What is a PEO?
A professional employer organization (PEO) co-employs your workforce to run payroll, benefits, HR administration, and compliance, so you can employ people without carrying the full administrative and legal load yourself.
Talk to an expert
A PEO becomes the employer of record for tax and administrative purposes through co-employment. You keep full control of what your people work on; the PEO handles the machinery of employing them.
How does a PEO work?
A PEO operates through co-employment: a legal arrangement in which the PEO and your business share defined employer responsibilities. The PEO handles payroll processing, tax withholding and filing, benefits administration, and compliance with employment regulations. You continue to hire, manage, and direct your employees. That split lets small and midsize companies use enterprise-grade HR infrastructure and benefits while carrying less administrative overhead and employment risk.
What does a PEO handle?
- Payroll processing, tax withholding, and filings
- Benefits administration, including health coverage and retirement plans
- HR administration, onboarding, and employee records
- Compliance with employment law, tax, and reporting requirements
- Risk and workers’ compensation management
What a PEO does not do
A PEO doesn’t take over management of your business or your people. You decide who to hire, what they work on, and how they perform. A PEO also can’t, on its own, employ workers in a country where you have no legal entity, that takes a global PEO or Employer of Record.
PEO vs. global PEO vs. EOR
A traditional (US) PEO co-employs workers where your company already has an entity. A global PEO employs workers in countries where you don’t, acting as the legal Employer of Record (EOR) in that market. If you’re hiring outside your home country, the global PEO/EOR model is what you need. For a side-by-side, see PEO vs EOR: When to Use Each and What Is a Global PEO?
When should you use a PEO?
A PEO makes sense when you want to reduce HR administrative load, offer stronger benefits, stay compliant across jurisdictions, or grow a team quickly without building an internal HR and payroll function. If that growth is international, a global PEO removes the added barrier of setting up a legal entity in each new country.
Frequently asked questions
What does PEO stand for?
PEO stands for professional employer organization, a firm that co-employs your staff to manage payroll, benefits, HR, and compliance.
Is a PEO the same as an EOR?
Not exactly. A PEO co-employs workers where you already have a legal entity. An EOR becomes the sole legal employer, which is what makes hiring in a new country possible without your own entity. Internationally, a global PEO operates as an EOR.
Do I lose control of my employees with a PEO?
No. Co-employment splits responsibilities: the PEO handles employment administration and compliance, while you keep full control of your employees’ work and direction.
Continue learning
Global PEO: The Complete Guide
How a global PEO lets you hire abroad without an entity.
What Is an EOR?
The model that makes cross-border hiring possible.
PEO vs EOR: When to Use Each
Which model fits your next hire.
Global PEO vs US PEO
Why a US PEO can’t hire abroad.
Hiring in another country?
We employ, pay, and keep your team compliant in 187 countries, no entity required.
Explore our PEO & EOR services