“We need another person.”

When everyone is stretched, hiring feels like the obvious answer. Sometimes it is.

But often a good chunk of the work doesn't need doing at all — or doesn't need doing the way it's being done. Double handling, manual workarounds, chasing information, re-keying the same details into three places.

Before adding a person, it's worth looking at what everyone is actually doing. Remove or simplify some of the work first, and you'll know whether you still need that extra person — and exactly what they should be doing if you do.