“Professional employer organization,” or PEO, is defined by this year’s edition of Staffing Industry Analysts’ online Lexicon of workforce solutions ecosystem terms as a service segment of the payrolling/compliance industry primarily used in the US. A PEO assumes, via contract, a significant portion of employer responsibilities and associated risk for either part or all of a client’s workforce. In this situation, employees are typically employed by the PEO but work on an indefinite basis under the control and direction of the client organization.

For the full definition, go to lexicon.staffingindustry.com. As the ecosystem evolves, SIA’s mission is to keep the language current for professionals in the space.