Kansas small business owners, here’s how to get away from all the paperwork | Opinion
Small businesses are the heart of Kansas. They line the main streets of Wichita and Topeka, anchor rural communities, and employ the neighbors and families that make this state what it is. Yet across the country — and right here in Kansas — the burden of running a small business has grown heavier every year. Rising compliance costs, complex employment laws and the pressure to offer competitive benefits are pushing small business owners to their limits. This week, as Kansas recognizes May 17-23 as Professional Employer Organization or PEO Week, we want to make the case that the right policy and business environment can change that — and that PEOs are already part of the solution.
Kansas has always had a strong entrepreneurial culture. From agriculture and manufacturing to professional services and real estate, this is a state built on hard work and independence. But ambition alone doesn’t keep a business alive, and the administrative and regulatory weight on small businesses today is real.
Payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, human resources compliance, benefits administration — each is a discipline of its own. Together, they can eat up hours every week that small business owners don’t have. That’s time not spent serving customers, developing products or investing in their teams.
The problem isn’t drive or determination. Kansas small business owners have both in abundance. The problem is that the compliance and HR infrastructure required to run a competitive business today was built for large corporations with entire departments dedicated to it — not for a 20-person firm in Overland Park or a family-owned operation in Salina.
That’s exactly the gap PEOs fill. A PEO serves as a co-employer, taking on payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation and HR compliance so small business owners don’t have to go it alone. The businesses PEOs serve can offer their employees Fortune 500-level benefits and retirement plans they couldn’t otherwise afford. In Kansas, nearly 1,000 small and mid-sized businesses already work with PEOs, supporting more than 20,000 employees statewide — across industries including professional and technical services, real estate, hospitality, construction and manufacturing.
For the small businesses that work with PEOs, the impact goes beyond paperwork. When a small employer can offer the same quality of benefits as a large corporation, they become far more competitive in the labor market. That matters enormously in a state where retaining good employees can be key to a business’ success.
The research confirms it. Independent studies show that businesses working with a PEO grow twice as fast as comparable businesses, experience 12% lower turnover, are 50% less likely to go out of business and realize a 27% return on investment through cost savings alone. In a state where small businesses are critical to the economic fabric of communities large and small, those outcomes aren’t just impressive — they’re exactly what Kansas needs more of.
PEOs are also good for Kansas as a whole. They help ensure that the state receives the right payroll and unemployment insurance taxes and that workers receive the benefits they are entitled to. Employees at PEO-supported businesses save for retirement at higher rates than their counterparts elsewhere. Strong small businesses mean stronger workers and stronger communities — and a stronger Kansas.
Kansas PEO Week is an opportunity to elevate a conversation that matters. Nationally, PEOs serve more than 230,000 small and midsize businesses employing more than 4.5 million people. The model works. More Kansas small business owners deserve to know it’s available to them — and policymakers should recognize the role PEOs play in strengthening the businesses and workers they represent.
If you’re a small business owner in Kansas and you’re spending too many hours on HR, struggling to offer competitive benefits or trying to keep up with compliance requirements, a PEO may be the most valuable business decision you make. And if you’re a policymaker, we encourage you to support the policies and business environment that allow PEOs and the small businesses they serve to thrive.
Because when small businesses win, Kansas wins.
Bill Maness is board chair of the 501(c)(6) business league National Association of Professional Employer Organizations and CEO of Kansas-based PEO Syndeo Outsourcing.