed price with cost reimbursement type for alternate disputes resolution contract for Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Lot 10 Guided Vehicle (GV) kits quantity of 10,000. The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) weapon system provides the Air Force and the Navy with an improved aerial delivery capability for existing 500, 1000 and 2000-pound bombs. The JDAM is a strap-on kit with Inertial Navigation System (INS/Global Positioning Systems (GPS) capability. At this time, total funds have been obligated. Solicitations began in November 2005 and negotiations were complete in March 2006. This work will be complete March 2008. The Headquarters Air to Ground Munitions Systems Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8681-06-C-0058).
For more information:
http://www.dod.mil/contracts/2006/ct20060303-12595.html
For more information:
http://www.dod.mil/contracts/2006/ct20060303-12595.html
DHS earns poor marks from House Democrats
By Alice Lipowicz
3/02/2006
Government Computer News
The Homeland Security Department scored a D grade for emergency preparedness, critical infrastructure protection, redress for errors on the terrorist watch list, and overall procurement and contracting, according to the 2006 annual report card issued by Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee.
The department received C’s for port, aviation and transportation security, border security, chemical plant protection, information-sharing, science and technology, and cybersecurity. The highest grades were B-minuses for the Safecom interoperability program and for privacy protection.
“In the past three years, the department’s evolution has been a troubled one,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), senior Democrat on the committee, said in a news release.
While, thankfully, the department has not yet been tested by another terrorist attack, its performance fell well below expectations in the face of Mother Nature and Hurricane Katrina last year,” he wrote.
For full story
http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/38366-1.html
3/02/2006
Government Computer News
The Homeland Security Department scored a D grade for emergency preparedness, critical infrastructure protection, redress for errors on the terrorist watch list, and overall procurement and contracting, according to the 2006 annual report card issued by Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee.
The department received C’s for port, aviation and transportation security, border security, chemical plant protection, information-sharing, science and technology, and cybersecurity. The highest grades were B-minuses for the Safecom interoperability program and for privacy protection.
“In the past three years, the department’s evolution has been a troubled one,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), senior Democrat on the committee, said in a news release.
While, thankfully, the department has not yet been tested by another terrorist attack, its performance fell well below expectations in the face of Mother Nature and Hurricane Katrina last year,” he wrote.
For full story
http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/38366-1.html
The Incredible Shrinking Company: Corporate giants snag federal small business set-aside contracts
By Christopher Moraff
January/February 2006
Dollars & Sense Magazine
Between 2002 and 2005, St. Augustine, Fla., exercise equipment vendor Raul Espinosa watched mystified as, one after another, a series of Air Force contracts he had placed bids on were given to other companies. Of the 14 bids that Espinosa has documented, his company, FitNet International, did not win one. To his surprise, Espinosa learned that some of the competitors he was losing contracts to had never even bothered to bid on them.
Espinosa was no stranger to adversity. At 14 he came to the United States alone from Cuba and managed to work his way through college and graduate school. He formed FitNet in 1995 to sell exercise equipment to the U.S. military. A certified minority-owned small business, FitNet describes itself as a purchasing alliance that represents over 400 equipment suppliers. The company has three employees and grosses under $1 million a year.
Now, Espinosa was getting a first-class lesson in corporate pandering that he'd never bargained for; it would take him three years to uncover the full story.
Click here for full story:
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2006/0106moraff.html
January/February 2006
Dollars & Sense Magazine
Between 2002 and 2005, St. Augustine, Fla., exercise equipment vendor Raul Espinosa watched mystified as, one after another, a series of Air Force contracts he had placed bids on were given to other companies. Of the 14 bids that Espinosa has documented, his company, FitNet International, did not win one. To his surprise, Espinosa learned that some of the competitors he was losing contracts to had never even bothered to bid on them.
Espinosa was no stranger to adversity. At 14 he came to the United States alone from Cuba and managed to work his way through college and graduate school. He formed FitNet in 1995 to sell exercise equipment to the U.S. military. A certified minority-owned small business, FitNet describes itself as a purchasing alliance that represents over 400 equipment suppliers. The company has three employees and grosses under $1 million a year.
Now, Espinosa was getting a first-class lesson in corporate pandering that he'd never bargained for; it would take him three years to uncover the full story.
Click here for full story:
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2006/0106moraff.html
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Federal IT Dollars
President Bush’s fiscal year 2007 budget, released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will favor information technology (IT) requests in support of the war on terror and homeland security. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) IT budget increase is the most significant, with an increase of 21% to more than $4.4 billion. The President’s budget adds $772 million to the DHS fiscal ’07 budget, which represents 44% of the new money added to federal IT spending overall.
Federal agencies plan to spend $64.3 billion on IT in fiscal ’07, which represents a 3% increase from the fiscal ’06 budget. “The message delivered by OMB is that performance and measurement will play critical roles in the review and approval of budgeted spending, especially the close review of agency-by-agency progress reports on meeting administration goals for managing IT projects and developing effective business cases,” said James Krouse, acting director, public sector market analysis for INPUT.
Overall, 21 of 27 civilian agencies received an IT budget increase. Other significant agency winners in the President’s budget request include the Department of Labor, with a more than 13% increase, and the Department of the Interior, with a nearly 9% increase. Cybersecurity has also been elevated as a priority area with a budget increase to $5.2 billion.
Federal agencies plan to spend $64.3 billion on IT in fiscal ’07, which represents a 3% increase from the fiscal ’06 budget. “The message delivered by OMB is that performance and measurement will play critical roles in the review and approval of budgeted spending, especially the close review of agency-by-agency progress reports on meeting administration goals for managing IT projects and developing effective business cases,” said James Krouse, acting director, public sector market analysis for INPUT.
Overall, 21 of 27 civilian agencies received an IT budget increase. Other significant agency winners in the President’s budget request include the Department of Labor, with a more than 13% increase, and the Department of the Interior, with a nearly 9% increase. Cybersecurity has also been elevated as a priority area with a budget increase to $5.2 billion.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Federal Government Contracting Driving Growth
Record federal spending, which has increased significantly in the Greater Washington area since 9/11, continues to be the engine driving the current economic upswing. At an Economic Conference today, Stephen Fuller, PhD, Director, Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, announced that the U.S. Government spent $339 billion nationally in federal procurement in fiscal year 2004. More than 15 percent ($52.6 billion) of this national total stayed in the Greater Washington region. This represents a 19 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.
Which sector is benefiting most from the increase in federal dollars? The area’s technology sector has been the winner for the past few years. According to Dr. Fuller, the government accounts for more than 70 percent of the sales of technology products and services in Greater Washington.
www.greaterwashington.org
Which sector is benefiting most from the increase in federal dollars? The area’s technology sector has been the winner for the past few years. According to Dr. Fuller, the government accounts for more than 70 percent of the sales of technology products and services in Greater Washington.
www.greaterwashington.org
Small businesses (under 500 employees) won over $100 billion in federal contracts in 2004
Small businesses (under 500 employees) won $69 billion in federal prime contracts in fiscal 2004, or 23 percent of the total pot of almost $300 billion that was open to small companies, according to a report released Thursday by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.
Subcontracting figures were unavailable for 2004, but were estimated at nearly $50 billion based on projections from 2003 subcontracts valued at about $45.5 billion, according to the document.
Click here for the full story:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33104&printerfriendlyVers=1&
Subcontracting figures were unavailable for 2004, but were estimated at nearly $50 billion based on projections from 2003 subcontracts valued at about $45.5 billion, according to the document.
Click here for the full story:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33104&printerfriendlyVers=1&
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
SBA adjusts size standards for inflation
Almost 12,000 companies will be re-classified as small businesses after a move by the Small Business Administration to factor three and one-half years of inflation into its monetary-based size standards. SBA increased the size standard for business and personal services firms from $6 million to $6.5 million. Size standards for other industries that are higher than $6 million also reflect similar percentage increases, the report states. Full Article
Minority-Owned Joint Venture Lands Federal IT Work
By Roseanne Gerin
Special to The Washington PostMonday, December 5, 2005; Page D04
Energy Enterprise Solutions LLC won a $1 billion contract from the Energy Department to provide consolidated information technology services, one of the largest federal IT services contracts ever awarded to a small business.
The contract also appears to be the first ever billion-dollar award made to a joint venture of two minority-owned firms, said Rodney P. Hunt, president and chief executive of RS Information Systems Inc. of McLean, one of the contract partners. The other is 1 Source Consulting Inc. of Seabrook.
Click here to read more.
Special to The Washington PostMonday, December 5, 2005; Page D04
Energy Enterprise Solutions LLC won a $1 billion contract from the Energy Department to provide consolidated information technology services, one of the largest federal IT services contracts ever awarded to a small business.
The contract also appears to be the first ever billion-dollar award made to a joint venture of two minority-owned firms, said Rodney P. Hunt, president and chief executive of RS Information Systems Inc. of McLean, one of the contract partners. The other is 1 Source Consulting Inc. of Seabrook.
Click here to read more.
IRS SETS STANDARD MILEAGE RATES FOR 2006
The IRS this week lowered the optional standard mileage rate for 2006 to 44.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from the 48.5 cent rate set for the last third of 2005.
The standard mileage rate is used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The 48.5 cent rate set for the last four months of 2005 was a one-time adjustment in response to the sharp increase in gas prices, which topped $3 a gallon. The standard mileage rate for the first two-thirds of 2005 was set at 40.5 cents per mile.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2006, the standard mileage rates for use of a car (including vans and pickup trucks) for medical or moving purposes will be 18 cents per mile. The rate for miles driven in service of charitable organizations, other than activities related to Katrina, will be 14 cents per mile. For 2006, the Katrina-related charitable rates will be 32 cents per mile for deduction purposes and 44.5 cents per mile for reimbursement purposes.
The standard mileage rate is used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The 48.5 cent rate set for the last four months of 2005 was a one-time adjustment in response to the sharp increase in gas prices, which topped $3 a gallon. The standard mileage rate for the first two-thirds of 2005 was set at 40.5 cents per mile.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2006, the standard mileage rates for use of a car (including vans and pickup trucks) for medical or moving purposes will be 18 cents per mile. The rate for miles driven in service of charitable organizations, other than activities related to Katrina, will be 14 cents per mile. For 2006, the Katrina-related charitable rates will be 32 cents per mile for deduction purposes and 44.5 cents per mile for reimbursement purposes.
Small businesses struggle to win hurricane relief contracts
By Kimberly Palmer mailto:Palmerkpalmer@govexec.com
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Kevin Arvay, a satellite communications consultant based in Leesburg , Va. , started calling federal agencies charged with cleanup and reconstruction. He thought he could help build their communications systems.
Arvay is still waiting for a return call. "It's frustrating, because you're sitting here knowing you can do something," he said.
Like hundreds of other small contractors, Arvay wants to be part of the enormous relief effort, but he has had difficulty getting the right people on the phone. As in many emergency situations, contracts are being awarded quickly, outside the normal competitive process, meaning that relationships matter as much as skills. Small companies could have a tough time winning government business in this environment.
Full Article
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Kevin Arvay, a satellite communications consultant based in Leesburg , Va. , started calling federal agencies charged with cleanup and reconstruction. He thought he could help build their communications systems.
Arvay is still waiting for a return call. "It's frustrating, because you're sitting here knowing you can do something," he said.
Like hundreds of other small contractors, Arvay wants to be part of the enormous relief effort, but he has had difficulty getting the right people on the phone. As in many emergency situations, contracts are being awarded quickly, outside the normal competitive process, meaning that relationships matter as much as skills. Small companies could have a tough time winning government business in this environment.
Full Article
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Ramping up quickly to win a contract: A solution for small and medium-sized contractors
In the wake of disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, government contracting opportunities grow. But winning those contracts often depends on hiring and orienting new employees quickly. For a large company with a sizable human resources department, bringing on a new workforce is merely a challenge. For smaller organizations, it can seem like an insurmountable obstacle.
A growing number of contractors are finding a solution by hiring a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), which functions as an HR department for small and medium-sized companies.
The advantages of a PEO include:
§ Assistance with hiring and orientation: A full-service PEO such as Administaff can assist client companies in all facets of hiring, including placing ads, reviewing resumes, interviewing and conducting background checks, and employee orientation.
§ Accurate contract proposals : A PEO gives a company the capability to quantify the annual cost of each employee to make an accurate calculation of direct hourly costs.
§ Answers from specialists: A PEO can provide guidance and answers to many of the questions regarding personnel-related issues.
§ Regulatory compliance: PEOs stay updated on changes in employer-related laws and regulations and assist companies in staying compliant.
§ Access to reports for contract audits : Some PEOs provide 24/7 access online to information and reports for complying with contract audit requirements.
§ Attract new employees with big-company benefits : Some PEOs offer medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability insurance, retirement programs, tuition reimbursement, and adoption assistance – benefits typically found at large corporations.
Outsourcing their HR to a PEO allows small companies to function like big ones. It is just one of the reasons behind the growing trend. In fact, the Gartner Group predicts that more than 85 percent of U.S. employers will outsource at least one HR function in the future.
Whether it is landing a first-time contract or adding larger contracts to the roster, working with a PEO can give contracting companies a competitive edge in winning proposals.
Article provided by Rob Kimmel and Peter Pfeiffer, district managers in Administaff’s Washington , D.C. offices. Administaff (NYSE: ASF), the nation’s leading Professional Employer Organization, serves as a full-service human resources department for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. For more information, call 1-800-465-3800 or visit www.administaff.com.
A growing number of contractors are finding a solution by hiring a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), which functions as an HR department for small and medium-sized companies.
The advantages of a PEO include:
§ Assistance with hiring and orientation: A full-service PEO such as Administaff can assist client companies in all facets of hiring, including placing ads, reviewing resumes, interviewing and conducting background checks, and employee orientation.
§ Accurate contract proposals : A PEO gives a company the capability to quantify the annual cost of each employee to make an accurate calculation of direct hourly costs.
§ Answers from specialists: A PEO can provide guidance and answers to many of the questions regarding personnel-related issues.
§ Regulatory compliance: PEOs stay updated on changes in employer-related laws and regulations and assist companies in staying compliant.
§ Access to reports for contract audits : Some PEOs provide 24/7 access online to information and reports for complying with contract audit requirements.
§ Attract new employees with big-company benefits : Some PEOs offer medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability insurance, retirement programs, tuition reimbursement, and adoption assistance – benefits typically found at large corporations.
Outsourcing their HR to a PEO allows small companies to function like big ones. It is just one of the reasons behind the growing trend. In fact, the Gartner Group predicts that more than 85 percent of U.S. employers will outsource at least one HR function in the future.
Whether it is landing a first-time contract or adding larger contracts to the roster, working with a PEO can give contracting companies a competitive edge in winning proposals.
Article provided by Rob Kimmel and Peter Pfeiffer, district managers in Administaff’s Washington , D.C. offices. Administaff (NYSE: ASF), the nation’s leading Professional Employer Organization, serves as a full-service human resources department for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. For more information, call 1-800-465-3800 or visit www.administaff.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)