Employee Retention Strategies That Work: A PEO’s Perspective

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!

June 26, 2025

Why Retention Matters More Than Ever

Employee retention is crucial for business growth, and it’s one of the biggest indicators of a thriving, successful business. As a small or mid-sized business owner, you’re likely wearing a lot of hats already—from the daily operations of your organization to customer service and marketing. Hiring and training new employees over and over again is an added challenge—it’s both costly and time-consuming. While hiring great workers is worth it when they’re in it for the long haul, it pays to have a strong existing team of knowledgeable, seasoned employees.

High turnover isn’t just costly, but it also impacts morale, team dynamics, and even customer satisfaction. Employee retention creates stability and consistency, and ultimately helps you build a culture where people feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow.

Professional employer organizations (PEOs) like PEOPayGo offer support and solutions to boost employee retention. Let’s dive into what causes turnover and how PEOs help implement employee retention strategies that actually work.

Key Drivers of Employee Turnover

Competitive pay is essential for keeping your workers happy, but job satisfaction relies on much more than the dollar amount employees get paid. Employee turnover often stems from other factors like inadequate benefits, lack of growth opportunities, poor communication, or feeling overworked or burnt out.

If you’re a business owner or HR manager, it’s imperative to address these issues strategically to help keep your workforce satisfied and successful. Working with a PEO is a great way to combat these potential issues by putting retention strategy into action.

Effective Retention Strategies Backed by Data

Here are 5 effective strategies for keeping your strongest workers on your team:

1. Competitive Benefits Packages

A solid benefits package is one of the most important perks when it comes to employee retention. Your workers are likely looking for more than just a paycheck—healthcare, retirement options, paid time off, and wellness incentives play a major role in keeping your team together. A great benefits package that meets their needs not only demonstrate how much you value them as an employee, but it also gives them more of a reason to stick around.

PEOs give small and mid-sized businesses access to comprehensive packages that are typically only available to large corporations. Because PEOs have a large pool of clients, they’re able to offer these packages at more affordable rates, which means better options for your team at a price that works for you.

2. Career Growth and Development

Your best employees want to feel like they have room to grow within your organization. Offering ongoing training and development programs gives employees the tools they need for growth. From technical skill-building to leadership training, these opportunities show your workers that there’s space for them long-term.

PEOs step in to handle the administrative tasks of businesses. When it comes to growth and development, they support HR departments with resources for implementing training programs tailored to the needs of both your employees and your business.

3. Open Lines of Communication

When employees feel heard, they’re typically more engaged at work and more loyal to their company. Encouraging open communication through regular check-ins, performance reviews, and surveys helps build trust within your team. It also creates space for you to uncover problems before they escalate.

Working with a PEO means you’ll have support with setting up and keeping track of effective employee feedback systems.

4. Work-Life Balance

Employees who feel overworked or burnt out are more likely to leave. When companies respect personal time and offer wellness support, not only do retention rates improve, but employees also become more productive at work.

PEOs offer wellness program options as well as HR support when it comes to promoting work-life balance without sacrificing productivity.

5. Positive Onboarding Experience

The onboarding process is the first impression new hires will have of your company culture. A positive onboarding experience means laying the groundwork for engagement, loyalty, and ultimately long-term success.

When you partner with a PEO, you’ll have a streamlined onboarding process with professional systems. This means you’ll be able to welcome your new workers with clarity, confidence, and consistency.

How PEOPayGo Helps Businesses Keep Their Best Talent

As a small or mid-sized business owner, employee retention can feel challenging to handle on your own. PEOPayGo offers full-service HR support—from automated payroll and benefits administration to risk management and employee relations.

Partnering with PEOPayGo means you’ll have the tools and support you need to grow your business, and you can rest assured that your best talent is with you for the long-run.

Boost Retention with PEOPayGo’s Comprehensive HR Support

If you’re ready to boost employee retention rates with the help of a great PEO, reach out to PEOPayGo for comprehensive HR support today.