Sometimes in the business world necessity creates an opportunity. Such was the case for Carole Kooy when she founded KilaKila Employer Services in 1997.
Carole’s professional accounting career spans over 30 years. A great majority of her work and expertise has been in the construction industry. She began her career in California and later moved to Maui where she met and married her husband, Rob Kooy.
Carole worked with several Maui construction companies. In 1997, one of her clients was struggling to keep his business afloat because of a crippling increase in his workers’ compensation insurance rates. Carole researched possible solutions to this client’s dire situation and discovered that a new business model called a Professional Employer Organization or PEO could help. Thus, KilaKila Employer Services was launched and Carole provided her client with a solution to keep his business open. As a PEO, KilaKila became a co-employer of the client’s employees and was able to offer her client affordable workers’ compensation insurance, as well as, medical insurance, temporary disability insurance and administrative services like payroll and benefits administration.
From this seedling of an idea, Carole Kooy has built KilaKila Employer Services into the largest Maui-based PEO.
Carole’s desire to help Hawaii businesses find solutions to their needs continues today. Her vision for creating a “one-stop-shop” for small businesses to meet all their needs has become a reality.
KilaKila is dedicated to offering trusted, friendly service for local businesses by providing its core bundled package of employee administration services including payroll processing, benefits administration, human resources support, workers’ compensation coverage, and risk management.
Our clients are able to concentrate on running their business and generating revenue while KilaKila takes care of their “back office” responsibilities. Poised to be at the forefront of Hawaii’s economy, KilaKila is assisting more and more businesses every week.
Carole and her dedicated staff at KilaKila also believe in giving back to the community.
Carole served as Chairman of the Board of the Maui Chamber of Commerce in 2009-2010 and was named Maui Business Woman of the year in 2008 by the Small Business Administration. KilaKila continues to be a key sponsor and our employees participate in the annual American Heart Association’s Heart Walk. Ryanda Sarraude recently served as Chairman for the Heart Walk in 2011.
