The Standard Response

So you do what most companies naturally do: "OK — let's hire."

You write the job description. Post it. Screen CVs. Schedule interviews between project meetings. You lose two candidates because you couldn't respond fast enough.

You finally find one that fits. Offer accepted. Good news.

Then comes the sentence every growing company hears:

"My notice period is three months."

Meanwhile your new client calls:

"When do we start?"

You hesitate. "We're just completing the team… a few weeks maybe."

Silence.

"We expected to begin next week."

You Now Face Three Realistic Options

Option A — Stretch the Current Team

"Let's push through. Everyone adds a bit more for a while."

At first it works. People are motivated. The new client matters.

Then the second-order effects appear. Senior consultants start context-switching between too many projects. Meetings multiply. Decisions slow. Small mistakes begin to show up in production work.

Nothing dramatic happens — but everything becomes slightly worse: deadlines move, documentation shortens, testing is rushed.

Six months later you delivered the project. But two experienced employees are exhausted and quietly exploring the market.

The client didn't leave. But internally they now classify you as "good, but requires close supervision."

You didn't lose the deal. You lost trust margin.

Option B — Hire Quickly

You lower the bar slightly. "We'll train them. We just need hands."

You hire juniors. On paper, capacity increases. In reality, delivery slows first.

Your best people stop producing full output and start teaching. Senior time — your most expensive resource — shifts from billable work to supervision.

Productivity temporarily drops while payroll already increased.

Option C — Say No

You decide to be responsible. "We're not ready yet."

The project goes to a competitor.

Nothing breaks internally. Your team is calm.

But growth quietly stops.

Six months later you realise something uncomfortable: you are no longer limited by sales capability — you are limited by how fast you can safely add people.

The Real Issue Isn't Hiring

Every company needs hiring. A stable core team is essential.

The issue is timing.

Business opportunities appear unpredictably. Hiring follows a fixed administrative process.

Why This Slows Growth

Most service companies don't grow linearly. Work arrives in waves.

There are quiet periods when sales is building pipeline. Then suddenly several deals close within weeks.

Headcount doesn't follow waves. It follows employment contracts.

• If you hire only after work appears → you're late
• If you hire before work appears → you carry cost without revenue

So the company oscillates:

overloaded delivery → urgent hiring → underutilization → cost pressure → hesitation to hire → overloaded delivery again

The Hidden Cost

The real cost is rarely visible in accounting first. It appears as operational friction:

• senior people spending evenings reviewing work
• delayed project starts
• postponed invoicing milestones
• accepting smaller projects because you can't start large ones on time

Eventually it becomes financial: lower utilization, slower invoicing cycles, and reduced margin on otherwise profitable deals.

Many companies think their problem is pricing. Often the problem is timing of capacity.

Another Way Companies Handle This

Some organisations separate two things:

1. a permanent team responsible for knowledge, decisions and client ownership
2. flexible delivery capacity activated when workload increases

Instead of: "New project → recruit → wait → deliver"

They operate: "New project → extend delivery → start"

When Hiring Still Makes Sense

Hiring is best when:

• knowledge must stay inside long-term
• the role defines the company's capability
• time exists for proper onboarding

But when demand spikes unexpectedly — and it often does — speed of delivery matters more than ownership of employment contracts.

Clients rarely ask how you staff the project. They notice when work starts late.

What Changes

Instead of: "We can begin once recruitment is finished"

You say: "We start next week."

Instead of managing headcount, you manage workload.

Growth stops being limited by recruitment speed and becomes limited only by how much business you can win.

Question

Is your company waiting for recruitment… or ready when work arrives?