profile updated Jul 30, 2008, 10:03 AM
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. or ADP it is most commonly known, may not have invented outsourcing, but it certainly made it mainstream.
Started in 1949 with the goal of freeing small businesses from the burden of payroll management and tax compliance, ADP has grown into a multi-national Fortune 500 company. Besides payroll services, perhaps its best known employer product, ADP also offers benefits administration, retirement management, recruitment tools, screening and selection, HR records management and more.
Employers can buy a la carte or combine services. There are off-the-shelf packages tailored for companies based on their employee count. With some 550,000 clients and the payroll data of 24 million employees, ADP has experience serving the world's biggest companies and the fast-food restaurant around the corner from you.
Never with more than a toe in recruitment services, ADP jumped into the pool in 2006 acquiring ATS vendor VirtualEdge. A scrappy up-and-comer, VirtualEdge had a feature-rich ATS for the mid-sized and larger employer. Rather than swallow up the company and incorporate it wholesale into the bureaucracy, ADP maintained it as a subsidiary and retained the VirtualEdge brand. See the VirtualEdge profile for more on the ATS system.
Because of its size, product offerings, especially payroll, and the number of clients, ADP has a unique view of the American economy. Monthly it issues the ADP National Employment Report which is similar to the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly employment survey. The ADP report causes its share of controversy when it differs, as it occasionally does, from the official report. Still, the report is a sort of bell cow for Wall Street, since it is typically issued days in advance of the official report.
News & Updates 
Products & Services
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Payroll
This is the service that launched ADP and was one of the earliest business services to be outsourced. Today, ADP processes the payroll for millions of American workers, while handling the paperwork, tax filing and banking transactions. There are multiple levels of service for small, medium and large employers. -
Benefits Management
If you still think benefits admin amounts to picking a health plan and paying the premiums, then you surely need help. ADP's benefits administration will handle all the routine stuff plus the more specialized work such as COBRA, FSA and commuter programs, retirement and such extras as tuition reimbursements. As with most ADP service, there are service levels for every size company. -
Human Resource Services
ADP will manage all of the quantitative aspects - and some qualitative components - of your HR program. Or create an HR program for growing firms that need to step up. The services include managing and maintaining employee records, employee communication, benefits management, compliance, and pre-employment screening and selection. As will all ADP programs, there are service levels depending on company size and the ability to mix and match from among all the products. -
Retirement Services
From 401(K) programs to executive deferred comp plans, ADP can handle everything from providing a variety of investment choices to managing the payroll deductions (for payroll clients) and creating tailored plans. -
Screening and Selection
Run background checks that include credit, criminal, driving, reference and credentials. ADP reports and scores results. Assistance is offered with government and internal policy compliance including sample offer / rejection letters and employee handbooks.