The PEO Link is celebrating over two decades of advancing its mission of helping businesses navigate the complex professional employer organization (PEO) landscape. The highlights a milestone rooted in advisory-driven guidance, strategic alignment, and a commitment to matching employers with the right co-employment partners for their operational needs.
Lee Chapman, founder and CEO of The PEO Link, built his career inside the PEO space and recognized early on that companies needed a more consultative approach. Years spent representing single providers revealed a recurring pattern: every business had distinct operational dynamics, yet many were offered similar, one-size-fits-all solutions. That realization led him to establish The PEO Link 21 years ago as a brokerage designed to align companies with PEO partners suited to their structure, risk profile, and aspirations. “Every organization has its own complexity,” Chapman says. “I believe positive outcomes will follow if those distinctions are acknowledged.”
The broader PEO landscape has expanded considerably over the past decade. According to the report from the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), industry revenue has risen to over $410 billion since 2012, reflecting significant adoption among small and mid-sized employers.
The same research notes that businesses engaging a PEO experience double the median growth of comparable firms, alongside a 16% increase in profitability and a 27% return on investment through cost savings alone. Additional findings indicate 12% lower employee turnover and a greater likelihood of long-term continuity. “These metrics show an environment in which outsourced HR infrastructure supports strategic business performance,” Chapman states.
The problem, according to The PEO Link, is that perceptions about PEOs often remain narrow. “Many executives initially associate the model with payroll processing alone. Payroll is essential, but it represents only one component within a much broader framework,” Charles Schattenberg, president of The PEO Link, explains. The PEO Link notes that a PEO operates through a co-employment partnership in which employer responsibilities are shared under a unified structure. This arrangement extends into human resources administration, employee benefits design, workers’ compensation oversight, compliance guidance, safety programs, and risk mitigation. In that sense, a PEO functions like an outsourced executive resource.
This distinction is integral to understanding the model’s potential. “A payroll service completes a task. A PEO participates in stewardship. Incentives align around long-term health when accountability is shared,” says Karlos Funes, chief revenue officer. Through co-employment, employees are reported under the PEO’s federal employer identification number, creating fiduciary responsibility that encourages sustained engagement. The relationship tends to carry an embedded interest in workforce stability, regulatory alignment, and benefit competitiveness.
For business owners, this structure can shift daily priorities. Administrative demands that once consumed leadership bandwidth, such as multi-state payroll, benefits administration, or workers’ compensation management, are consolidated within one integrated system. As stated by NAPEO, 52% of companies with 10 to 49 employees that use a PEO offer retirement plans, compared with 23% of similar firms without one. The PEO Link suggests that access to scaled benefit programs contributes to talent attraction and employee satisfaction, both of which may influence retention and productivity.
However, such advantages depend heavily on selecting an appropriate partner. The PEO market encompasses providers with varied industry specializations, underwriting philosophies, service models, and technology platforms. Construction firms, healthcare practices, manufacturing operations, and professional services companies often require distinct configurations. The PEO Link emphasizes that a brokerage structured to evaluate those nuances can therefore add meaningful clarity.
The company approaches this responsibility through a proprietary evaluation framework. The process begins with comprehensive discovery. Client interviews explore payroll systems, timekeeping infrastructure, claims history, safety protocols, workforce demographics, growth projections, and succession considerations. Financial modeling and benefits benchmarking follow. Only after this assessment does the firm approach select PEOs whose capabilities align with the client profile.
Erik Bednarz, chief operating officer, emphasizes discipline in this stage. “Representation begins with listening,” he says. “Sourcing the right PEO partner becomes powerful when it reflects real operational detail, not surface-level assumptions.” Competitive proposals are then negotiated, with attention to rate structure, service scope, and long-term scalability. Once a client selects a provider, The PEO Link remains engaged through implementation and ongoing monitoring. As organizations expand or adjust strategy, relationships are reassessed to confirm continued alignment.
This lifecycle perspective reflects a belief that growth trajectories evolve. Businesses that double in size, expand geographically, or introduce new service lines may require different underwriting tolerances or benefits architecture. Ongoing evaluation supports adaptability within the co-employment model, helping ensure that infrastructure keeps pace with ambition.
The PEO Link notes that the brokerage segment of the PEO industry has also expanded as awareness increases. Greater participation can introduce opportunities for education around consultative depth. Schattenberg observes that sustainable advisory work demands both market access and analytical rigor. “Scale opens doors, but discernment determines which doors to walk through,” he says. Schattenberg adds that longstanding relationships across the PEO landscape enable The PEO Link to negotiate competitive arrangements while maintaining a consultative lens.
Parallel investment in technology and insurance expertise further informs this approach. The PEO Link observes that healthcare design remains a primary driver of PEO adoption, particularly among small and mid-sized employers navigating rising benefit expectations. By integrating insurance agency capabilities and underwriting insight, The PEO Link aims to interpret trends in medical inflation, network configuration, and risk pooling with greater precision. This breadth of perspective may complement partnerships with private equity firms seeking operational efficiency across portfolio companies.
The PEO Link’s franchise platform, established in 2025, is the first of its kind in the PEO brokerage space, further driving the firm's growth. Franchisees operate within an established framework that supports carrier contracts, proposal modeling, negotiations, and compliance oversight.
Overall, the evolution of PEO brokerage reflects a broader shift in how businesses think about workforce infrastructure. Within that shift, The PEO Link positions itself as an intermediary focused on alignment, stewardship, and long-term value. Its strategic planning centers on the belief that innovation across payroll platforms, HR information systems, analytics dashboards, and compliance automation will continue to reshape what effective co-employment can look like.
As these tools advance, partnerships with technology providers and advisory networks expand the firm’s ability to respond to emerging market needs. Chapman sees this adaptability as essential to the firm’s identity. “Longevity comes from curiosity,” he says. “If we remain open to emerging tools and evolving client needs, relevance will follow.”
About The PEO Link
Lee Chapman entered the PEO industry in 1999 at just 19, quickly distinguishing himself as a top-performing sales professional for major payroll and staffing firms. Recognizing that no single provider could meet every employer’s needs, he founded The PEO Link to offer true brokerage choice. For more information, visit thepeolink.com.
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Lee Chapman
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