Start with the work the role must own. If decisions keep returning to the founder because nobody has the authority to make them, an operations hire may help. If the problem is unclear priorities, conflicting incentives or a missing tool, adding a manager may leave the cause untouched.
Headcount belongs in the brief as context. I would not use it as the hiring trigger.
What is actually coming back to you?
Look at recent work that needed your intervention. An order waited for a delivery decision. A customer received a promise the team could not meet. A report arrived, but nobody knew who should act on it.
For each example, write down where the work stopped, who could have moved it forward and what prevented them. Ask the person doing the work. A process diagram will not tell you whether they were missing permission, information, time or a reason to prioritise the job.
The distinction matters because the remedies differ. Clearer instructions can fix an unclear handoff. They cannot create capacity in a team that is already full.
Does the problem cross team boundaries?
Consider an illustrative situation, not a client case. Sales agrees a delivery date. The delivery team sees the order later and cannot meet it. The founder then decides which customer will wait.
The first question is where the delivery promise should be checked. Naming someone to own that handoff, with authority to challenge an unrealistic date, gives you a specific change to test.
A broader operations role becomes a stronger option when someone must keep making these decisions across the business, and existing managers lack the capacity or mandate to do it. Write down that recurring work before choosing the title.
Can you hand over authority as well as tasks?
A useful role brief describes decisions, not just duties. “Improve efficiency” does not tell a new manager what they can change.
A more concrete brief might say: own the flow from accepted order to completed delivery; agree capacity with the team leads; escalate exceptions against agreed limits; and keep the founder informed through a defined review.
Then identify what remains with you. Pricing, spending and staffing decisions need clear boundaries. If every exception still requires your permission, the new manager may become another person waiting for an answer.
Is the need permanent, temporary or still unclear?
Separate the work of establishing an operating routine from the work of running it.
If the business needs continuing daily coordination and people leadership, assess a permanent role against that workload. If the immediate job is to establish responsibilities and a usable reporting routine, scope that work explicitly before deciding how much ongoing leadership it requires.
An interim appointment can provide temporary leadership or lead a defined change. A fractional arrangement can provide recurring leadership on an agreed schedule. Neither label tells you whether the person will have enough time, authority or availability for your situation. The mandate and coverage do.
Before comparing costs, make the scope comparable. The cost of hiring article is a companion to that discussion, not a substitute for defining the job.
What should you prepare before starting a search?
Write a role brief that answers these questions:
- Which flow of work will this person own?
- What decisions can they make without asking you?
- What evidence shows the work needs a dedicated owner?
- What capacity and support will they have?
- What observable change would show that the appointment is working?
Use your own records for the last answer. For example, you could track delivery commitments missed or decisions returned to the founder. Define the measure and capture the starting position before promising an improvement.
If you cannot yet answer these questions, the useful next step is to investigate the work. You can still decide to hire afterwards, with a job that a candidate can understand.
Where should you start?
Bring a recent delayed decision or failed handoff to an initial conversation. It gives us something concrete to examine: who was involved, what stopped and what the business needed to happen.
If you want help defining the role, book a call.
Which everyday task in your company currently has no clear owner?
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