Executive Snapshot
Industry: Staffing
Challenge: Unemployment claims were managed across ~40–50 locations, creating heavy administrative lift, inconsistent handling, and unnecessary unemployment tax exposure.
Solution: Thomas & Company centralized ownership, strengthened controls, and improved data and communication to streamline execution and mitigate unemployment costs.
Outcomes:
- ~40% less admin work through simpler, standardized claims handling
- $145K estimated annual savings from reduced fees and lower tax liabilities
- Centralized control shifting claims from ~40–50 offices to a two-person corporate team
Introduction
A national staffing organization sought a more strategic approach to managing unemployment claims and related tax costs. While the firm had already invested significantly in this cost-sensitive area, leaders saw an opportunity to reduce administrative effort, improve consistency, and better control unemployment expense through a centralized, expert-led program.
The Challenge
The client identified state unemployment costs as a meaningful financial driver for the business. Although they had engaged a prior third-party provider that included automation within a broader HR data services offering, key issues persisted:
- Decentralized ownership: Functional responsibility for unemployment claims remained spread across approximately 40–50 local offices, continuing to strain internal teams.
- Limited specialization: The provider failed to provide a focused strategy and deep expertise dedicated to reducing and mitigating unemployment costs in the staffing space.
- Incomplete operational relief: While some administrative efficiencies were achieved, the client still carried much of the workload and oversight.
The Solution
After evaluating alternative vendors, the client selected Thomas & Company to lead an updated unemployment cost strategy. Working in close partnership with the corporate team, Thomas & Company helped redesign processes, tighten controls, and improve execution across the program.
- Improved data quality and integrity to support stronger decision-making and cleaner claim handling.
- Enhanced front-end communications to speed responses and improve coordination.
- Centralized claims ownership from ~40–50 field locations to a dedicated corporate team.
- Established stronger controls and oversight to drive consistency, accountability, and measurable cost mitigation.
The Results
The transition produced measurable improvements in both workload and cost performance, with clearer accountability and a more streamlined operating model.
- ~40% reduction in administrative burden (per client metrics) by simplifying and standardizing claims handling.
- Estimated $145K in annual savings driven by reduced provider fees and lower unemployment tax liabilities.
- Significant consolidation of effort: claims management shifted from ~40–50 offices to a two-person corporate team, supported by Thomas & Company.
- Client feedback:“…working with Thomas and Company, we’ve been able to bring claims back to corporate with me and one other person doing claims. We had all 40–50 offices doing claims and now we just have two people doing claims… which has been really great!”
- “…you guys… go way above and beyond what [our prior provider] was doing… It is so easy to do claims in SHIELD… there’s only a few questions, compared to… sometimes 30 questions.”
The Impact
Beyond the hard savings, the engagement changed how the organization managed unemployment at scale—moving from a decentralized, transactional process to a centralized program with stronger governance and consultative expertise.
- Stronger partnership model with a highly responsive, collaborative service team.
- More flexible and efficient workflows that improved turnaround times and reduced internal friction.
- Improved communication across stakeholders through clearer front-end coordination.
- Access to specialized unemployment expertise via an ongoing consultative approach focused on cost mitigation.