How to Grow Your Business During Economic Uncertainty
G&A Partners CEO Jeff Williams outlines strategies—culture, technology and a stronger commercial engine—to help small businesses thrive amid rising costs and workforce challenges.
G&A Partners, a professional employer organization that provides payroll, benefits and HR administration for small and midsize businesses, is positioning itself as a growth catalyst for its clients amid a wave of economic uncertainty. In an interview with Pulse 2.0, President and CEO Jeff Williams – who took the helm in July – laid out the firm’s strategy for preserving its strengths while expanding its commercial and technology capabilities.
Key challenges facing small‑ and midsize businesses
Williams said the biggest pressure on SMB leaders is the “cumulative weight of everything business owners are being asked to manage.” The 2026 G&A SMB Readiness Report highlights two striking figures:
87% of SMBs say changing economic conditions have altered how they run their businesses.
53% have had to rely on fewer workers, reflecting hiring and retention headwinds.
Other hurdles include rising healthcare costs, wage pressures, increasingly complex employment regulations and a talent‑shortage environment. Williams warns that the combined effect of these factors can be overwhelming for firms that lack the resources of large enterprises.
Growth priorities and tactics announced by the new CEO
Williams’ roadmap focuses on four pillars:
Preserve and strengthen the customer‑centric culture. G&A’s legacy includes a client‑services team where 95% are customer‑experience certified, a credential Williams believes is hard to replicate.
Build a more powerful commercial engine. The firm plans to expand its sales reach and deepen relationships with existing clients, turning satisfied customers into growth advocates.
Improve operational capabilities. By streamlining internal processes, G&A aims to deliver faster onboarding, more accurate payroll runs and smoother compliance support.
Leverage technology and data. Williams highlighted artificial intelligence as a key lever for automating routine HR tasks, providing predictive insights on workforce trends, and enhancing the overall client experience. Read more about AI’s ROI potential.
Williams stresses that growth is an outcome, not a strategy. He believes delivering genuine value, executing consistently and continuously improving will naturally translate into higher revenue and market share.
What this means for investors, consumers and the broader industry
For investors, G&A’s focus on technology and data could improve margins by reducing manual labor costs and opening new subscription‑based revenue streams. The firm’s strong reputation—built over three decades—offers a defensive moat in a fragmented PEO market.
Consumers (i.e., the SMB owners) stand to benefit from lower administrative overhead, better compliance risk management and more predictive workforce planning. By outsourcing HR functions to a certified team, they can reallocate internal talent toward core business activities such as product development or sales.
The broader HR services industry may see accelerated adoption of AI‑driven tools as firms scramble to meet client demand for efficiency and insight. Economic optimism remains selective, suggesting that businesses that can demonstrate cost‑saving technology will be better positioned to win new contracts.
What to watch next
Williams indicated that G&A will track three metrics closely over the coming year:
Client‑retention rate, especially among firms that have reduced headcount.
Adoption rate of AI‑enabled HR modules, measured by usage hours per client.
Revenue growth from the newly built commercial engine, reported in quarterly earnings.
Analysts will likely compare G&A’s performance against other PEOs and against broader HR‑tech benchmarks. Any significant shift in SMB hiring trends—such as a reversal of the current 53% reliance on fewer workers—could also reshape the firm’s growth outlook.
Key facts at a glance
CEO Jeff Williams joined G&A Partners in July.
95% of the client‑services team is customer‑experience certified.
87% of SMBs say economic conditions have changed their operations (2026 SMB Readiness Report).
53% of SMBs have had to operate with fewer workers.
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