Through a new joint venture, local startup Essential HR Partners —headed by former Omega Accounting Solutions executive Jerry Packer — wants to provide affordable back-office services to businesses.
“Basically, we give business owners access to first-class employee benefits,” Packer, Essential’s chief executive, told the Business Journal.
EHRP, which serves about a dozen clients to date, is aiming to have 4,000 by the end of this year.
Irvine-based EHRP was launched through a joint venture with Vensure Employer Solutions based in Chandler, Arizona. Vensure is the largest privately owned professional employer organization (PEO) in the country, having made 85 acquisitions over the last five years, according to Packer.
EHRP is the latest venture for Packer, who was previously senior director of business development at Irvine-based Omega Accounting for two and a half years.
Packer co-founded EHRP last year with Chief Operating Officer Marcus Skinner and Chief People Officer Crystal Brown.
Streamlining HR Processes
PEOs work with small to medium-sized businesses who may outsource the handling of back-office services for several reasons, including saving time and reducing costs. PEOs handle payroll, employee benefits and workers compensation.
“Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on in-house human resources, you’ve got us on a fraction with access to all of our technology, which will streamline all your internal processes,” Packer said.
Technology and market presence were a top priority when picking a JV partner, according to Skinner.
EHRP uses a cloud-based platform called Vfficient that eliminates the need for multiple platforms. The self-service portal allows employers to access essential reports such as payroll data and PTO balances.
Skinner said it’s “not uncommon” to see PEOs save employers between 15% to 20%.
The PEO industry is currently going through consolidation, according to Packer.
“There is a lot of roll up and private equity-backed acquisitions, but there’s never really been a company that has been created out of a model like this,” he said.
Through the JV partnership, Vensure provides back-office resources while EHRP handles all the client and broker relationships for a “boutique PEO” experience.
Brown said that she believes more PEOs will replicate their business model if they succeed.
Business Owner Challenges
Packer said that he’s familiar with the challenges business owners go through in having owned several over three decades.
“I understood the pain points they face, especially in such an employee-centric state such as California where compliance is really key,” he said.
He founded three businesses and sold two of them before joining Omega in 2022, where he helped generate over $36 million in revenue in less than two years, according to his LinkedIn page.
Packer brought in other experienced partners including Brandon Sylvia as general counsel. Sylvia is a partner, specializing in employment law at Rutan & Tucker LLP, the largest law firm in Orange County.
Another is Chief Sales Officer Vince Sinni who for 25 years was an area manager of the Concord branch at Santa Ana-based business management consultant BBSI.
