HR Statistics Every Small Business Should Know

In today’s rapidly changing world of work, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face more pressure than ever to attract, engage, and retain top talent—while keeping up with evolving technologies, compliance demands, and employee expectations. Each year, new HR data tells a story about where employers and employees may be aligned, and where they may see the world differently.

This collection of HR statistics provides insight into how modern organizations may be adapting to a new era of work. From the expanding role of digital transformation and the growing impact of remote work to the ongoing evolution of employee benefits, engagement, and compliance, these insights offer a roadmap for businesses looking to stay competitive and resilient.

You’ll discover how awareness of PEOs continues to rise, how companies leveraging TriNet’s HR expertise can gain measurable advantages, and how proactive HR functions—once seen as back-office necessities—are now becoming key strategic drivers of growth.

Whether you’re an HR leader, business owner, or executive planning for the future, this data-rich overview is designed to help you make informed workforce decisions, embrace innovation, and build a thriving organization ready for what’s next.

TriNet/PEO Advantage

Businesses that work with TriNet benefit from meaningful advantages—including support  for business growth, significant time and cost efficiencies, enhanced access to premium benefits and HR expertise, and greater peace of mind around HR compliance—highlighting the clear value of using a PEO.

• Relative to comparable non-users, businesses that use a PEO are 50% less likely to go out of business. Source: NAPEO
• Top three ways TriNet adds value. Source: TechValidate survey of 160 users of TriNet (2022)
• Help maintaining HR compliance 76%
• Providing access to greater benefits 67%
• Accessing HR guidance and expertise 57%
• 98% of survey respondents reported considerable or moderate time savings working with TriNet. Source: TechValidate survey of 160 users of TriNet (2022)
• 84% of surveyed customers experienced cost savings in HR-related spending with TriNet. Source: TechValidate survey of 160 users of TriNet (2022)
• 95% of surveyed customers agreed that they were able to gain peace of mind with respect to HR compliance after moving to TriNet. Source: TechValidate survey of 160 users of TriNet (2022)

PEO Awareness

Awareness and familiarity of PEOs among business decision makers continue to grow, with strong recognition of their HR value, rising adoption interest among non-users, and particularly high familiarity among younger leaders, newer businesses, and mid-sized companies—signaling expanding market readiness for PEO solutions.

• Unaided awareness of PEOs is reported at 67% among decision makers, an increase of 58% from 2023 but consistent with previous years’ findings (65% in 2022). This is an increase of 22% since tracking began in 2018, indicating growth in awareness overall. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• Aided familiarity of PEOs remains constant in 2024 with about four in five decision makers saying they are very or somewhat familiar with PEOs after reading about them. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• 33% of decision makers report using a PEO. 88% of those who do not use a PEO report heightened interest in using one in the future. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• 76% of decision makers who report unaided awareness of PEOs associate them with HR services, many associate PEOs with services outside of typical industry offering. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• According to current PEO users, the most important factors when it comes to working with a PEO are the costs associated with PEO services (48%), access to experienced HR and employment experts (43%) and overall savings a PEO brings to the company (42%). Source: 2024 NAPEO
• Aided familiarity with PEOs is highest among 25 to 34 year-old decision makers (90%), businesses less than 10 years old (83%) and businesses with 50 to 99 employees (87%). Source: 2024 NAPEO

Growth/Scaling

Businesses that use a PEO tend to report positive outcomes, including steady current and anticipated growth, solid performance across key HR functions and greater readiness to address top growth barriers—highlighting the potential role of  PEOs as a key enabler in supporting sustainable scaling in a competitive and uncertain environment.

• Current PEO users (83%) continue to be significantly more likely to report business growth in 2024 compared to non-users (65%). Source: 2024 NAPEO
• Current PEO users (88%) continue to be significantly more likely than non-users (81%) to report expected business growth in the next year. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• Relative to comparable non-users, businesses that use a PEO have a growth rate that is more than two times higher. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• PEO users are significantly more likely to be forecasting business growth in 2024 than non-users (83% vs. 63%). Source: 2024 NAPEO
• "PEO users rate their companies ""good"" or ""excellent"" more than non-users in each of the following areas: Source: 2024 NAPEO
• Employer compliance (95% vs. 88%)
• Handling HR issues/questions (91% vs. 88%) 
• Training new employees (92% vs. 84%)"
• The top issues expected to impact business decision makers within the next year include economic security (77%), employee acquisition and retention (76%), industry competition (74%), strong HR capabilities (73%) and technological changes (70%). Source: 2024 NAPEO
• The biggest HR-related barrier to growth is finding and hiring new employees (49%), followed by training new employees (37%) and compliance concerns (36%). Source: 2024 NAPEO
• The top three most important criteria for success to business decision makers are customer satisfaction (60%), sales and profit (49%), and acquiring new customers (46%). Source: 2024 NAPEO

Employee Engagement, Hiring & Retention

Employee engagement, hiring and retention remain top challenges for employers, but businesses that use a PEO may experience strong retention, streamline hiring and strong employee engagement—highlighting how PEO support can help organizations compete for talent, enhance work-life balance and better prepare employees for long-term success.

• Although this has steadily declined, the top concern for business owners is personnel/employee concerns at 26%: Source: 2024 NAPEO
• Employee retention/turnover 12%
• Hiring and finding qualified workers 9%
• Relative to comparable non-users, businesses that use a PEO have an employee turnover rate that is 12% lower. Source: 2024 NAPEO
• A majority (57%) of business decision makers report difficulty finding qualified candidates; however, this is lower among PEO users (51%). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• Offering competitive salaries (71%) is the most-used strategy to attract talent among business decision makers, followed by comprehensive benefits (59%) and flexible work hours (57%). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• A majority (59%) of business decision makers report that retaining talent is a challenge. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• Employees leave their companies most often due to work-life balance issues (42%), relocation (41%) or better pay elsewhere (40%). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• 57% of workers are actively looking for a new job or open to switching for the right opportunity. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• 85% of employees report being moderately or extremely engaged at work. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• 79% of employees report being moderately or extremely connected to their work while 65% reported the same about connection to company leadership. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• One in four employees say their company is not equipping them for future roles. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• Less than half (46%) of employers are optimistic about employees having the knowledge and skills to be successful in their current roles. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• The majority of employees (72%) prefer to receive feedback directly from their manager versus 360 reviews that include feedback from their colleagues (25%). Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• There were 10.1 million job openings in the U.S. in August of 2022. Source: 2024 Trading Economics

Employee Benefits

Employee benefits are a critical driver of attraction, satisfaction and retention, and businesses that use a PEO to get access to benefits can offer competitive and effective benefit options—particularly in healthcare benefits, perks and learning development—helping employees feel supported amid rising benefit costs and expectations.

• 95% of companies that use a PEO feel that their employees are satisfied with their company’s benefits package vs 86% of non-PEO customers. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• PEO users report greater effectiveness of their PTO policies in supporting employee work-life balance than non-users (91% vs. 82%). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• PEO users report offering enhanced employee benefits at higher rates compared to non-users: Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• Healthcare benefits (56% vs. 39%)
• PTO policies (48% vs. 41%)
• Retirement plans (44% vs. 43%)
• Professional development (43% vs. 29%)
• 23% of employees cite better benefits as a reason for leaving their job; it’s a top-three reason after better pay and growth opportunities. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• 79% of employees rate benefits that account for their needs as moderately to extremely important when looking for a job, making benefits the second most important factor. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• Medical insurance is ranked as the #1 most important benefit by employees. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• 70% of employees feel flexible benefits are important. Source: 2022 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey
• Annual growth in national health spending is expected to average 5.1% from 2021to 2030 and to reach nearly $6.8 trillion by 2030. Source: CMS Office of the Actuary Releases 2021-2030 Projections of National Health Expenditures

Remote Work

Remote and hybrid work have become central to small business growth strategies, and while they can introduce added HR and compliance complexity, businesses that use a PEO are generally better equipped to support productivity, morale and workforce flexibility—turning remote work into a competitive advantage rather than a barrier.

• 51% of small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) say that their organization now has more remote employees since before the pandemic and 32% say that they had the same number of remote employees as before the pandemic. Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• Half of the survey respondents whose organizations have increased their remote workforces say that having an increased number of remote employees has made HR compliance more difficult. Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• PEO users report increased positive impacts of offering remote work options compared to non-users. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• Employee morale (78% vs. 68%)
• Employee productivity (78% vs. 59%)
• Ability to meet current business needs (74% vs. 57%)
• Business decision makers who offer remote work options consider HR-related tasks to be barriers to growth at significantly greater rates than those who do not offer remote work options. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• Finding/hiring new employees (51% vs. 46%)
• Training new employees (43% vs. 26%)
• Complying with employment laws and regulations (42% vs. 23%)
• 65% of SMBs currently offer remote or hybrid work options. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• Remote work is important to a majority (65%) of business decision makers’ strategic plans for growth and is significantly more important for PEO users (78%). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• 47% of employees prefer a hybrid schedule and say flexible work options is the number one way their company prioritizes work/life balance. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• Remote workers are 35% to 40% more productive than their in-office counterparts. Source: Remote/Hybrid Work/In-Office Trends and Forecast – Global Workplace Analytics
• A significant number of workers feel more “proud to work at their company” (29%), “engaged in their work” (25%) and “rewarded for their work” (27%) than before working remotely. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• Three in four small business decision makers say their employees feel positive about working remotely. Source: 2022TriNet and Morning Consult
• Larger companies have embraced hybrid settings, with 45% of companies with 100+ employees opting for hybrid models, while 44% of those with company sizes of six to 20 employees are in an office. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• Seven in 10 small business decision makers agree that their company values people more now than it did before remote work was commonplace and six in 10 agree that they are more open to recruiting outside of their usual community or region. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult

Digital Transformation

Digital transformation—accelerated by the pandemic—has become a key growth driver for small businesses, with widespread adoption of digital channels, data-driven marketing and new customer engagement methods delivering measurable positive impacts on sales, reach and overall business growth.

• Three out of five small business leaders surveyed say the pandemic accelerated digital transformation at their companies. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• Openness to purchasing services online also increased, with 79% of respondents saying they are more willing than usual to purchase products through digital channels. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• A majority of small businesses (58%) say sales and growth at their companies have been positively impacted thanks to digital transformation and remote work. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• Three in five small business decision makers say that the COVID-19 pandemic has "strongly" or "somewhat accelerated" digital transformation at their company. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• The digital transformation is having a strong impact on how small businesses reach target audiences: 71% agree that they are adopting new ways to reach audiences and 72% are changing their approach to marketing and advertising. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• Among those who have adopted new ways to reach target audiences, small business decision makers are most frequently turning to “new methods of customer service” (43%), “new social media channels” (42%) or “new uses of audience data” (42%). Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult
• 87% of those who have adopted new ways to reach target audiences say the new methods have had a “very” or “somewhat positive” impact on their company’s growth. Source: 2022 TriNet and Morning Consult

Risk/Compliance

Risk and compliance remain high-stakes priorities for employers, with many organizations struggling to keep pace with complex, changing regulations—making access to dedicated expertise, tools and structured HR support increasingly critical to mitigating risk and supporting growth.

• 67% of survey respondents say HR compliance is a top (20%) or high priority (47%), and another 25% say it’s a moderate priority. Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• 41% of respondents say that HR compliance is easy for their organization, while 35% say it is difficult for their organization. Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• The two most common challenges cited are that it’s hard to ensure all employees are following compliance policies (38%) and it’s hard to keep up with frequently changing regulations (36%). The next most common challenges of HR compliance for organizations are a lack of compliance expertise/knowledge (26%), a lack of proper tools and solutions to manage compliance (25%), and difficulty comply with the variety of federal and local laws (23%). Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• Organizations are taking many steps to improve their HR compliance efforts, with 47% establishing HR compliance policies or checklist, 40% are developing a communications plan to more effectively roll out policies and procedures, and 38% are enhancing HR compliance education and training for employees. Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• 74% of survey respondents say that their HR lead/team is responsible for HR compliance at their organization. 49% identified the executive management team and 30% selected the president/CEO. Source: 2024 Harvard Business Review
• Compliance issues are concerning—half of business decision makers (50%) report being either very or somewhat concerned by compliance issues. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• A little over one-third (36%) of business decision makers report that concerns around compliance issues negatively affect their ability to acquire needed talent. Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey

HR Functions

HR is increasingly expected to be always-on, tech-enabled and expert-led, driving more employers to outsource core HR functions to mitigate risk and save time while meeting rising employee expectations for on-demand access, human support and smarter use of AI-powered HR technology.

• 60% of decision makers say they currently outsource health insurance benefits (+2 points since 2023), 55% outsource 401k plans (+8 points since 2023) and 54% outsource payroll (+1 point since 2023). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• The top two reported reasons that business leaders outsource HR functions are that outsourcing can help mitigate risks and costly mistakes (46%) and outsourcing helps them save time and focus on other aspects of their business (45%). Source: 2024 NAPEO Employer Trend Survey
• 73% of employers at least somewhat agree that HR should be a 24/7 function. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• More than half of employees agree or strongly agree that pay stubs and tax documents as well as benefits information should be available on demand via an online portal, mobile app or chat. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• 70% of employees would rather interface with an HR professional than AI for HR-related questions. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• Three in four employees in the U.S. small business economy are using AI at work. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• Two in three U.S. small business employees are using AI for HR. Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• Employers say advances in HR technology and predictive information could improve their businesses by: “improving employee morale” (37%), “increasing employee retention” (37%), “improving employee engagement” (36%) and “improving employee development” (36%). Source: 2024 TriNet State of the Workplace
• 59% of employers rely on research to answer their employee’s questions. Source: TriNet