HR outsourcing firm set for remote work
When 2019 rolled in, G&A Partners hit the ground running with an acquisition that gave the employee outsourcing firm a beachhead in Southern California, continuing the approach to growth that served it well in 2018.
Buying smaller firms paid off again for G&A, moving the human resources and payroll outsourcing firm up a notch to No.5 on Chronicle 100’s list of top private companies. The company said its revenues increased to $2.9 billion in 2019, compared to $2.4 billion in 2018.
In October, G&A acquired Las Vegas payroll processing firm Pay Pros, bringing the number of worksite employees it manages to more than 54,000, up from 47,000 in 2018.
“Our acquisition strategy is kind of a three-legged stool,” said John W. Allen, the chief operating officer and one of the partners who founded G&A 26 years ago. G&A makes acquisitions in markets where it already has a presence, in contiguous markets and in new markets where it sees potential for growth.
So far, the strategy has served the business well, generating record revenues and strong profits.
“2019 was our best ever, from a top-line perspective,” Allen said. “And from the bottom line it was pretty good, too.”
The coronavirus pandemic, however, is bringing new challenges for G&A. Allen, CEO Antonio Grijalva and their leadership team had to ramp up as experts in managing remote workforces — expertise they developed and advanced during Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. “All our employees had laptops, and all had the ability to work remotely,” Allen said.
The pandemic has cut into G&A’s revenues, which are based on the number of work site employees it manages on behalf of its clients. Many clients have laid off or furloughed workers, Allen said, reducing those numbers.
Allen said he expects the pandemic to forever change his business and the businesses of G&A’s clients.
“Working remotely is going to be the new norm,” he said. “One of our goals had been to increase the number of people working remotely to 10 percent. I think going forward, it’s going to more like 50 percent of our people will work from home.”