Alphastaff

Source: Technology Digital

Date :3/17/2008 12:22:08 PM

Need to do more with less? Perhaps outsourcing your HR functions is the answer. If so, look no further than AlphaStaff

Written by Ian Armitage and Produced by John Ellingwood

Anyone running their own business knows just how tough it can be, especially in markets driven by increasing competition, escalating costs and rising customer demands. One thing all businesses have in common is people, and for some it makes sense to outsource HR functions to a company that already has far superior knowledge and experience.

Who is this company? It’s AlphaStaff, a human resources outsourcing firm based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Founded in 1997, the company specializes in providing services to small and mid-size businesses.

The key to its success is its distribution model, which is different from the industry standard: “Our distribution model is uniquely focused on the insurance brokerage channel, which is a large reason for the explosive growth of the company,” explains Jay Starkman, the company’s highly ambitious CEO.

Mr. Starkman continues by saying that many other HR outsourcing firms saw this channel “as competition - but AlphaStaff took the decision to partner with brokers and have enjoyed hypergrowth ever since.”

Indeed, by embracing and then building its entire distribution model around referrals from the insurance channel, AlphaStaff has enjoyed tremendous growth. And this trend is set to continue.

According to Starkman, when he joined the company, AlphaStaff needed to take steps to ensure the rest of its operations were as efficient as its distribution model. “When I came to AlphaStaff in 2002, the company was a good company, but it was small and straining a little under the pressure of growth. Our technology wasn’t ready for it, and the company wasn’t equipped for it, and so we needed to completely revamp processes, methodologies and technologies, which we successfully have over the past five years.”

Who is AlphaStaff?

As a business process outsourcing company, AlphaStaff today provides a diverse range of human resources products, services and functions, including payroll, benefits, tax administration, risk management, HR compliance and workers’ compensation coverage. This enables customers to focus on their core competencies: “Many companies’ focus is on achieving their overall goals and their time is better spent focusing on that. They are therefore better off leaving the HR to a company who has that as its core. We are that company. If there is an issue that relates to employees then we handle it,” says Mr. Starkman, who became CEO in 2004.

Starkman, who is proud of where the company is headed, believes that while it is entirely possible for any company to gain “quasi-expertise” in HR, it doesn’t make any sense for a 25-employee company to build that sort of expertise. “We can deliver these services and offset some costs through aggregation,” he says. “We bring best practices into place and make sure everyone is in compliance with the law. This is why we are such a highly valued partner.”

Increasing popularity

AlphaStaff’s service is one that is becoming more and more widespread. Many companies build some sort of HR infrastructure, but it is often “an administrative headache”. AlphaStaff is able to take the strain and give companies a sophisticated offering.

It is a popular choice and many different customers draw upon AlphaStaff’s resources. According to Starkman however there is a big difference between companies with 100 employees and those with 10,000 employees. “As a result of serving both markets, we must be flexible with our service and product options, and also understand the dynamics of the businesses we serve.” Today’s companies are much more demanding and expect a great deal more flexibility in the product mix. They want technology catered to what they need and expect on-demand service.

AlphaStaff cannot completely customize its offering for every client; instead it strives to achieve what Mr. Starkman calls “Scaleable configuration.” What is that, wondered Exec? “Scaleable configurability is very different to customization. The best way to describe it is that we go in with an established way of doing things and have a series of options or switches that can be turned off or on with a large, albeit finite number, of choices tied to each switch,” he answers.

He says this is the only way to “scale your offering in a way that allows you to retain all your efficiencies and best practices.”

The future

AlphaStaff’s growth potential is seemingly limitless. It has already expanded from Florida, to offices in Georgia, New York, New Jersey and Texas, and is expanding into California within the next year. It has clients in 47 states -- AlphaStaff’s hypergrowth has taken the company and given it a national presence.

Starkman says that with companies pressured to do more with less it seems likely that AlphaStaff will continue to grow for the next decade and beyond. “We are going to become the category killer for co-employment or HR outsourcing services to small and mid-sized companies,” he explains. “While other companies in the industry have been relatively stagnant, (stagnant being defined as ten to 15 percent growth per year), we have had year in year out growth of 50 percent and that will continue. We are going to be the best and the biggest in the foreseeable future.”

Outstanding people

Clients look to AlphaStaff to handle very important functions; so the company’s own people are critical to its success. According to Mr. Starkman, AlphaStaff strives to create a culture where the desire for excellence is paramount. “Our people know they will be rewarded for good work. Often in some companies, if you excel, your reward is that you get more work, but we celebrate performance. We have a performance based culture and treat our top people like rockstars – they get great rewards and we consider it a sin for any to ever leave. This is something I have preached since my arrival here.”

AlphaStaff’s ever-growing reputation has helped bring qualified candidates to them, helping raise the standard even higher. However, Starkman says it is still vital thatthe company invests in customized training programs, suggesting it is “essential we make sure we have a learning company”.

He adds: “Why wouldn’t any top performer want to work for AlphaStaff? When you are growing as much as we do, the growth opportunities are everywhere.”

Click here to view the corporate brochure on AlphaStaff