Insperity commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying HR360.¹ This abstract will focus on the manufacturing industry’s use of Insperity HR360 and its value to these organizations.

Of the seven total interviewees, Forrester interviewed two representatives from two organizations in the manufacturing industry:

• A financial controller at a manufacturing organization that operates globally and in multiple states in the US and has 50 employees.

• The CFO at a manufacturing organization that operates in multiple states in the US and has 40 employees.

Manufacturing leaders face a complex set of operational challenges, including maintaining production schedules, navigating a competitive labor market, managing rising benefits costs, and adhering to increasingly complex workplace regulations. According to Forrester’s Priorities Survey, 2025, 34% of small to midsize manufacturing leaders in the US cited limited resources and 32% cited inadequate skills or knowledge as their greatest challenges in delivering on business priorities.² Another 28% pointed to resistance to technology adoption and change, which underscores the industry’s ongoing need for adaptable workforce strategies.³

Before Insperity, operational leaders whose primary expertise was in production oversight handled HR responsibilities. Critical tasks such as payroll adjustments, onboarding, and jurisdiction-specific compliance reviews competed directly with core operational priorities, which limited executive focus on critical tasks including production planning, quality control, and process optimization.

To address these challenges, both interviewees’ organizations adopted Insperity HR360. By consolidating fragmented HR processes into a single, scalable solution, Insperity enabled leadership to focus on operational performance, streamline talent onboarding, maintain multi-jurisdiction compliance, and strengthen workforce readiness.

The Insperity® HR360 solution is a full-service HR solution for small and midsize businesses that enables people strategies so that businesses succeed as an employer of choice at every growth milestone. Insperity HR360 provides strategic HR guidance, administrative support, employee access to benefits, and HR technology infrastructure to empower leadership, productive employees, and efficient ways of working. Insperity is a US-based, national network of HR professionals and is designated as a certified professional employer organization (“PEO”) by the IRS.

Investment Drivers For Manufacturing Organizations

Interviewees said that the need to reduce the time operational leaders spent on HR administration, improve employee access to competitive benefits, and ensure compliance across multiple locations drove their organizations’ decision to adopt Insperity HR360.

Prior to adopting Insperity HR360, these organizations struggled with several challenges, including:

• Limited internal HR expertise. Before investing in Insperity HR360, the interviewees’ organizations lacked a dedicated HR department to manage all administrative tasks end-to-end. Instead, operations leads and executives — already stretched with production oversight and broader business needs — absorbed HR responsibilities. This created inefficiencies and left the organizations exposed to compliance risks in areas such as labor law interpretation, safety protocols, and wage-and-hour requirements.

• Rising benefits costs impacting competitiveness. Interviewees cited difficulty controlling healthcare and other benefits costs, as annual rate increases strained budgets. In a competitive labor market, benefits were a critical factor in retaining skilled employees and attracting new hires. Without group purchasing power, the organizations struggled to offer packages that met employee expectations without eroding margins.

• Compliance complexity across states. As interviewees’ businesses expanded into new jurisdictions, their leaders faced the challenge of navigating different state-specific regulations for wages, benefits, and workplace safety. Unlocking the ability to hire talent in new states required rapid interpretation of employment laws, which was a task that internal teams were not equipped to handle quickly or confidently.

• Disparate HR processes and tools. Before Insperity, teams handled each HR function separately: payroll through one vendor, benefits through another, and compliance handled internally. This patchwork created administrative bottlenecks, especially during hiring surges or when multiple compliance issues arose at once.

These priorities align with broader industry trends. More than half (51%) of small to midsize manufacturing firms in the US rank achieving growth targets among their top business priorities, followed by reducing enterprise risks (44%) and improving the employee experience (49%), according to Forrester’s Priorities Survey, 2025.⁴ This emphasis on balancing growth, risk, and workforce engagement mirrors the drivers behind these organizations’ decisions to invest in Insperity HR360.

Insperity HR360 Features

The interviewees’ organizations selected Insperity HR360 for its ability to:

• Offload leadership’s administrative tasks related to the HR function by delivering comprehensive HR services, including payroll, benefits, compliance support, and HR guidance.

• Offer scalable solutions to manage workforce growth and seasonal staffing needs.

• Provide competitive benefits packages to enhance recruitment and retention.

• Support structured onboarding and skills progression programs to accelerate employee readiness.

Key Results For The Manufacturing Industry

The results of the investment for the interviewees’ organizations include:

Operational efficiency and executive focus. Manufacturing leaders emphasized that Insperity reduced administrative burdens, which enabled them to dedicate their time to production oversight, process optimization, and strategic growth initiatives instead of day-to-day HR and benefits management.

• Reallocate executive time to operations and planning. By taking over routine payroll and benefits tasks, Insperity allowed executives to focus on more strategic initiatives that ultimately supported operational performance and business growth. The financial controller in manufacturing shared, “Whether it’s terminations and documentation of disciplinary actions or all of those normal HR functions, [Insperity] has somebody who is a professional in the HR realm and has experience with handling them.”

• Streamline onboarding for production roles. Manual processes previously slowed new hire integration, which impacted production timelines. Faster onboarding with Insperity reduced downtime in production lines and allowed interviewees’ organizations to respond quickly to changes in demand or staffing needs. The financial controller in manufacturing explained, “Prior to Insperity, our onboarding process probably took me three or four days to get all of the paperwork processed and get them enrolled in medical benefits, dental, vision, all of that stuff.” After investing in the solution, the financial controller shared that the onboarding timelines reduced significantly, noting: “[Today it requires] half an hour uploading the information and then maybe another half hour to an hour over the next few days just touching base with the new employees saying, ‘Hey, did you do this?’ or ‘Hey, I need you to complete this piece.’ It’s just more reminders than anything else.”

Talent acquisition and retention in manufacturing roles. Interviewees reported that Insperity’s benefits and HR support directly influenced recruitment and retention of skilled labor, which was critical for maintaining production efficiency and operational reliability:

• Competitive benefits packages for an industrial workforce. By providing robust healthcare, retirement, and wellness programs, Insperity helped interviewees’ organizations reduce staff turnover to ensure continuity in production and reduce recruitment costs. The financial controller in manufacturing explained: “[With Insperity], our company pays 100% of the benefits for both our employees and their dependents. Nothing comes out of their paycheck for any of their benefits, … so they get much richer benefits with lower copays. They [also] get a larger network of doctors with coverage no matter where they’re traveling to.” They continued: “Our employees see the benefits and appreciate them. The other added benefit is the health savings account and flexible savings account eligibility. That’s huge.”

• Support for ongoing skill development. Interviewees explained that having access to training and compliance modules with Insperity HR360 enhanced workforce competence and safety. This structured approach to workforce development increased operational safety, minimized error rates, and enhanced the overall productivity of manufacturing teams.
  According to the World Economic Forum, 56% of consumer product manufacturers anticipate greater difficulty finding skilled workers over the next five years, and 73% plan programs to support employee health and wellbeing.⁵ Insperity HR360’s training and compliance modules help organizations address these challenges while improving productivity and safety.
  The CFO in manufacturing said: “We use [Insperity HR360] for learning and development for things like harassment trainings. We plan to use Insperity to continue building out additional trainings for our employees in the future.”
  This investment in training also aligns with cost management priorities: 44% of small and midsize manufacturing firms in the US report reducing costs as a top business priority, which signals that structured learning and workforce readiness are key levers for operational efficiency and long-term financial performance.⁶

Strengthened organizational culture in manufacturing environments.
Maintaining culture across multiple shifts and production sites was essential for employee engagement, safety adherence, and operational consistency:

• Culture measurement and actionable insights. The interviewees shared that survey insights from Insperity allowed leadership to gauge employee sentiment and address workforce concerns proactively to reduce disengagement and support stable production operations.

HR compliance across multiple jurisdictions to promote business growth and reduce operational risk. The expansion of manufacturing sites increased exposure to complex employment laws, which gave rise to potential operational and legal risk:

• Multistate employment guidance. Insperity HR360’s expert support reduced administrative delays, which enabled organizations to hire employees in new regions and confidently scale operations. The financial controller in manufacturing explained, “Insperity’s extensive multistate employment law knowledge has given us the confidence to broaden our scope of hiring to include all states rather than ones we already have a presence in.”

• Risk reduction for operational continuity. Proactive compliance management with Insperity HR360 minimized the risk of work stoppages, regulatory penalties, and costly corrective actions, which subsequently enabled continuous production. The financial controller in manufacturing said: “[Before Insperity HR360], we were either in the gray area or completely out of compliance when bringing on [new employees]. There are a lot of intricacies to compliance that require knowledge and experience of labor laws all over the country.”

Cost-effective and competitive employee benefits. Insperity enabled manufacturing organizations to provide quality benefits without inflating costs to support employee satisfaction and operational efficiency:

• Benefit cost management for production workforce. Interviewees shared that Insperity enabled them to provide competitive benefits without overspending, which allowed them to preserve budget for broader business initiatives such as production improvements. The financial controller in manufacturing shared: “Because we’re on a larger group plan with Insperity, it’s the same cost to cover our employees no matter what age they are. This makes it significantly less expensive both for the organization and our employees. They get a much richer plan at a significantly lower cost. It’s a double benefit.”

Strategic HR guidance and partnership. Manufacturing leaders valued Insperity’s ongoing support as operations and workforce demands evolved:

• Trusted advisory for HR decisions. Interviewees noted how access to real-time expertise allowed leaders to make informed decisions quickly, which helped reduce the risk of operational disruptions. As manufacturing organizations strengthen compliance and mitigate risk, 40% of small and midsize manufacturers in the US report that regulatory compliance is a top business priority, according to Forrester.⁷ This underscores the importance of regulatory adherence for operational stability and risk management.
  The financial controller in manufacturing said: “I have five contacts at Insperity that I talk to on a regular basis depending on the subject. I know how to get ahold of them, and if they’re out of office, someone else on their support team gets back to me and answers my questions in less than 24 hours every single time.” They continued: “Our employees also have a healthcare hotline to get on the phone with someone who is dedicated to answering questions and not just passing them off to someone else. The customer support is just incredible.”