For any business, supporting the lifecycle of an employee is a significant investment of time, money and energy. But for small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, it can be a major financial drain.
A newly formed company, StratEx Partners, caters to small and medium-sized businesses — typically between 20 and 150 employees — that are looking for a cost-effective way to handle their HR needs. From employee recruiting to payroll management to sexual-harassment prevention, StratEx Partners handles the full spectrum of human resources administration. And they do it for a lot less than what it costs to employee a full-time HR manager.
In addition, StratEx Partners make sure that companies are adhering to all of the required federal and state compliance regulations, including COBRA, HIPAA, and OSHA. They also provide an array of risk management solutions that help companies deal with unemployment claims, safety training, worker's compensation, and employee termination.
HR Outsourcing Keeps Costs Down
Adam Ochstein, one of the founders of StratEx Partners, formed the company in 2002 because, as he saw it, "too many small businesses were struggling with putting together an effective in-house human resources strategy. I knew that these companies were looking for a better way to manage it all, and outsourcing was the perfect solution."
Outsourcing not only takes care of the management side of human resources, it also helps control costs. And expense containment is one of the biggest concerns that small businesses face today. Affirms Ochstein, "Many smaller companies simply cannot afford a full-time human resources manager. So we step in and say, 'outsource your HR needs to StratEx and you'll spend roughly the same amount that you spend on payroll alone.' Once they understand how cost-effective it truly is, it becomes a viable option for them."
StratEx Partners' Marketing Challenges
As a new company, one of StratEx Partners' own challenges was figuring out how to market their services to the small business community. A new Web site was a strategic first step. "A significant portion of our business relies on the Internet, so it just made sense that establishing a Web presence was priority number one", says Ochstein.
The site was designed to assert the benefits of doing business with StratEx Partners while also building credibility. "We knew that small businesses would be looking at our site to make a judgment about who we are and what we do, so a professional-looking Web site was absolutely necessary."
Interactivity Key
StratEx Partners also needed their site to do more than just provide information. Therefore, a special customers-only section was developed. In this area, customers can log in using a secure username and password to perform an array of human resources tasks online.
This self-service portal provides quick and easy access to customized information, including payroll, benefits, and insurance forms. "We wanted our Web site to do more than just display words about what we do; we also wanted it to be interactive, to enable our customers to use the Web for a convenient and paper-free record keeping." Employees can use the Web site to access forms and procedural manuals, view pay stubs, request time off, view W2s, and find information on an array of other subjects including their employee-benefit plans.
Looking Ahead
StratEx Partners is looking forward to building additional online tools to make HR outsourcing as convenient and current as possible. According to Ochstein, "We know that our customers' HR needs are constantly changing. A new labor law or healthcare benefits provider for example, will have an immediate effect on their business. That's why finding a Web developer that could grow with us was very important. And Americaneagle.com was the kind of company that could do that."
To learn more about StratEx Partners, please visit www.stratexpartners.com or call 877-4-HRDEPT.