TriNet Human Resource Outsourcing Review 2023

TriNet HRO Editor’s Score: 9.5/10

9.5/10

Expertise
Price/value	9.1/10
Features	9.6/10
Ease of use	9.5/10
Customer support	9.9/10

Why We Chose TriNet for Customer Support

TriNet is a full-service HRO that serves a variety of industries, especially architecture and engineering, consulting, education, e-commerce, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, nonprofits, retail, wholesale and technology. Since TriNet offers industry-specific solutions and support, employers can rest assured knowing they are receiving expert HR assistance tailored to their business. We love that unlike some competitors, TriNet representatives are available 24 hours a day by live chat. Users also have the option to contact TriNet by phone and email. This variety of support options can be a game changer for some organizations, especially those operating outside of standard business hours.

One particular support feature that makes TriNet stand out among the competition is its Connect 360 offering. This tool pairs each business with a team of dedicated professionals that can advise on important topics like payroll, benefits, compliance, HR policy, employee relations, performance management, talent acquisition and compensation. Providing quick access and personalized support, TriNet’s Connect 360 is an asset for employers who place high importance on HR support. For these reasons, TriNet is the best HRO for businesses looking for a service that emphasizes customer support.

Tip

One of the signs it’s time to outsource your HR is that you spend too much time managing HR problems instead of focusing on revenue-generating tasks.

TriNet reporting

Business owners can run a variety of HR reports via TriNet to track their organization from a personnel perspective. Source: TriNet

What We Like About TriNet

TriNet pairs its customers with support representatives who are experienced in their specific industry.
TriNet support representatives are knowledgeable and available 24/7.
TriNet can integrate with several third-party applications.

What We Don’t Like About TriNet

Businesses must have at least five employees to be eligible for TriNet’s HR services.
TriNet doesn’t list any pricing information online.

Ease of Use

With TriNet’s web-based dashboard, you can get a clear view of your company’s HR information from anywhere. You can view workforce analytics details, like compensation benchmark reports, as well as more than 20 standard payroll, billing and HR reports. Users can manage their data through custom reporting options if needed.

We like that TriNet makes managing HR information simple for your employees, too. Through the company’s self-service mobile app, available for iOS and Android, employees can view information like payment details and benefits, and also manage functions such as expenses and time-off requests.

Another reason TriNet is so great to partner with from a usability perspective is its experienced and knowledgeable support representatives. If you have a question or concern regarding the TriNet platform or HR issues, you can quickly contact an agent to get the answers you’re looking for. This can make a big difference in the overall ease of use when it comes to using HR outsourcing for a small business.

FYI

TriNet users can schedule custom reports to run automatically. This feature is competitive with what other HRO providers offer.

Features

TriNet is a comprehensive HR outsourcing solution, offering businesses personal assistance with many important HR functions. Instead of trying to handle every HR responsibility on your own, you take advantage of industry-specialized help in areas such as payroll, employee benefits, employee onboarding and retention, time and attendance, risk and compliance, expense management, and employee development. These unique aspects of TriNet – personalized and specialized customer support – ensure users get the most out of its features.

HR Services

TriNet has HR specialists who can help you successfully acquire, retain and manage top talent. The company can assist with tasks such as recruiting and onboarding new employees, creating legally compliant HR policies, writing employee handbooks, abiding by HR best practices, and providing termination and dispute assistance.

TriNet applicant tracking

TriNet has applicant-tracking features to help you recruit and hire the right candidates. Source: TriNet

TriNet also offers compensation benchmark reports that provide competitive employee compensation insight based on factors such as responsibilities, competencies, skills, licenses, certifications, years of experience and education requirements. This is a great way to ensure you’re paying your workers appropriately, which can result in higher employee satisfaction and retention.

Payroll and Taxes

TriNet can help small and midsize companies run payroll and manage business expenses. The self-service platform allows employees to complete payroll-related tasks, like enrolling in direct deposit, tracking paid time off, viewing pay stubs and accessing W-2s. TriNet can also aid in time and attendance tracking to ensure your employees are paid accurately.

TriNet dashboard

TriNet’s dashboard makes it easy to track and manage your staff’s time and attendance. Source: TriNet

TriNet handles all of your payroll tax responsibilities, including withholding federal, state and local taxes, and then filing and submitting the withholdings to the appropriate parties. The company can also manage electronic W-2 preparation and delivery, as well as unemployment taxes and claims. We found this to be competitive with other HR solutions we reviewed.

Did You Know?

We found TriNet to be much more flexible than some other HR software in terms of time tracking. TriNet users have the choice of tracking employee hours with TriNet’s integrated time and attendance system, partnering with Kronos as a third-party software, or building an API integration for other top-rated time and attendance solutions.

Employee Benefits Administration

Businesses can use TriNet to administer quality employee benefits. The company’s premium-level group benefit offerings include medical, dental, vision and disability insurance; transit benefits; and employee retirement savings plans. TriNet also offers voluntary benefits, like life insurance, pet insurance, hospital indemnity plans, accident coverage, discounted auto/home policies and critical illness policies.

More recently, TriNet added Enrich Adopt, a tax-favored adoption assistance program, to its suite of benefits. This type of benefit wasn’t something we saw many other competitors offer, and it can be a great value-add for your team.

Risk and Compliance

TriNet customers can receive specialized support to manage risk and compliance for their organization. TriNet representatives are experts in specialized fields, so they can help you with risk management and compliance measures that are unique to your business and industry. The TriNet team includes experts in a wide range of areas, including payroll and benefits compliance, Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) compliance, employment practices risk management (claims prevention and mitigation), workplace risk management and workers’ compensation.

Whether you need help managing multiple unemployment insurance claims or administering unemployment benefits, TriNet can support you with that too. TriNet also allows you to set user permissions, which helps ensure business security and compliance.

Employee Training and Development

TriNet offers multiple training and development solutions to help with talent retention. The company’s online learning management system (LMS) gives employees the opportunity to enroll in more than 500 interactive courses that can be accessed from any web-based platform. The courses are optimized for targeted training and give team members a way to learn new skills, progress toward professional certifications, and improve performance in the workplace.

TriNet employee performance

Businesses can use TriNet to manage employee performance. Source: TriNet

We like that TriNet’s stellar customer support extends to its performance management capabilities too. Businesses can work with expert consultants to build out comprehensive performance processes that are unique to their organizational needs. You can set goals, gain real-time feedback, and access custom or prebuilt review templates to easily create the right performance review for each situation. Performance reports with actionable metrics are available as well.

TriNet Human Resource Outsourcing Pricing and Terms

TriNet offers HR outsourcing and consulting services for small and midsize businesses. Its features are bundled and charged per month, but your exact plan and pricing will depend on your specific business. Because TriNet focuses on tailoring its solutions to meet the unique needs of its customers, you can choose a contract length that works best for your company. Plus, instead of being locked into a long-term contract, you can pay on an ongoing basis and cancel at any time by submitting written notice 30 days in advance. Keep in mind that cancellation fees may apply in certain situations.

TriNet has a flexible plan structure, but it does require customers to have a minimum of five employees for its HRO services. This employee minimum is relatively standard in the HR outsourcing industry, and even so, part of what makes TriNet appealing is that it can scale your plan as your team grows and adjust the pricing accordingly. However, you won’t find any of the costs on TriNet’s website. Instead, you need to contact the vendor directly.

FYI

It’s easy to reach a TriNet representative to discuss HRO options and pricing, another indicator of its strong customer service.

Implementation/Onboarding

We found implementation with TriNet to be a quick and efficient process. Since TriNet offers custom support, you’ll start by connecting with a company representative to establish an HR outsourcing plan that meets your specific needs. The software takes about two weeks, on average, to get up and running. We like that the platform is cloud-based, so users can access it from any location. The vendor also provides convenient iOS and Android apps, which is common across the industry.

TriNet mobile app

Employees can easily get set up on TriNet’s mobile app for on-the-go tasks, like requesting time off. Source: TriNet

TriNet can integrate with several third-party applications, and we appreciate that it offers an API for users to further tailor the system to meet their HR needs through custom integrations. This is a valuable capability, especially for businesses that want to streamline their HR processes by connecting different software.

Customer Support

When testing out TriNet and its services, we found their customer support to be unrivaled. One big reason for this is the company’s HR support solution, Connect 360, which gives your business’s administrators and managers quick and accurate answers to any HR questions they may have. We also like that TriNet offers 24/7 employee support via live webchat, which isn’t something all competitors offer. You can also reach a representative by phone, email or an online contact form.

TriNet representatives specialize in a variety of topics – including payroll, employee benefits, compliance, HR policies, employee relations, performance management, talent acquisition and compensation. Since TriNet also provides specialized support on specific industries, you can rest assured you’re getting your questions answered by a true expert.

To learn more about TriNet’s services or HR-related topics on your own, you can also access the vendor’s wealth of online resources, including a COVID-19 help center, articles, blogs, e-guides, white papers, flash polls, videos, demos and webinars.

Limitations

One downside of TriNet’s HRO is that customers must have a minimum of five employees to sign up. While this requirement is relatively common in the HR outsourcing industry, it’s something to keep in mind if you have a very small business. If you’re looking for an HR outsourcing company that has no employee minimum, read our review of Bambee and our Paychex review for two worthy alternatives.

Another potential drawback is TriNet’s pricing structure. Although you’ll find flexibility in both the cost and contract length, TriNet bundles some of its HR features, such as payroll processing, employee benefits administration, risk mitigation, HR services and its technology platform. While all of these are essential HR tools, you may want to handle some of them in-house – which means you may be stuck paying for services you don’t need through TriNet.

Also, since TriNet doesn’t list pricing online, you’ll need to connect with a representative directly to get a cost estimate. If you prefer to partner with an HRO provider that offers specific packages with add-on options and transparent online pricing, check out our review of Zenefits.

Methodology

In our quest to identify the best human resources outsourcing services on the market, we researched and analyzed dozens of human resources outsourcing providers. We evaluated each vendor based on pricing, contract requirements, bundled vs. a la carte features, benefits administration, payroll processing and taxes, time-tracking capabilities, administrative HR functions, recruitment and talent management features, legal risk and compliance assistance, available integrations, and customer support. Whenever possible, we watched product videos and participated in demos. To find the HRO solution with the best customer support, we closely looked at customer service options and responsiveness, technology, usability, scalability and compliance assistance.

FAQ

What kind of company is TriNet?

TriNet is a professional employer organization (PEO) that offers outsourced HR support. It can provide small and midsize businesses with comprehensive HR services, such as payroll processing, benefits administration, risk and compliance support, employee training and development and more. It specializes in providing industry-specific HR solutions.

How much is TriNet per employee?

TriNet doesn’t list pricing online, as its fees and support are customized based on which HR services you need and how big your company is. However, based on some research, we found that the average cost per employee starts at around $150 per month for basic benefits administration and payroll. The exact rate will depend on your specific needs, so speak with a TriNet representative to learn more about pricing for your particular business.

Bottom Line

We recommend TriNet for …

Businesses that want access to responsive, customized support.
Organizations that need an industry-specific HR solution.
Small and midsize businesses.

We don’t recommend TriNet for …

Businesses in potentially hazardous industries, as TriNet does not work with them.
Organizations with fewer than five employees.

TriNet HRO Review

TriNet HRO

The Verdict