Deciding to hire before the contract is confirmed feels risky. But what about waiting?

Winning a significant piece of new business should be good news.

But if delivering it means adding to your team, it can create an uncomfortable decision. Do you start hiring before the work is confirmed and potentially carry the cost, or wait until everything is signed and find yourself without the people you need to deliver it?

There isn't one answer that's right for every business. But I do think there's a danger in assuming that waiting is always the safer option.

The cost isn't all on one side

Hiring somebody before the revenue is secure is a very visible commitment. You know what the salary will cost and you know what happens if the work doesn't materialise.

The consequences of waiting can be harder to see.

Your existing team may be able to absorb the extra work for a while, but what happens to everything they're already delivering? If people are stretched, quality can slip, deadlines become harder to meet and the pressure often lands on the people you can least afford to lose.

There's also the client to consider. If you've spent months or years building the relationship and winning their confidence, you don't want the first few months of delivery to be the point at which you're trying to recruit the people you need to service them properly.

Work backwards from when you need them

I'd start with the point at which you need somebody contributing effectively, rather than the point at which you're prepared to start the search.

Then work backwards.

How much time will they need to understand the business and get up to speed? What notice period are you likely to encounter? How long will you realistically need to find and assess the right person?

For some roles, that could mean the recruitment process needs to begin considerably earlier than you first thought.

That doesn't necessarily mean making a hire before the contract is signed. It means understanding the lead time so you know how long you can afford to wait.

You can prepare before you commit

One of the biggest advantages you can give yourself is not having to start the thinking when the contract lands.

If you know growth is likely, you can get clear on what additional work it will create, where the pressure will fall and whether the existing team can realistically absorb any of it.

You can think through the role you may need, understand how difficult that person is likely to be to find and get a realistic view of the market.

Then you can decide what needs to happen at each stage. Perhaps there's a point where the likelihood of winning the work is high enough to start a search, even if you're not yet ready to make an offer. Perhaps there are interim options that give you more flexibility. Or perhaps the existing team genuinely can cover the work for a defined period.

The important part is that you're making those decisions before urgency takes over.

If the work landed tomorrow, how ready would you be to deliver it without compromising the team or the client?

Here when you need me,

Debbie

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