Employee leasing improves small firms' benefits picture. (Employee Benefits)

Some small-business owners in St. Louis are cutting costs while offering their employees better benefits by turning over their personnel departments to outside companies.

The practice - known as employee leasing - allows outside personnel companies to pool groups of employees from several businesses. The employees from different companies then become employees of the outside personnel company, called a professional employer organization.

That allows the personnel company more leverage in negotiating better health insurance benefits for the pool of workers. It also relieves the burden many small businesses face in coping with increasing government regulations. …