Outsourced HR, run by a team of named HR consultants
Hand off the HR work that is slowing your business down. Catapult gives you a full HR department on demand: compliance, employee relations, employee handbooks, COBRA, onboarding, and HR technology, delivered by consultants you know by name. Unlike most HR outsourcing companies, we are not a PEO, so there is no co-employment and your people stay entirely yours.
Is your business ready for HR outsourcing?
If you are spending more time on administrative tasks than on strategic growth, the answer is probably yes. Human resources outsourcing is not only for large corporations. It is a practical move for employers of any size looking to streamline operations, reduce risk, and improve the employee experience.
If you are scaling quickly, working through state-specific labor laws, or simply stretched thin across too many HR functions, outsourcing lets you offload the execution while keeping control of the decisions. Most employers who come to us are choosing between hiring their first HR generalist, signing with a PEO, or bringing in an HR outsourcing firm that works alongside the team they already have.
Moving beyond hidden costs
When an internal team is stretched too thin, small gaps turn into big problems. Here is what outsourcing helps you avoid.
Compliance risk
Missing a single federal or state update can lead to heavy fines. We track the laws so your team does not have to.
Lost productivity
If your managers are buried in paperwork, they are not leading. We streamline the process and give that time back.
High turnover
Without specialists to build competitive benefit plans, you lose good people to competitors.
Innovation gap
Every hour leadership spends on routine HR tasks is an hour not spent on strategy, sales, or growth.
Catapult’s HR outsourcing services
Outsource one function or your whole HR operation. Most clients start with a single area and expand as trust builds. Every scope is quoted to what you actually need.
Employee relations
Workplace conflicts, investigations, disciplinary action, and sensitive employee matters handled with care. This is the work most employers outsource first.
Compliance and labor laws
Federal, state, and local labor law tracking with multi-state coverage and proactive policy updates. See our legal alerts.
Employee handbooks and policy
Handbook drafting, a 50-state handbook builder, and compliance review, so your policies hold up in the states where you actually employ people.
COBRA administration
A full COBRA service: eligibility tracking, deadline-compliant notifications, premium collection and remittance to your carriers, participant enrollment support, and audit-ready reporting.
Talent acquisition and retention
Job descriptions through day-one productivity, plus employee onboarding, background screening, and recruiting.
Performance and talent management
Review cycles, manager coaching, and leadership development, including continuous performance management that lifts employee engagement and employee retention.
HR technology and HRIS
HR software and HRIS selection, implementation support, and integration with the payroll systems you already run, so reporting and workforce management stop living in spreadsheets.
Risk, safety, and workers’ compensation
Safety practices, workers’ compensation guidance, incident documentation, and the risk management side of employment decisions.
Strategic HR planning
Workforce planning, org design, and a strategic HR assessment that tells you where your function actually stands.
HR outsourcing vs a PEO vs an ASO vs building in-house
The most common question we get is how HR outsourcing differs from a professional employer organization. The short version: with a PEO your employees are co-employed and that provider becomes a joint employer. With HR outsourcing, your people stay entirely yours.
Swipe the table sideways to compare →
| HR outsourcing with CatapultHRO | PEO | ASO | In-house HR department | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who employs your staff | You do. Employees stay under your brand and on your payroll. | Co-employed under the provider’s tax ID. | You do. | You do. |
| Co-employment | None. You remain the sole employer of record. | Yes, on a joint employer basis. | None. | None. |
| Payroll processing | Available as its own service line, or keep your provider and we integrate. | Bundled into the co-employment relationship. | Included as a processing service. | Run internally or by a payroll vendor. |
| Control over employment decisions | Full control. We execute, you decide. | Shared with the provider. | Full control. | Full control. |
| Access to HR specialists | A named consultant plus specialists in employee relations, compensation, and compliance. | Varies by service tier, often a call center. | Limited to a service desk. | Limited to who you hire. |
| Employee relations and investigations | Core of what we do, handled by senior practitioners. | Usually limited or an add-on. | Rarely included. | Depends on internal expertise. |
| COBRA | Full service: notices, premium collection, remittance, reporting. | Typically included. | Often included. | Handled internally or by a broker. |
| Multi-state compliance and labor laws | Tracked and updated for all 50 states. | Usually included. | Usually included. | Depends on internal expertise. |
| Cost model | Scoped to the services you need. | Percentage of payroll or per employee per month. | Per employee per month, transaction based. | Salary, benefits, and overhead per hire. |
| Time to launch | Two to four weeks. | Four to eight weeks. | Four to six weeks. | Two to four months to recruit and onboard. |
What Catapult is, and what we are not
Being straight about this saves everyone time. Employers comparing HR outsourcing providers are usually looking at three different business models, and only one of them is ours.
We are not a PEO
A professional employer organization co-employs your staff under its own tax ID and becomes a joint employer of record. Providers such as TriNet, Insperity, and ADP TotalSource work this way. If you want to hand over employment itself, that is a reasonable choice, but it is not what we do. With Catapult there is no co-employment.
Payroll without co-employment
A PEO bundles payroll by making itself a joint employer. We keep the two separate. Catapult payroll is its own service line covering processing, multi-state tax filing, garnishments, and W-2 preparation, while your employees remain entirely yours. Take HR outsourcing, payroll, or both, and if you would rather keep your current provider we integrate with it.
We are practitioner-led HR
What we sell is judgment: senior practitioners who handle investigations, compliance, handbooks, COBRA, and workforce planning. We answer the hard questions, the ones where getting it wrong costs you a claim, a fine, or a good employee.
Some clients take HR outsourcing and payroll together. Others keep an existing payroll provider and add Catapult on top for the HR expertise. Both combinations are common and both work well.
The people who become your HR department
Outsourced HR should not mean a ticket queue and a stranger on the other end. You get a named consultant who learns your business, your culture, and your people, backed by the wider Catapult team.
Our HR on Demand bench also includes recruiters, compensation consultants, and senior advisors. Meet our HR advisory team.
We do not replace your team. We remove what slows them down.
The right cultural fit
We are not only managing processes. We are interacting with your most valuable asset, your people. We make it our job to speak your language and align with your values.
Our approach reinforces your company culture rather than undermining it. When we handle employee relations or sensitive issues, we do it with clear communication and respect.
Employers who stopped going it alone
I am a huge fan of Catapult
As a matter of fact, membership is a condition of employment for me. As a one-person HR leader, knowing that I have their knowledge and tools at my fingertips makes my life so much easier and less worrisome than if I were going it alone. I use many of their services: COBRA, Background, HR Advice line, Compensation, Training and Project Management to name a few.
Thank You!
The services and support provided by Catapult have consistently been top tier! As a C-Suite HR Leader, the trusted feedback and resources readily available by Catapult has proven over several years to be incredibly valuable. Special shoutout to Linda Hunter for her consultation to me, my team, and the organization at-large!
It’s the people at Catapult
It’s the people at Catapult that make the experience great. I’ve never had a bad experience. The staff is very knowledgeable and does an excellent job of explaining situations in a way that’s easy to understand. We have been members for many years and plan to continue being members for many more.
Rooted in the Carolinas, supporting all 50 states
Charlotte, Raleigh, and the Triad
Catapult has served North Carolina employers since 1958. Our consultants know NC wage and hour rules, E-Verify obligations, workers’ compensation practice in the state, and the local talent market across manufacturing, healthcare, and technology.
Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia
We support SC employers on state-specific compliance, unemployment claims, workers’ compensation, and workforce planning, with the same named-consultant model we use in North Carolina. Charleston employers in particular come to us when local HR outsourcing providers cannot cover multi-state growth.
Multi-state employers
If your workforce crosses state lines, we track requirements in all 50 states so your handbook, postings, and policies stay current wherever your people work. Few regional HRO providers do this; most HRO providers hand you back to a national vendor. Among HR outsourcing providers that is the exception, not the rule.
Not sure outsourcing is the right shape?
Outsourcing is one of several ways to get HR expertise into your business. Before you shortlist HR outsourcing firms, it is worth knowing these other routes exist. Our HR consulting services cover the same ground on a project basis.
Frequently asked questions
What is HR outsourcing (HRO) and who is it for?
What is the difference between HR outsourcing and a PEO?
How does an administrative services organization (ASO) compare?
Do you process payroll?
Do you administer COBRA?
Which HR functions can we outsource?
Do you cover workers’ compensation and workplace safety?
Will we lose control of our HR?
How is this different from general HR consulting?
How does pricing work?
How quickly can you get started?
Do you support multi-state employers?
What industries do you serve?
Ready to reclaim your time?
The hours you spend on HR administration are hours you could spend on customers, strategy, and growth. Let’s talk about what outsourcing could look like for your business.