Meet the Team: Ben Dodge, Payroll Services
Premier Talent Partners is the single source for all your Payroll needs.
More specifically, talk to Ben Dodge.
Originally from Honolulu, Ben Dodge earned his undergraduate degree at Northern Arizona University. After graduation, Ben found himself managing hotels and restaurants before stumbling onto Premier Talent Partners as a candidate.
Premier saw promise and he was offered an internal role. Ben spent six months as a recruiting associate followed by six months on the Business Development team. After that, Premier selected Ben for a new challenge to grow a budding division within the company.
Ben will soon be celebrating his second anniversary with Premier as he works with Bay Area companies to outsource one of the biggest HR headaches, Payroll. We talked with him about working at Premier and the future of outsourced payroll processing.
What is the first thing employers notice when working with Premier?
We’re easy to work with and employ genuinely honest employees. Premier is a white glove service that employers notice most when interacting with our various offices but it starts at the C-level. This isn’t always the case with other agencies. That’s why we’ve grown so fast.
What else distinguishes Premier Talent Partners versus other firms?
The ‘Wow” factor is working with younger companies that see outsourced payroll as a real possibility. Employers can only organize their time so much until it makes sense to start outsourcing. The Bay Area needs more professional payrolling and Premier is very engaged in making this happen.
Beyond that, our team is on top of technology trends. Often it seems technology is mishandled or underutilized even for standard processes. Premier embraces change and this is probably why we have such great reviews on Yelp, LinkedIn, and Facebook from happy job seekers that appreciate our adaptivity, productivity, and efficiency. It really is a seamless process for job seekers and employers — white glove all the way.
While much of what we do in Payroll services is regulated, that doesn’t hinder our ability to impact daily lives at scale. Payrolling and benefits administration is complex and not inherently a hot topic of conversation. We’ve designed key procedures in both staffing and payrolling that make processes as smooth as possible. At Premier that’s just good business, though not every company is as inspired to build partnerships that last.
What is the environment like at Premier?
You get to know everyone in your office. You build connections across the Bay and you get to know them like family. It speaks volume to the environment our team and corporate leadership has built. We want to make and keep each other happy. It’s good for your well being to work for a company like Premier.
How does a staffing company like Premier embrace change?
In terms of technology, when I first started we reinvented the entire platform. We’re always trying to streamline and make things as easy as possible. Get it done. People are always trying to stay innovative, and that shows in the workplace day-to-day. As we’ve grown, I’ve noticed focus isn’t on the dollar, it’s about change. From the top, we’re always working to improve onboarding, recruiting, listening and acting on feedback. Streamlining the process and reducing steps along the way.
What hasn’t changed since you joined the company?
Premier is such a forward thinking company. Their reputation and dedication are second to none, which is no surprise when you consider that Premier has twenty years of experience staffing Bay Area employers. This has been the case since day one.
What does the future of Premier Payrolling look like?
Every day Premier becomes more of a household name in the industries we care most about – STEM, startups, and biotech. From there it extends to what we do and what we offer. We’ve already expanded into other states and maybe one day we’ll have offices nationwide – who knows? That’s a long way down the road, though it would be amazing to be a part of something like that. As the gig economy continues to grow, more contractors need more paychecks and employees are hiring contractors at a higher rate now more than ever before. What business owner or HR manager wants to deal with that? Premier sees what other outsourcing payroll providers don’t — we simply spend our time reducing the complexity for employers.
Who else should we meet from the Payrolling team?
You need to meet Kailee Bentz (payrolling expert). With plans to grow the team to five associates, we’re excited to expand to other cities to streamline the process and cast the net as wide as possible. Even having an office in New York is great. We’re able to position ourselves in new markets that have a huge payrolling need, such as Seattle and Austin.
What do you want Bay Area employers and job seekers to know about Premier Talent Partners?
A lot of the conversations I’ve been having of late resonate with me. Music to my ears. We do more than talk about partnerships. We are an ally for you. For me personally, that means a lot to me. Being empowered to help our clients. Sometimes we’re not the best fit but maybe we can help you find the best fit. We have your interests at heart. If you’re just beginning the prospecting phase, we might not be the best fit right now. If you’re looking for someone that you can trust, we’re the best fit. That’s our core, and that’s what we’re trying to do.
You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn or read more about Outsourcing Payroll to Premier Talent Partners.
Fun Fact: Ben attended the same high school as Barack Obama.
