Headshot courtesy Crescent. Greyson Reno, director of sales at New Orleans-based Crescent, said the best time to start looking for a new payroll provider is always two to three months before the start of the new year because January is the optimal time to make the change. “Starting in January makes it easy for a business to transition smoothly,” Reno said. “The business owner doesn’t have to worry about bringing in prior wages so the implementation is simple and stress free.”   What should be important factors in your decision to change payroll providers? Frequent errors or compliance issues: If your current provider is making repeated payroll mistakes this is sign to move before it gets worse Poor customer service: When you are not receiving timely support or adequate responses to your inquiries. A business wants to feel that there is a valued partnership with their provider and not just be a number. Long hold times and/or weeks without an email response are commonplace with the big national companies so if customer service is important then consider using local options. Business growth: If your company is expanding rapidly and your current provider can’t scale effectively. Your payroll provider must be able to scale with you. Having a great relationship with your payroll provider is key here so that they are always in tuned to where your business is and the needs that change with growth. What is the biggest mistake when choosing a new payroll provider? Remember the old adage, “you get what you pay for.” This isn’t any different with payroll providers. Choosing a new provider based on cost alone will at some point come back to haunt you. Make sure you get to know the payroll provider before you sign with them. Ask them for references from existing clients and also for clients that recently left them. This way you will get an understanding of what they may or may not be good at.   Is having HR support a priority for your business? It should be.  Proactive HR support is an essential part of lightening the administrative load for small business owners to allow them to pursue strategic growth. Many business owners are reactive to HR needs due to an issue with an employee or trying to better attract and retain good talent. Proactive HR processes help mitigate risks within the organization by focusing on ways to improve the employee experience while keeping labor costs under control through competitive pay, benefits, and people analytics.   When should a business seek help from an HR professional? A business should consider hiring an HR professional or HR service when they begin experiencing significant growth in employees, needs assistance with complex employment legal compliance, struggles with recruitment or onboarding, faces employee relations issues, or wants to develop a strong company culture. Startup companies should consider this as well to ensure proper policies and procedures are established before any employees are hired.