Happy Friday HR friends!👋

We can almost taste the weekend!

In today’s bonus Friday edition we’re pondering the first HR hire. when the chaos and paperwork is getting too much to handle; when should we bring in an HR pro?🧠 

Have a great weekend everyone, and we’ll have more HR inspiration for your inbox on Tuesday!

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🚦Coming up

In today’s edition

🔍 The HR Hiring Timeline: Earlier Than You Think | When is the optimal time to make your first HR hire?

🗳️ The Break Room: When did your company make its first HR hire? Was it too early or too late?

📚 Human Readsources: Exploring income-quality of life gaps, the impact of remote work monitoring on productivity, and how companies are evolving their sabbatical policies.

💭Opening thoughts

When do we need to call on a “Jared”?

Nearly 73% of startups make their first HR hire too late, scrambling only after critical issues like compliance failures or key employee departures have already surfaced.

Delaying your HR investment doesn't save money—it creates invisible costs through founder time drain, compensation inconsistencies, and culture problems that compound exponentially as you scale.

A strategic HR leader doesn't just process paperwork; they build scalable systems for recruiting, onboarding, performance management, and compliance that transform your people operations from a liability into a competitive advantage.

For easy reading

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🧠Let’s unpick this

🔍 The HR Hiring Timeline: Earlier Than You Think

The decision of when to bring in your first HR person is one of those "seems small but actually huge" choices that can make or break your company culture.

While most businesses wait until they hit 40-50 employees, by that point founders are typically drowning in HR tasks—spending 18+ hours monthly on paperwork instead of growing the business. It's the classic "I'll deal with it later" trap that comes back to bite you.

Research shows that at just 30 employees, companies generate approximately 28 hours of HR work weekly—that's basically a full-time job already! According to Zelt, the HR-to-employee ratio averages 2.2 HR professionals per 100 employees in smaller startups, showing how critical this function becomes as you scale.

Yet by waiting too long, you risk compliance issues, culture erosion, and talent drain.

Consider starting with HR software (or AI agents 🤖) to automate 50-80% of administrative tasks, then moving to fractional HR support around 30 employees before committing to full-time. Just have a search for “fractional HR” on LinkedIn and you’d be surprised by how many connections are doing this already.

If you're growing faster than 50% in 6-12 months, accelerate this timeline. Because HR isn't just about paperwork—it's about building the systems that let your people (and business) thrive.

The right timing isn't when you can afford HR; it's when you can't afford to be without it.

You can read more at...

🔗 When to Hire HR: Small Business Guide (CharlieHR) 🔗 HR's Critical Role in Startup Growth and Scaling (Zelt) 🔗 When to Hire Your First HR Professional: Key Signs (Business.com)

👀Too long didn’t read

TLDR

🕒 Hire your first HR person earlier than you think—around 30 employees (not 50)—or watch founders waste 18+ hours monthly on admin while culture and compliance suffer.

Today’s edition is also presented by

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🎬Lights, camera, action!

Takeaway and try

📊 Track your leadership team's time spent on HR activities for two weeks and multiply by their hourly rates to reveal the true cost of delaying HR support.

🤖 Implement HR software early to automate 50-80% of administrative tasks before you hit 30 employees and start feeling the administrative burden.

⏰ Consider bringing in fractional HR support around the 30-employee mark rather than waiting until 40-50 when you'll already be overwhelmed with 28+ hours of weekly HR work.

🚀 If your company is growing faster than 50% in 6-12 months, accelerate your HR hiring timeline to prevent compliance issues and culture erosion.

🔄 Maintain an HR-to-employee ratio of about 2.2 HR professionals per 100 employees in your scaling plan to ensure adequate support for your growing workforce."

☕The break room

What’s your take?

📚Additional reading

Human Readsources

💸 American Dream Slips Further from Middle Class (CBS News) - Growing gap between earnings and basic living costs widens.

🔍 Trust vs Tracking: The Remote Work Productivity Debate (HR News) - Remote work productivity debate sparks rise in employee surveillance methods.

🧳 Uber Extends Sabbatical Eligibility to Eight Years (CNBC) - Uber extends sabbatical eligibility from five to eight years.

That’s it for today.

Thanks for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas for your workplace! 🧠

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