Skip to content

Risk Management in HR: How PEOs Help Mitigate Workplace Risks

Why Payroll Is a Prime Target for Cyberattacks

 

The digital space is continuing to grow and evolve every day. With so much of life conducted online, it’s more important than ever to protect your personal information from vulnerability.

 

Payroll systems, however, have become a prime target for cyberattacks. They contain some of the most confidential employee information that a business manages—including Social Security Numbers, tax identification numbers, addresses, salaries, and direct deposit information. A single breach can expose hundreds of records—if not more—leading to financial fraud, identity theft, and compliance violations.

 

Cybercriminals may not even need to break into a company’s system to gain information. They may simply trick an employee into handing over credentials or clicking on a malicious link, making payroll fraud prevention crucial for any business. It’s essential for business owners, HR managers, and IT directors to know how to protect their employees and prevent data breaches.

 

Let’s dive into the types of threats facing payroll systems today, what businesses risk without proper security, and how PEOPayGo prioritizes cybersecurity in payroll services.

 

Types of Threats Facing Payroll Systems Today

 

There are many types of threats facing businesses that may not even require a hacker to gain access to their payroll system. Let’s take a look at some of the most common cybersecurity threats.

 

Phishing

 

Phishing scams occur when cybercriminals trick individuals into providing sensitive information. Many attackers will impersonate someone from the HR or IT department and send fake emails to employees to steal their login credentials.

 

Ransomware

 

Hackers may use malicious software to lock payroll systems until a ransom is paid. If the company chooses not to pay the ransom, the cybercriminals may leak the stolen data.

 

Insider Threats

 

Insider threats come from the organization itself rather than someone outside of it. Unhappy employees or contractors could misuse their access to payroll data.

 

Insecure Integrations

 

In some cases, attackers find poorly secured third-party apps connected to the payroll systems and take advantage of those vulnerabilities to get the information they want.

 

Weak Passwords

 

When employees create weak passwords or fail to use the multi-factor authentication, it makes it far easier for hackers to guess their credentials and break in.

 

What Businesses Risk Without Proper Security

 

A lack of security can have a major negative impact on a company. Here are some of the things that businesses risk when they don’t have proper security in place.

 

Financial Loss

 

Companies can face significant financial losses during an employee data breach. From incident response and legal fees to lost revenue and reputational damage, the impact of financial loss on a company can be drastic.

 

Employee Trust

When personal information is compromised, employees may lose confidence in their employer. When trust dwindles in the workplace, employees tend to walk away.

 

Operational Downtime

 

The financial loss and legal consequences that stem from compromised payroll systems could result in payroll delays and operational downtime.

 

How PEOPayGo Prioritizes Cybersecurity in Payroll Services

 

Professional employer organizations (PEOs) take on the administrative tasks of businesses like payroll, workers’ compensation, benefits administration, and risk management. Because they’re regularly handling sensitive employee information, cybersecurity is essential. Here’s how PEOPayGo prioritizes security in their payroll services.

 

End-to-End Encryption

 

This is a security method that ensures when messages are sent via their platform, only the sender and receiver can read them.

 

Multi-Factor Authentication

 

By requiring more than one form of identification, multi-factor authentication ensures only verified users can access payroll systems.

 

Regular Security Audits

 

Trusted PEOs want to make sure they’re in compliance with industry regulations and best practices. PEOPayGo undergoes third-party security audits in order to maintain that standard.

 

Role-Based Access Control

 

Ensuring permissions are granted based on user roles means a lower possibility of security threats from within the company.

 

Employee Training and Awareness

 

PEOPayGo implements training programs that help keep employees educated on how to spot phishing attacks and manage payroll securely.

 

Secure Your Payroll Data with PEOPayGo’s Trusted Protection

 

A payroll breach can be detrimental to your company. When you partner with a trusted PEO like PEOPayGo, you can rest assured that your systems are secure. If you’re ready to secure your payroll data with PEOPayGo, reach out to their team of experts today.

 

Contact us today to get the coverage and support you need!

Workplace safety is essential to any organization, no matter how large or small your company is. The last thing you want as a business owner is an unsafe work environment for your employees, which is why effective risk management is crucial.

HR risk management involves establishing safety policies, conducting audits of the work environment, implementing safety training programs for employees, and ensuring each employee has workers’ compensation insurance.

As a business owner, it can feel overwhelming to stay up-to-date on administrative tasks, including all that risk management entails. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) step in to offer services that help mitigate workplace risks. Let’s dive into risks in the workplace and how PEOs can help.

 

Identifying Common Workplace Risks

First and foremost, identifying and understanding common workplace risks is crucial for knowing what to look for to help stay safe on the job. No matter what industry you’re in, accidents like slips, trips, and falls are some of the most commonly seen at work. In industries like construction or factory work, the operation and maintenance of large equipment plays a major role in workplace safety.

 

The Role of PEOs in Risk Management

PEOs specialize in handling businesses’ administrative tasks like payroll, workers’ compensation, risk management, and other human resource services. A PEO’s risk management services may include creating policies with your HR team to establish workplace safety and reduce risks.

Risk reduction strategies might look like implementing safety training programs for your employees to solidify proper procedures for staying safe at work. They may also perform audits of your workplace to ensure the environment is as safe as possible for your workers.

Working with a PEO makes choosing and paying for a workers’ compensation plan simple and straightforward, ensuring your employees are covered in the event an accident does occur on the job. In the event someone is injured at work, a PEO will handle the workers’ comp claim and all that it entails.

 

Enhancing Employee Safety with PEO Services

Ultimately, PEOs’ risk management services are in place to help enhance employee safety. PEOs typically have software specifically designed to manage workers’ compensation and payroll, which allows employers to automatically process payments. When it comes to workers’ comp, automatic deduction simplifies the process, helping ensure workers have the coverage they need when they need it.

Workers’ compensation is a necessary means of protection if an accident does occur at work, but PEOs also step in to help prevent accidents from happening in the first place. PEOs offer safety programs to help educate workers about risks and prevention. They can also support companies in developing strategies to help keep workers safe on the job.

Working with a PEO for risk management not only helps protect your employees from potential injury or illness, but it also helps protect you and your business financially.

 

Ensuring Compliance with Regulations

Compliance can be tricky when it comes to workers’ compensation—different states and industries have different rules and regulations. These laws also tend to change over time, making it difficult to stay up-to-date with current requirements. When a business is non-compliant, it may be charged hefty fines.

PEOs are well-versed in state and federal regulations, so a major benefit of working with one is their ability to help businesses remain compliant and avoid fines.

 

Protect Your Business with PEO Risk Management Services

Without proper risk management, your business may be vulnerable. Implementing safety training programs and having workers’ compensation insurance for your employees is essential when it comes to keeping your workers informed about the risks and protected from potential accidents on the job.

PEO risk management is a great way to get the support you need as a business owner or HR manager. If you’re ready to outsource your HR services and help mitigate risks within your organization, reach out to the experienced team at PEOPayGo to see how they can help. By partnering with a PEO, you’ll have more time to focus your energy where it’s needed most within your business, allowing the risk management experts to do the rest.

 

Secure Your Business with PEO Risk Management

Effective risk management is essential to protect your business and employees. With PEOPayGo, you get expert support for safety training, workers’ compensation, and compliance—ensuring a safer workplace while reducing liability.

Let us handle the risks so you can focus on growing your business. Contact PEOPayGo today to get started!

Related Articles:

Let our Instaquote do all the work

We don’t need much information and it takes 2 minutes.
Our software does all the work for you.