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Our verdict
Our verdict
Insperity is a large, well-established US Professional Employer Organization (PEO) with over 90 offices throughout the US. It offers HR consulting and outsourcing services, recruitment, various benefits packages, and a proprietary online platform with HR analytics information.
Pros
- Dedicated HR teams can be contacted directly and in-person
- Recruitment services available
Cons
- No international employee options
- No freelancer options
Score 9 out of 10
How is this calculated?
We calculate the Overall Rating by combining the ratings of several testing categories.
Learn more by reading our testing and review methodology.
US only
Not publicly available
Direct deposit, payroll debit card, e-pay stub
Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) help businesses compliantly hire employees in multiple jurisdictions, administer payroll and benefits, and often outsource many HR functions. Employees hired under a PEO arrangement are legally employed by the PEO, which is responsible and liable for tax reporting and other compliance issues.
Read our 2023 review on the key features, pros, cons, and prices of the leading US PEO, Insperity.
Overview
Insperity is a Certified PEO (CPEO) established in 1986 and publicly listed since 1997. It boasts over 90 locations throughout the United States and a 4.5-star rating from Consumer Affairs. Insperity has repeatedly been recognized as the best PEO for small businesses by Business Daily and named the Preferred HR Solution for Middle Market Companies by the Association for Corporate Growth. In the RemotePad top ten PEO ranking, Insperity was recognized as the best PEO for small businesses and startups.
Insperity prides itself on providing a proprietary platform with powerful HR analytics and assisting clients personally with experienced, regionally focused HR service teams.
As can be seen in the chart below breaking down the client base of Insperity, Insperity has a diverse range of clients across various industries (for more information on the kinds of business that can benefit from a PEO, check our article ‘Is there a typical business type that uses a PEO?’).
Key Features
1. PEO
In the past, PEOs worked on a face-to-face basis with clients; acting as a compliance and HR consultant that was an integral part of the client company’s growth strategy: Modern PEO platforms, like Insperity, leverage IT systems for employee management and customer relations, and focus more on technological solutions than personal relationships with clients.
Insperity attempts to bridge the divide between tech and service with a solution that is both highly personal and takes advantage of cutting-edge data analytics
Insperity works with different national size medical, dental, and vision insurance providers to offer a range of options. It can also administer flexible spending accounts and health savings account programs for health care expenses. It automatically enrolls eligible employees in basic term life insurance and personal accident insurance, with coverage equal to the employee’s annual earnings. Eligible employees are also automatically enrolled in basic disability insurance; both short and long-term disability insurance covers 60% of weekly earnings. It administers an employee assistance program that can help provide addiction and recovery assistance, emotional wellbeing support, and even prepaid professional counseling for members of an employee’s household.
Employees are able to select their own benefits plans directly from the self-service portal, and are free to manage those plans on their own. It even includes a benefits planning tool to help employees choose the best plan for them.
Insperity also offers and administers a 401(k) plan with flexible employer contributions, pretax and Roth contributions, automatic enrollment, loans, and withdrawals. Insperity is the plan sponsor itself, which they claim undercuts industry average fees from 40 to 60%. Insperity even allows employees to sponsor their own customized 401(k).
2. Payroll
Of Insperity’s 2,613 new clients in 2021, 99% of first payrolls were processed with no errors, and 99.6% of subsequent payrolls were accurately run.
Insperity can process employee paychecks for direct deposit, electronic paystub, or pay card. It will file payroll taxes such as W-2s and W-4s, and manage withholding and remittances. All payroll information is provided on the platform for management from in-house HR and accounting teams. Payroll specialists are even available for consultation through the HR service team.
The platform integrates time tracking, clock-ins, and Personal Time Off (PTO) with the payroll system for a fast birds-eye view of the entire workforce. Insperity can even generate over 50 reports analyzing payroll data and provide custom reports for some customers.
The payroll service handles all wage garnishments such as remittances to government agencies, student loan payments, levies, and child support orders.
3. HR
Insperity provides clients with service teams of HR professionals for quick answers to queries, as well as deeper consultations and strategy sessions. Teams are assigned to clients individually based on their region and business needs. According to Insperity, each service team has, on average, over 60 years of professional HR experience combined. Clients are given direct access to their service team, rather than through a call center, providing fast answers and advice; response times are usually within two hours, and 98% of calls are resolved within 8 minutes.
The service team also provides recruitment support, consultation on building competitive HR systems, liability management training, performance management support, and company culture development assistance.
The HR service teams and the Insperity platform oversee “paperless” onboarding, and complete management and administration of benefits plans (when those plans are provided by Insperity).
An impressive amount of online training material is also available; over 10,000 ebooks, 2,500 videos, and 4,500 online courses available. This material includes professional certification support for those studying for IT and business certification.
4. Compliance
The HR team assigned to a client is based in the same region and is well-versed and up-to-date on the local regulatory environment. Insperity verifies employment eligibility, and provides a number of risk management services.
To help prevent and ameliorate compliance issues, the service offers competitively priced works workers’ compensation insurance, administration of workers’ compensation claims, reporting to and interfacing with the Department of Labor, workplace hazard review, safety training, Fair Credit Report Act and Ban the Box guidance, employee practices liability insurance, training and assistance on satisfying Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requirements and those of other fair employment practices agencies, as well as HR counseling on employee relations.
5. Platform
The proprietary software platform was developed by Insperity specifically to provide tools to PEO clients. It is the same platform used by the Insperity team, so tips and assistance are always near at hand.
All processes handled through the platform are integrated, so there is never a need for multiple entries. From the platform, employers can access time and attendance reports, track applicants, onboard new employees, create custom reports, monitor and manage employee performance, view and process payroll, and keep secure records.
The platform combines predictive analytic tools to bring insights into workforce data and goes a step further by providing consultation on how to make the best decisions based on the data. This combination of analytics and consultation can help business owners understand where the workforce is inefficient, develop strategies to control overtime work, analyze company diversity and inclusion, develop succession and retention plans, model flight risk, and compare company data to established benchmarks.
The employee self-service version of the app provides instant access to payroll data, tax records, and performance reviews. Employees can enroll in benefits programs, track time worked, and request Personal Time Off. It also includes online learning options and can broadcast companywide announcements. Employees can also access social, emotional, and physical health resources directly through the portal.
Workforce Optimization - How the Insperity platform streamlines small business HR administration
Pricing
Insperity pricing information is available by request only.
User Reviews
We examined Insperity’s customer reviews on top review sites
- G2 = 3.8/5 (out of 29 reviews)
- Consumer Affairs = 4.4/5 (out of 103 reviews).
Based on these reviews, Insperity comes out on top as one of the best-regarded PEOs in the United States when it comes to customer experience
Pros and Cons
Pros
Benefits of engaging an Insperity PEO solution include:
- Recruitment services which mean an end-to-end hiring solution, allowing businesses to grow their workforce quickly and easily
- Flexible benefits plans, providing a wide array of options to suit many different industries and unique requirements
- Dedicated HR teams, based in one of 90 regional offices to provide close-at-hand support
- A proprietary platform with built-in analytics empowers business owners with the data they need to optimize their HR.
Cons
Potential drawbacks of engaging Insperity as a PEO include:
- Pricing is not publicly available, making it difficult to compare with other services
- No support for international employees or freelancers.
Unique Selling Point
A flexible national PEO service combining the best of tech platforms and one-on-one consultation. Insperity seeks to provide the best of both worlds with cutting-edge data analytics and a powerful platform, alongside dedicated, regionally-based consulting teams of HR professionals. Though it is a large, well-established national PEO, Insperity provides regionally tailored consultation driven by personal communication and consultation.
This regional support is a feature which sets Insperity apart from many of its competitors.
RemotePad Score for Insperity
9/10 Our expert score for Insperity
Our team came to this score by considering the following components in the following weightings:
PEO features | 25% |
Payroll features | 10% |
HR features | 10% |
Compliance features | 10% |
Platform features | 10% |
Pricing | 20% |
User reviews | 15% |
For each component, Insperity received the following score:
PEO features | 23/25 |
Payroll features | 9/10 |
HR features | 9/10 |
Compliance features | 9/10 |
Platform features | 9/10 |
Pricing | 18/20 |
User reviews | 13/15 |
Top alternatives (competitors)
Top provider for:
Customer focus
Monthly fee
Custom pricing
Top provider for:
Small businesses
Monthly fee
Custom pricing
Top provider for:
International support
Monthly fee
$770per employee
Our verdict
Insperity will appeal to business owners that want access to as much HR analytics data as possible, and employers that prefer a face-to-face relationship with their service providers. This combination of a powerful IT system and personal customer support will have wide appeal. The service is also highly flexible, with options ranging from payroll administration and HR assistance to full PEO services.
Businesses that wish to hire international remote professionals will have to look elsewhere, and prospective clients will need to request a quote to compare the competitiveness of the PEO service and benefits packages. Despite these potential drawbacks, the service will be very attractive to many regional and national size businesses looking for a scaleable payroll, HR, and PEO solution.
FAQ
Insperity was founded in 1986 under the name, Administaff. In 2022 its annual revenue had reached $5.9 billion. It is publicly traded under the ticker NYSE:NSP.
Insperitys corporate headquarters are located Kingwood, Texas. It operates sales and service centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.
With that said, there are a few different ways that a PEO can be classified as a co-employer. For example, if the PEO provides workers' compensation insurance for the employees of its clients, then it would be considered a co-employer under federal law. Similarly, if the PEO acts as an agent for its clients when it comes to payroll or human resources, then it would also be considered a co-employer.
However, it's important to note that not all PEOs will be classified as co-employers. In order to make this determination, you'll need to look at the specific arrangement that you have with your PEO.
Over the least twenty years, Insperity has acquired Galaxy Technologies and ExpensAble.
Insperity's first quarter 2023 revenue was $1.8 billion, for a gross profit of $332 million. This represents a growth of 12 percent in revenue and 16 percent in gross profit over the previous quarter.