In the early stages, hiring is about solving immediate problems. You need someone who can step in, take things off your plate, and keep things moving.

So you hire someone capable, hands-on, and ready to execute.

And that works—at first.

The day-to-day gets done. The pressure eases. Progress is made.

But as the business grows, things start to feel different.

Roles become stretched. Expectations shift. What once worked smoothly starts to feel harder than it should.

What Wasn’t Designed Early Starts to Matter

Growth changes the nature of work.

What started as execution begins to require:

• More ownership
• More structure
• More forward planning
• More clarity around how things should operate

And this is where the gap starts to show.

Not because the person isn’t good, but because the role itself has evolved, often without being clearly redefined.

At the same time, the foundations behind the role may not have been fully thought through early on.

Things like:

• How the role fits into the wider structure
• What success looks like at the next stage
• How processes and systems should scale with the business

According to PwC, one of the biggest challenges CEOs face during growth is aligning talent with the changing needs of the business. It’s not just about hiring, it’s about ensuring roles are designed for where the business is going, not just where it is today.

Why This Happens (And Why It’s So Common)

Most founders and CEOs aren’t expected to be experts in organisational design, workforce planning, or job design. You’re building a business, making decisions quickly, and often working with limited budgets.

So hiring tends to be:

• Reactive rather than planned
• Focused on immediate gaps
• Based on what’s needed now, not what’s coming next

Research from Deloitte highlights that fast-growing organisations often prioritise speed in hiring over long-term structure, especially in early and mid-growth stages.

And that’s completely understandable.

But it does mean that roles are often set up without fully understanding how they will need to evolve.

It’s Often a Design Problem, Not a People Problem

When things stop working, it’s easy to look at the individual. But more often than not, the issue is alignment. The role was designed for one stage of the business, and the business has moved on. Without redefining the role, increasing expectations can outpace what it was originally set up to deliver.

This is where friction shows up:

• Performance feels inconsistent
• Accountability becomes unclear
• Leaders step back into the detail
• Progress slows down

Not because the person isn’t capable, but because the role hasn’t kept up with the business.

Thinking Beyond the Immediate Hire

This is where a more strategic lens makes a difference.

Before hiring, it’s worth asking:

• What will this role need to look like in 6–12 months?
• Is this a role that needs to build, or just deliver?
• What level of experience is required to set this up properly?

Because hiring purely for execution can solve today’s problem but creates tomorrows problems.

Getting the Right Input Early

You don’t need to have all the answers as a founder or CEO.

But understanding the implications of hiring decisions early can save significant time, cost, and complexity later.

This is where bringing in experienced input early can make a real difference.

Not necessarily to do the role long-term, but to:

• Help shape how it should be designed
• Define what “good” looks like
• Ensure it’s built in a way that will scale

Once that foundation is in place, execution becomes much more effective—and far less likely to need rework later.

Final Thought

When a good hire stops working, it’s rarely just about the person.

It’s often a signal that the business has evolved, and the role hasn’t been designed to keep up.

For founders and CEOs, the shift is moving from hiring to solve immediate problems, to thinking more strategically about how roles, structure, and capability need to evolve over time.

Because the decisions you make early don’t just impact today they shape how your business scales.

Ready to Strengthen Your People Strategy?

Get in touch with Pupal HR Consulting today to learn how we can support your business growth.

📞 1300 378 725
📧 hello@pupal.com.au
🌐 www.pupal.com.au