Have you ever hired someone because you needed help now, only to realize months later that you’re still doing most of the same work you were trying to offload? Or, that your need for immediate help led you to hire the wrong person?

This is actually more common than you might think. Over the years, I’ve had several advisory clients of mine with similar stories. They come into a coaching session exhausted because they are at capacity, their calendar is full, their inbox is overflowing and they just need more help. So they hire the first person they can find instead of finding the right person.

Most advisors don’t struggle because they can’t find people. They struggle because hiring is done without having the right type of hiring system, one that they can scale (or repeat).

In other words, when hiring doesn’t work, advisors don’t blame the process instead they blame themselves or the person they hired. However, the real issue usually isn’t the person. It’s the absence of a system to help them find the right person.

Hiring without structure leads to vague roles, inconsistent training and frustration on both sides. Over time, this creates hesitation around hiring at all, which only compounds the workload and limits growth.

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and one of the most influential business leaders of our time, said it best: “The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.”

And, I believe that is true, hiring well isn’t accidental, rather it’s intentional. That’s why the advisors who scale successfully don’t just hire differently, but rather they design a hiring system that supports them long before the first interview.

The following is a step-wise approach to finding your next new hire:

Step 1. Understand the Position Before You Hire

Before posting a job or asking another “if they know someone”, you should answer one critical question, “Which position, if filled with the right person, will free up the most time for me right now?

Most hiring mistakes happen because advisors hire based on title instead of impact. When you define the position, the role becomes clearer and the decision becomes easier.

Step 2. Identify All Role Responsibilities

Years ago I created “The Role Exercise” to help advisors not only know what position to fill, but also how to delegate responsibilities they could be giving to their current staff. It’s an exercise that you can do within a few minutes. Simply create three columns in an Excel worksheet and label them as follows:

• Things only I can do
• Things both I and others can do
• Things only others should do

Next, brainstorm all of the tasks that take up your day and assign each to one of those columns. Try and move as many from the middle column over to “Things only others should do”. This way you know the responsibilities a new hire could take on.

This exercise ensures you’re hiring to delegate intentionally, not just to get relief.

Step 3. Network First, Then Advertise

Start with your natural market, existing staff or even clients. These sources often provide better alignment than cold applicants. From there, expand outward using LinkedIn and relevant job sites.

The goal isn’t volume but instead it’s to find the right fit.

Step 4. Establish a Clear Interview & Vetting Process

Instead of relying on gut feel, decide in advance why you would hire someone and why you would not. This removes emotion from the decision and keeps the focus on finding the right fit for the role, someone with the right values and long-term potential.

Step 5. Determine the Right Compensation Structure

Compensation confusion delays hiring more than almost anything else. Use market data and modern tools, (including AI) to understand what similar roles are paying in your area. Whether it’s salary-only or salary plus bonus, clarity here prevents second-guessing later.

Step 6. Create a 90-Day Development Plan

Your 90-day plan should outline every task the new hire will need to learn as well as clear priorities and defined timelines. Also, you need to determine who is responsible for training.

Remember, without structure training becomes reactive, but with structure development becomes intentional.

Why Designing a Hiring System That Scales Works

Designing a hiring system that scales your business works because it shifts hiring from an emotional decision to a structured process. It creates clarity for the advisor, confidence for the hire, and consistency for the business. As a result, when hiring is systemized growth stops feeling chaotic and starts feeling repeatable.

So, the next time you feel your business is at full capacity take a moment to use the aforementioned steps so that you hire the right person for the right job for the right reason!