If you're still running hiring yourself, you're not failing. You're doing what most founders and SME CEO's do.

In the early days, or before you've scaled, it makes sense. Hiring is too important to delegate. You know what’s needed. You trust your network. And when someone great comes recommended, you say yes.

But then the team grows. You start hiring for roles you don’t fully control. Your network gets quieter. You open a position, and it takes weeks just to describe what you're looking for, let alone find it. And the process ends up living in your head, or in a Notion doc no one uses twice.

At that point, the problem isn't who you hire.
It's how you hire.

And no, you don’t need a full HR team to fix it. But you do need to stop treating every hire as a blank page.

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You’re not supposed to do it all yourself

As founders and CEOs, we’ve internalized this idea that until we’re big enough to have a People team, we should somehow be able to manage hiring, onboarding, team health, culture and performance… on top of actually running the company.

That’s not how scale works.

The question isn’t whether you’re capable of hiring. It’s whether it’s the best use of your time right now.

In most cases, the answer is no.

What’s missing isn’t resources. It’s structure.

Hiring without an HR team doesn’t mean you need to build one.
But you do need to set up a structure that works without reinventing the wheel every time.

That means:

• Defining roles based on outcomes, not just titles
• Using your time where it matters, decision-making, final interviews, cultural fit
• Letting others handle the sourcing, screening, logistics, and follow-up

You can keep control without doing it all.

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Yes, referrals work. But they stop scaling fast.

If you’re still depending on intros and LinkedIn posts, you’ve probably noticed the pipeline getting thinner.

That doesn’t mean you’re hiring badly. It just means your reach is limited.

External help, when it's well-integrated, gives you access to new talent pools, tested tools, and time back. And no, it doesn’t have to look like a classic agency model (which, honestly, doesn't work for most SMEs either).

There’s a new middle ground forming between hiring in-house and outsourcing everything. Think flexible support. On-demand recruitment. People who understand your stage and can plug into it without hand-holding.

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You don’t need a full HR department. You need a system.

A repeatable way to define roles, share them, screen candidates, and move them through a process that makes sense.

You can start simple:

• Use Notion or Trello to track progress
• Add structured screening questions in your application form
• Block time for batch interviews instead of scattered calls
• Document onboarding in a lightweight, async way (Loom works great)

None of this is revolutionary. But it adds consistency, which is what most growing teams lack.

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So… what’s the real fix?

Eventually, you'll need help. That doesn’t mean hiring a People team tomorrow. It might just mean bringing someone in to build your process, or help you run it faster. Someone who understands the pace you're at, and doesn’t force you to choose between a €20k recruiter or doing it all alone.

That’s actually how Kaatch works, by the way (not trying to sell you anything, just giving context). We help founders and SMEs stop hiring in chaos, without needing to build an HR team from scratch.

Whether it’s with us or someone else, the point is:
you don’t have to keep improvising.

You can keep your bar high, protect your time, and bring in people who actually move the needle, without burning out or relying on luck.

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Final thought

If hiring still feels like a scramble every time, it’s not your fault.
But it’s also probably not sustainable.

Structure doesn’t mean slowing down. It means being ready for what’s next, and making sure the people you bring in are too.

And when you’re ready to stop winging it, help is closer (and lighter) than you think.

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