In short
Do not open a permanent role when the work is temporary, when nobody can describe what success looks like in six months, when two roles have been merged to fit one budget, or when the salary you can pay does not match the bar you need. In those cases the honest options are contract cover, narrowing the scope, or waiting.
Key facts
- Not ready if
- You cannot describe six-month success
- Not ready if
- The work runs out inside a few months
- Not ready if
- Budget and bar do not match
- Ready when
- A named constraint is blocking delivery now
Four signals a role is not ready
- Nobody can write two sentences on what this person will have delivered in six months.
- The work is a project with an end date, not an ongoing responsibility.
- Two different roles have been merged because the budget only stretches to one.
- The salary you can pay is materially below what the required bar commands.
Alternatives worth testing first
| Situation | Alternative | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope project | Contractor or agency | Higher day rate, no retention risk |
| Unclear scope | Do it manually for a month first | Slower now, correct hire later |
| Budget below the bar | Hire adjacent and train in | Longer ramp-up, needs mentoring capacity |
| Work is real but not yet full-time | Part-time or fractional | Less availability, faster start |
| Constraint is process, not capacity | Fix the process | No new cost at all |
The cost of hiring too early
An early hire into an undefined role rarely fails loudly. It fails as drift: unclear ownership, mediocre output, and a difficult conversation six months later — after the recruitment fee, the salary and the onboarding time have all been spent.
Deferring a hire by one quarter to define it properly is usually cheaper than correcting one.
Common questions
- Is it better to hire two mid-level engineers or one senior?
- It depends on whether your constraint is capacity or judgement. If nobody can make the architectural calls, two mid-level hires will not fix it.
- How do we know a contractor is the right answer?
- If the work has a defined end point and does not need institutional knowledge afterwards, contract cover is usually cleaner and faster than a permanent hire.
- Does deferring a hire damage the team?
- Less than hiring the wrong person into an unclear role. What damages a team is watching a bad hire go unaddressed.
Talk it through
A short, direct conversation about the role, the market and whether the SUS model fits what you are trying to do.
Arrange a conversationAny percentages or figures shown in this article are illustrative examples used to explain the model. They are not quoted rates, market benchmarks or salary data.