PSP Inc

Source: Technology Digital

Date :04/01/2008 11:27:45

PSP is dedicated to offering professional employer related services to its clients. Yet many are unsure of its benefits.

Written by Ian Armitage and Produced by Jon Ellingwood

That being said, the PEO concept is gathering pace and Dominick Crea, CEO and President, explains how it can benefit your business

Take a minute to study this testimonial: "I have been in business for over 20 years and never realized how much of my time was dedicated to processing payroll, computing and paying payroll taxes. I began utilizing your services in September of 2001 and it was the right decision. I look forward to a continual relationship well into the future.” Hard to believe this has been written about a company that was started just eight years ago by an ambitious 21 year old.

Founded in 1999, Payroll Services Plus, Inc. (PSP), the subject of this testimonial, has dedicated itself to offering the most professional employer related services to its clients ever since. A one-stop shop for all employer/employee related responsibilities and benefits, PSP is licensed in various states and operates nationwide.

“Our services are extensive and include payroll processing, human resources, risk management, tax compliance, labor compliance, claim services, health and retirement benefits, and much more,” explains Dominick Crea, the company’s CEO and founder.

When Dominick formed PSP, a professional employer organization (PEO), he had a simple vision, but there were two obstacles that stood in this path. First, at the age of just 21, he found it difficult to earn the trust and respect of prospective clients, and secondly, the PEO concept was relatively young. However eight years later, with sales of $50 million, he couldn’t be happier with what PSP has achieved.

“I realized that the industry had been lacking in customer service – it seemed like the large competitors gobbled up smaller clients and forgot about them. I wanted to change that, creating an enterprise which stayed close to the client,” explains Crea, who initially had a lot of trouble convincing people that he knew what he was doing.

National reach

Today, PSP is licensed in various states and operates on a nationwide basis. Focusing on the latest techniques and keeping up with technology, it continues to stay one step ahead of the competition, offering superior customer service to its clients on a daily basis.

PSP prides itself on immediate interaction and response to any and all of its customers’ needs. Clients have access to Dominick’s personal email and cell phone and being put on hold and listening to a recorder is never a problem at PSP. “They won’t get transferred into someone’s voicemail because that’s not what we are about,” Crea says. Clients are therefore guaranteed to speak to a personal representative focused solely on their operation.

“We are a lot smaller than the industry giants, so our goal is to concentrate on servicing all client/employee related issues. We ensure each client is handled with the utmost care regardless of size – that is how we operate,” continues Crea. This simple, yet highly effective, approach has enabled PSP to grow based on referrals from current clients rather than costly marketing tactics.

With time and persistence, Dominick has created a superb business that has grown at a healthy pace - about 48 percent between 2003 and 2006. This continuous and rapid expansion has seen PSP named to Inc.’s top 5,000 fastest growing companies in the US in 2007.

Putting customers first

“We want you to concentrate on your business, and leave the rest to us,” says Crea. “We try to alleviate as much of the administrative burden as we can to allow our customers to spend their time and effort on revenue-generating activities.”

PSP has organized its 13 employees into risk management, customer service, payroll, accounting, and insurance departments. Each department only consists of one or two people, which means they have accumulated vast, specialist knowledge. “We organized ourselves this way to help our clients understand that although our employees can help out in several areas, they are experts in their own departments.”

Future focus

“2007 has been a great year for us,” explains Crea. “Our sales have increased from around $30 million last year to what is expected to tip $50 million this year.” It has been a phenomenal year for PSP and it is now starting to get the recognition it deserves. Although PSP has come a long way, Dominick knows that an education issue still remains. “We have to make sure clients know what we are about and how we can help them,” he says. Convincing clients of the benefits of PEO’s, it seems, is the main challenge.

Although there is still work to do, Crea was sure to point out that without the right team in place, PSP wouldn’t be as successful as it is today. He encourages employees to seek training and certification opportunities through the American Payroll Association and the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations. This helps create a team environment, where the employees remain happy.

“I think the staff is the main ingredient for our success,” says Crea. “Everybody is behind me and we are all focused on providing an immediate interaction and response to any and all customer needs.”

Dominick wants PSP to continue to grow and become a household name. To achieve that people need to realize that PSP can alleviate as much of the administrative burden as possible to allow customers to spend their time and effort on revenue-generating activities. “Over the next five years I want work on branding PSP, having people recognize our business logo, what we do and how we can help them. We take away the burden of payroll and enable small to medium sized businesses focus on running their business as best they can.”

The future is bright for PSP. Sales have reached an all-time high and each department is enjoying growth. Under the leadership of Dominick, who must be one of the most dedicated CEO’s in the industry, the company is sure to succeed. “I want to focus on growing each department, offer attractive products and services to our clients. Obviously, as we grow and increase our volumes I will have to add more payroll technicians, so the upper region will continue to grow,” he concludes.