Dive Brief:

• Start-ups who typically rely on professional employer organizations (PEOs) to run their HR functions may have other options, according to Technical.ly Brooklyn.
• Because start-ups compete for the same talent as larger companies, PEOs give them value by creating a valuable employee benefits package with the perks required to lure top talent.
• Technical.ly guest columist Harrison Newman says employers who crack the 100 full-time equivalent employees mark can begin to think more in-house HR and less PEO because they could enjoy some serious cost savings.

Dive Insight:

According to the article, tech firms, for example, tend to have younger workforces, so they can negotiate with health plans from a stronger bargaining position that a PEO. But no matter the industry, start-ups looking to shed the PEO arrangement can enjoy more flexibility in creating a customized benefits package and wellness programs. And there always is chance to self-insure.

Newman says there is no wiggle room. Once a start-up or smaller company decides to go its own way, it has to do so completely and that can sound intimidating. But it can be done, he writes, adding that a client in Brooklyn that went from 20-120 employees in under two years saved 29% by making the move, which translated to $386,000 in savings annually.