Hiring won't fix a broken process

When work piles up, the first instinct is to hire. Sometimes that’s right. Often, the new person just inherits the mess, and now you’re paying two people to fight it.

Signs the process is the problem

• Work waits between people more than it’s actually worked on.
• The same mistakes repeat, whoever does the job.
• Only one person knows how something is done.
• Information is typed into more than one system.
• New hires take months to become useful.

If you recognise three or more, fix the process before you hire.

A simple test

Map the process from start to finish on one page. For each step, write how long the work takes and how long it waits. If the waiting time is bigger than the working time, more people won’t help. They’ll just wait faster.

Fix first, then decide

1. Remove one step nobody needs.
2. Make the handovers clear: who passes what to whom, and when.
3. Write the process as a one-page checklist.
4. Automate the repetitive parts.
5. Now look at the workload again.

Sometimes you’ll still need the hire. But you’ll hire for a clear role, with a clear process to step into, and they’ll be productive much sooner.

When you should hire anyway

• Demand is growing and the process is already clean.
• You need a skill nobody on the team has.
• You need someone to own an area, not just do tasks.

Start with the free 10-minute process map to see where work waits.

So, how might we fix the process before we grow the team?