The Hiring Confusion

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Systemized Business, the podcast where we talk about simple systems, confident delegation, and predictable execution. I am your host, I'm a business manager and operations strategist, and today we are talking about a question that a lot of founders often hit at some point in business. They know they need help, they know that they cannot keep everything to themselves, and they also know that things are starting to feel heavier, slower, messier, and more dependent on them than they should. But then they hit the next question, and this is where people often get stuck. Who exactly do I hire? Do I need a virtual assistant? Do I need an executive assistant? Do I need a business manager? Do I need an operations manager? And because these titles are so often used loosely, particularly in the online space, it can become really confusing very quickly. So in this episode, I want to help us think through and help us think clearly through these different roles. And so by the end of this episode, you will know exactly how to identify the kind of support that you actually need, how to match the right role to the right bottleneck, to the real bottleneck in your business, and how to avoid one of the biggest hiring mistakes that founders often make, which is hiring by vague title instead of hiring around the outcomes you desire. So let's get into it. Before we get into this different roles, I want us to start with the mental reframing that makes this whole conversation so much easier. And this is starting with a question. And most times, founders start with the wrong question. They start with asking themselves, who should I hire? And of course, that sounds reasonable, but um that's actually not the best starting point or really the best question to ask yourself. A better question would be: what is the actual bottleneck in my business? And what level of ownership do I need someone to take? Because that's really what we want to know. Because titles don't solve the real problems that we have. It's the people that solve the problems, it's the role that solve the problem, and ultimately it's the clarity that is going to solve your problems. Because two businesses can look very similar from the outside and really be really need completely different first operations higher. So one founder might be dealing with repetitive admin, and they need someone to take on that low-level but necessary work off of their plate. And another founder might be the communication bottleneck. Their inbox is flowing, their calendar is chaotic, follow-up is inconsistent, and everything still needs to pass through them before it moves on. Somebody else might have a team already, but projects are dragging, people are unclear, things are falling through the cracks, and no one is really driving execution. And another business altogether might have reached a point where growth is exposing weak systems when the handoffs are messy, when the processes are inconsistent, things are being done differently each time. So these are four very different problems. So the goal is not to hire the role that sounds impressive or to hire the title that everyone online or um in your circles keeps mentioning. You know, every so often there are trendy buzzwords that keep being thrown around in terms of roles and the next hire that you need. But the real goal here is to hire according to the real friction that is in your business, and this is the lens that I want us to use all the way through this episode. Not title first, but bottleneck first. Okay, so now let's go through these roles and make um just be clear because part of the confusion is that people often use these titles interchangeably, and they're not really interchangeable. So um let's start with the first one uh the virtual assistant or the VA. So this is usually uh there to provide recurring task support and administrative help. A VA is often a great fit when you know what needs to be done, but you should not still be the one doing it. This could be things like inbox support, scheduling, formatting documents, uploading content, customer service admin, uh data entry, back-end coordination to a certain extent, or other repetitive tasks that do keep the business moving, but they don't need to stay with you. So a VA is typically not there to lead the operations of the business, to redesign your systems, or to independently manage cross-functional execution. Yes, VAs can specialize in marketing or production or social media, etc. But in any case, and generally speaking, of course, the simplest way to think about a VA is this a VA helps with task support. All right, the next uh title that kind of gets a bit confused is an executive assistant. So this person supports the founder more directly. This role uh is usually centered around your time, your communication, your calendar, and your follow-ups, and helps you stay organized and protected from unnecessary chaos. So, this might include inbox management, scheduling, meeting preparation, reminders, follow-ups, uh, generally helping the founder become less reactive. And an executive assistant isn't usually there to run the whole back end of the business or to build company-wide operation systems, but um they are there to help with uh supporting the founder. Okay, so the next one we have is an a business manager, and this includes an online business manager, and so this typically is a person who helps manage the day-to-day execution across the business, making sure that the right people are working on the right projects within the right uh time frames. This is often the person who helps turn the founder's vision into actual movement. They keep projects moving, they coordinate priorities, they help the team stay aligned and create accountability. And of course, they reduce the founder's role as the person who consist uh constantly checks and chases and reminds. So, an OBM is often very helpful when the issue is not just workload but it's execution as well. When there are more moving parts in the business, more people involved, and more need for coordination. And so the OBM or the online business manager helps with execution support, and then finally, we have the operations manager. Of course, this is not the least of these roles, um, and she is usually focused on how the business runs and how to make it run better. This role tends to be more focused on workflows, on the systems, the process improvement, the operational efficiency, repeatability, and helping the business become more stable and more scalable. Now, in some businesses, of course, you know, especially smaller ones, the lines between a business manager and an operations manager can overlap, but and that is fine. I'm not here to provide this uh a perfect textbook definition for this. Um, but what what matters is that if the issue is getting things done and coordinating execution, then that tends to lean more towards a business manager, you know, that OBM territory. But if the issue is improving how the business runs at the systems level, that leans more towards the operations manager territory. So the operations manager helps with systems support. So if I could simplify each of these, um I would say your virtual assistant is task, uh handles task support, your executive assistant handles founder support, your OBM uh handles execution support, and then your operations manager handles your system support. Again, this is very simplified, but it's very useful to help us in remembering those distinctions between the four. Now let's get into the practical part. If you're trying to work out now who to hire first, a VA, an executive assistant, an OBM, an operations manager, and what you need to start is asking yourself where the friction is actually showing up in your business right now. That question will take you much further than just starting at the job titles. So let's think this through a little bit more. If if your bottleneck is admin overload, then you are most likely going to need to hire a virtual assistant or an assistant first. What does this actually look like? Well, it looks like you being buried in those repetitive admin tasks. It looks like too many small but very necessary things that are stacking up in the background. It looks like client admin, document prep, formatting, scheduling, inbox cleanup, content upload, backend updates, follow-up emails, a hundred little things that keep eating into your day. And these are things that you know how to do, you've been doing them, but the problem is that you should not be doing them anymore. Your business is growing, and you, your time and your energy needs to be focused somewhere else. So the tasks themselves are not on unclear. That's not the problem. The problem is that you should not be doing all of those things. So this is a capacity problem. More specifically, your capacity. It's not your leadership or your systems or your high-level execution, it's just a very common capacity problem. And I think this is important to call out that distinction because not every overwhelmed founder needs a strategic operator, sometimes you just need somebody to help you with the little things that are important and they do make a difference if they are neglected, but um, they just need to come off your plate. Yeah. So the business um, if the business fundamentally works, but you are spending too much of your time doing those little tasks, then a VA or an assistant might be the right first hire. Now, if you have gone through your business and you've realized that your bottleneck is that you as a founder are overloaded, then your likely first hire is an executive assistant. And this is a different kind of overwhelm. This is when your inbox drives your day, your calendar feels uh that you're more reactive than proactive. When you find yourself switching context constantly, you are missing follow-ups, decisions are delayed because you need to filter through everything that um needs to flow through your business. So it's not necessarily that you are too busy, you are just congested, and the business and the business uh keeps stalling because there's too much communication, too much coordination that still depends on your direct attention. And so this is where an executive assistant can be incredibly valuable because sometimes the first thing the business needs as it's growing is is not um a broad operations role, it might just need um you getting support as the founder. So somebody who can take care of messages or meetings or taking care of rescheduling and rearranging stuff, reminders and inboxes and follow-ups, it still sits close to you, but it doesn't need to be done by you. And so this is where executive support can really, really, really help. So when a business um needs an online business manager or a business manager, then that means your bottleneck is likely execution chaos. You have the plans, you have the people, but keeping those things aligned and moving is a real challenge. Um, it typically works best when there's already an existing uh team, which it's this is why it's so important to understand what these roles do, because you know, I've had conversations with business owners who tell me they're looking for an OBM, but when you get to the heart of what they think they need or what they are experiencing in their business, you realize that they don't need an OBM at all, they need a virtual assistant or an executive assistant. But anyway, if your business um grows and it will at to the point where it needs um an a business manager, then this is because the issue is no longer just I have too much to do. Now the issue is that things are not flowing well across the business. Like I said, that your people are there, your projects are there, but projects are dragging, launches um feel messy, tasks are falling through the cracks, team members may be capable, but they're not always aligned, and no one seems to be fully driving priorities through to completion. And you, as the founder, become the default project manager, you become the follow-up person, you become the accountability engine, and it's hard to have your hand and your head in everything that needs to be done for so long, because eventually you're going to get exhausted, you're going to get burned out. And this is the challenge because even when work is happening, things are moving, nothing moves though, unless you push it, and that is really the key sign. If the work is happening but not flowing, you probably have an execution problem, and this is where an online business manager can become such a valuable resource because this is a person who can help you create visibility, they can keep moving parts connected, they make sure priorities are followed through, they reduce the amount of mental project management that the founder is carrying every single day. So if your business has more moving parts now, it has a team, it has active projects, it has actually launches throughout the year, it has ongoing delivery. The problem is that nobody is really holding the center of that execution, and so this is where the OBM can be that missing piece. And then our final bottleneck here to address um is the broken systems. This is where the operations manager um can be of great value, and this can even include um a very systems strong business manager as well, one who thinks um in systems, and this of course depends on the size and the stage of your business. And we're looking at the growth when growth in your business starts exposing those operational weaknesses. Yes, work gets done, clients get served, but that work is different every time. The way handoffs happen is messy, nothing is very clean. Team members seem to be reinventing the wheel every time they go through a process. There's still some mixed uh mistakes happening in your delivery, um, and so there's there's this constant feeling of inconsistent delivery. There's a lot that depends on memory, on informal communication, and then on your intervention as the business owner. So you kind of feel yourself having to step in and fix issues and remind and repeat. Um, yeah, so this is not we need help doing more. This is rather the way we are operating is no longer strong enough for the level that we are trying to reach, and so this is where that systems thinking really, really matters, because this is where you design workflows, how um your processes work, how you can look at the processes and critique them and improve them and make sure that operational clarity happens. Because sometimes the next level of your growth isn't um blocked by the your effort, but is it's blocked by just weak infrastructure within your team, within your business. So if your business is functioning but it's not functioning well, and you keep feeling that drag of inconsistency, unclear workflows, repeated inefficiency, then you might need somebody who can improve that operational design of the business, not just support the existing chaos. We want to eliminate the chaos by working on our processes and Making things smooth through our um our customer journey, and so this is where an operations manager really really excels. So let's quickly recap because um we've and this is a mini cheat sheet for you. If the bottleneck is admin, think VA, uh virtual assistant, if the bottleneck is founder overload, think executive assistant. If the bottleneck is execution chaos, then think business manager, and if the bottleneck is broken systems, then think operations manager. And of course, there are nuances here and there, there are no real rigid rules, but this is very useful as a high level decision anchor. So now that we've gotten clear on the type of support that we might need, the next important shift is designing the role, not around random tasks or things that your business friends have heard and seen on the internet, but is to design it around the outcomes that you are looking for. And this is, I think, one of the biggest things that we overlook as founders. We say things like, I need somebody to help me with stuff, I need somebody to help me get organized, I need somebody to take things off my plate, I need support with my operations. I might understand what I mean, but those are not clear role definitions, those are more like feelings. And when you hire based on feelings without translating them into outcomes, then you will usually end up with vague expectations and a reactive working relationship, and this will eventually lead back to where we started, which is too much dependency on the founder, which we are trying to avoid, and all of this will lead to disappointment on both sides because tasks describe activity, outcomes describe value. So instead of just asking what tasks can this person do, also ask yourself what should become easier because this person is here, what should improve in the business? What should stop depending so heavily on me? What should become more consistent? What should be faster, clearer, more reliable? So, for example, instead of saying I need help with admin, you might say, I need someone to reduce my involvement in routine client admin and make onboarding more consistent. Another example, instead of saying I need somebody to manage my team, you might rephrase that to I need somebody to make sure weekly priorities are visible, owners are clear, and follow-up actually happens. Do you see? Do you see the differences? The first version is vague and creates a role built around activity. But the second uh version is actually something that we we can use now because it it creates a role that is built around the contribution that you actually need and the problem that you actually need solving, and so the we I have a really simple framework for this. There are three things to define before you hire someone. The first thing is the purpose. Why does this role exist? Not in generic terms, but in your business right now. Why do you need this person? The second is outcomes. What should improve because this person is in uh this role? What do you want the role to make easier, better, more reliable, more organized, more visible, or less dependent on you? And the third is the success indicators. How will you know that this hire is working for you? What will be different in 30, 60, 90 days? Because if success is unclear to you, oh, you bet that the success will be unclear to the person that you've hired. And this matters so much, especially with operational roles, because these roles can become shapeless very easily if you don't define them properly. So when you're designing your first operations higher, I really want you to move away from what tasks can I dump and move more toward what business outcomes do I need this role to own or to improve. And this is this one shift can dramatically improve your hiring. So before we wrap up, I want us to leave with a few uh common mistakes to avoid because this is where sometimes a lot of founders lose time, they lose money, and they lose trust in the hiring process. Mistake number one: hiring by type, you know, by title because it sounds right. You might be within circles, within groups, where everyone says, you need an online business manager, or you need an operations manager because it sounds more serious, or maybe you think, hmm, I might need a virtual assistant. Everybody seems to get one at some point. But familiar or trendy is not a hiring strategy. You need to understand the problem that you're solving first. Mistake number two is hiring two juniors for an ownership problem. If your real issue is coordination, decision flow, accountability, vision, or execution, then tasks task support alone might not solve that. And this is where founders might hire a support role, but still find themselves chasing, clarifying, holding things together because they've hired for help, but what they really needed was ownership. So know what your problem is so you can look for the person to solve that problem, not look for a person and have them do stuff and hope and wish and have expected them to do something else and they didn't do it. And on the flip side, mistake number three is hiring two seniors for a capacity problem. If your main issue is repetitive admin and implementation support, then don't overcomplicate the solution. Not every problem requires strategic operations management or a strategic operator. Sometimes you need all you need is reliable consistent support with the tasks that should no longer be sitting with you. Mistake number four is writing a long task list instead of defining outcomes. So a shopping list of tasks is not the same as a clear rule. And if your job description is just a pile of disconnected tasks, you are likely to attract confusion, you're likely to attract a poor fit, and you're likely to be disappointed at the end of the day. So defining your outcomes, defining what you want this role to be, what success looks like, is really important to have that clarity for you, yourself, and for the person who you're hoping to attract. And mistake number five is expecting one person to fix everything. One hire cannot become your entire operating system. You can't fix weak leadership or poor delegation or unclear priorities, messy systems, broken communication, and every admin task all at the same time. A great hire can absolutely help you move your business forward, but they still need clarity, they still need context, and they still need a sensible scope. So please don't hire one person and silently expect them to rescue your whole business. It's not fair on you, it's not fair on them for sure, and more often than not, y'all, it does not end well. So we have covered a lot in this episode. So let's bring it, um, bring it all together for us. If you know you need help, but you don't know who to hire first when you look at your operations. Start here. Don't stop with a title, start with your bottleneck. What is your problem in your business? Where is ask yourself this: where is the friction in your business right now? Is it admin? Is it um are you overloaded? Is it execution chaos? Is it broken systems? From there, you can then ask yourself, what level of ownership do I need? And what outcomes do I need this role to create? This is how the right first or your next hire becomes much clearer. You're not panicking, you're not working off vague job titles, and you're not copying what somebody else did in their business, but you are diagnosing and working with the information that will best benefit your business. So I hope this episode has been helpful to you in clarifying some of your thoughts around operations hiring for your business. Go ahead and share with another founder who might need a bit of guidance around that first operations hire. It can be tricky, but it doesn't need to be. Thank you for listening. Chat again soon. Bye for now.