ProService buying the Hawaii Group’s HiHR

ProService Hawaii is buying HiHR, the human resources arm of The Hawaii Group, also known as HiGroup, boosting ProService's total of worksite employees served to more than 30,000, the two companies said Monday.

The acquisition increases the number of Hawaii-based businesses served by ProService to almost 2,000. The addition of HiHR’s 5,700 worksite employees to the 24,500 already represented by ProService brings the total to more than 30,000 worksite employees served with more than $1.2 billion in payroll.

Ben Godsey, president and CEO of ProService, told Pacific Business News Monday that there will be no layoffs as a result of the acquisition, and Harry Byerly, former president of HiHR, will be kept by ProService as a top executive.

“We’re actively hiring and looking to build on their team of 80 employees,” he said. “We’ve always wanted to focus on what you can be best at. It’s important for us to do HR management exceptionally well for our clients.”

HiHR will remain in the penthouse space of the Topa Financial Center in Downtown Honolulu for at least a year, and the timing of the branding change to ProService is still to be determined. HiHR also has an office in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island that will remain open.

The deal closed on Friday. Godsey declined to discuss details.

He did say that rates are not expected to go up, and they may be lowered because of economies of scale that the acquisition has created between the two HR powerhouses.

ProService has had a long-term interest in HiHR and eventually reached out to the company to see if a deal could be reached.

“We’ve always felt our companies would be a great fit,” Godsey said. “The Hawaii Group saw the value of putting the two businesses together.”

He said ProService is currently not looking at pursuing other acquisitions at this time, although it is always looking for better ways to serve its clients.

ProService said it will maintain its headquarters in Hawaii Kai in East Oahu and its additional offices in Kona, Kapaa on Kauai and Kahului on Maui. With the addition of HiHR’s employees, ProService’s workforce now totals more than 250 employees.

Honolulu-based HiGroup has more than 200 employees and, now, three divisions: HiAccounting, HiEmployment, HiNursing, HiHomeCare and HiHealthcare.

ProService was acquired in 2005 by Godsey and his partner Dustin Sellers, who is no longer with the company. It has grown to 1,300 client companies and 22,000 worksite employees. HiHR listed 10,463 worksite employees covered in 2014.

When it comes to covered employees, ProService and HiGroup are ranked first and second, respectively, in Hawaii for professional employer organizations. Overall payroll for covered employees in 2014 topped $647.5 million for ProService and $107.8 million for HiHR, according to PBN research.

In 2014, Scott Meichtry, co-founder of HiGroup, was named its chairman and CEO, succeeding the other co-founder, Matt Delaney, who stepped down for personal reasons.

In an interview with PBN last month, Godsey said the industry has grown a lot over the years.

“When we bought ProService in 2005, only 3 percent of employers with more than one employee used a service like ours,” he said. “Now we estimate that 12 percent do. We’ve gone from being a clear No. 2 to being Hawaii’s preferred provider with the largest market share.”

Godsey said the company, which is located in Hawaii Kai in East Oahu, will be launching new services in the next one to two years that will continue to make it easier to employ people in Hawaii and keep its economy running.

 

See the original article from Pacific Business News here.

 

About ProService Hawaii
ProService Hawaii provides a comprehensive suite of HR management functions including human resource services, health benefits management with plans from HMSA, Kaiser and HDS, payroll, workers’ compensation and 401(k) management, as well as risk management and regulatory compliance, for thousands of local businesses statewide. It is accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC).

ProService Hawaii is headquartered on Oahu at 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy, Suite 200, Honolulu, HI 96825. Additional offices are located in Kailua-Kona, Kahului and Kapaa. Telephone: (808) 394-3100. Visit the website at www.proservice.com.