# PuzzleHR — Frequently Asked Questions These are the questions PuzzleHR is most often asked about HR outsourcing, managed HR and how the company works. Each answer is self-contained. ## What PuzzleHR Does ### What does PuzzleHR do? PuzzleHR augments a company's HR team and provides as much or as little HR support as the business needs to drive results. Most companies cannot afford to deploy every resource required to optimise the HR function in their organisation, and an under-resourced HR function leads to low employee engagement, high turnover and weaker business results. PuzzleHR gives companies the HR resources they need, when they need them. ### How does a PuzzleHR engagement work? Once a company decides to work with PuzzleHR, its HR Project Managers use PuzzleHR's proprietary diagnostic tools to design a unique PuzzleHR Project Plan with the client. Each plan is different and can be as broad or as limited as necessary, and is built to be flexible enough to meet the client's goals without getting in the way of running the business. ### How do we get started with PuzzleHR? Contact PuzzleHR and one of its consultants will be in touch as quickly as possible — typically within one business day — to design the client's Puzzle Project Plan. ## Scope & Flexibility ### We do not need everything PuzzleHR offers. Can we take just a few services? Yes. PuzzleHR consultants do not try to sell more than a client needs or can handle. Every company is different and so is PuzzleHR's client discovery process; its consultants and HR Project Managers work with each customer to develop a customised Puzzle Project Plan that fits the business and its timeframe. ### Do I have to change payroll companies to use PuzzleHR's services? No. PuzzleHR made a deliberate decision to be technology agnostic, so it can handle a company's Human Resource infrastructure needs regardless of its payroll platform. Where it makes sense, PuzzleHR can even manage payroll for a client on their current provider. ### What HR services can be outsourced? A wide range of HR services can be outsourced, so businesses can tailor the arrangement to their needs. The most commonly outsourced functions are payroll administration, benefits administration, recruitment and talent acquisition, employee training and development, compliance management, employee relations, performance management, HR strategy and consulting, workforce planning and analytics, and risk management. ## Who PuzzleHR Is For ### We already have an HR department. How can PuzzleHR help? Whether a company has a full HR department or simply someone who is in charge of HR, PuzzleHR can help. Its HR Project Managers focus solely on developing and implementing transformational HR strategies for growing companies, adding capacity and specialist depth alongside the existing team. ### We do not have an HR department. How can PuzzleHR help? Companies without an HR department usually have four or five people handling Human Resources on an ad hoc basis. PuzzleHR's HR Account Managers and Project Managers help a business move from reactive responses to HR needs towards proactive processes and procedures that support the company as it grows. ### Is HR outsourcing good for small businesses? HR outsourcing is an effective option for businesses of all sizes, including small businesses, because it provides a cost-effective way to manage human resources without a full-time in-house team. It gives small business owners access to expert HR services and current compliance and employment law knowledge, which matters for limiting legal risk, and lets them concentrate on their core business activities. ### Our employees are remote. Can PuzzleHR help? Yes. Most PuzzleHR clients have a combination of in-house, fully remote and hybrid employees. PuzzleHR has found hybrid-remote HR support to be an effective way to maintain compliance with federal and state HR regulations, and it supports line managers so they understand the regulations affecting their direct reports and have the skills to manage a distributed workforce. ### What industries does PuzzleHR specialise in? PuzzleHR serves companies in every industry. Its work spans manufacturing, golf courses, non-profits, municipalities, cannabis businesses, and software and services companies, among others. ### My employees are happy. Why would we need PuzzleHR? Employees are happy until they are not. Top-performing companies work proactively and treat employee engagement as a success strategy rather than assuming it will hold. A PuzzleHR team helps a company do exactly that. ## HR Outsourcing — General ### Can HR be outsourced? Yes. Businesses from small startups to large corporations outsource HR functions. The usual benefits are access to expertise and compliance knowledge, cost-effectiveness, more focus on the core business, better resources and technology, scalability, improved HR processes and stronger risk management. ### Why is HR outsourcing important? HR outsourcing gives a business access to specialist HR knowledge and keeps it compliant with current employment law. It also reduces the overhead of maintaining an in-house HR team, and adds scalability, access to technology, risk management, employee development programmes and confidentiality in handling sensitive HR matters. ### How much does HR outsourcing cost? Cost varies with the size of the business, the specific services required, the complexity of the HR need and the provider chosen. As a rough guide, small to medium-sized businesses might expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month for HR outsourcing services. ## Industry Terminology ### What does "HCM" mean? HCM is industry shorthand for Human Capital Management. The term usually refers to software systems and applications sold and deployed by payroll companies, typically covering the reporting and administrative side of HR such as payroll, onboarding and open enrolment. ### What is a PEO, and is it the same as employee leasing? PEO stands for Professional Employer Organization — a company that provides HR and benefits services to other companies through a co-employment relationship. The concept was originally called employee leasing, because PEO clients enter a co-employment relationship with the PEO and lease their employees back from it. --- **Contact PuzzleHR:** 1-844-385-0515 · info@puzzlehr.com · https://puzzlehr.com/contact-us/ *Last Updated: September 2026*