Two Options, Neither One Right

Once a company notices this gap, it usually sees only two paths forward — and neither fits.

Option one: Hire a full-time leader for this. A fully loaded HR director costs $175,000–$190,000 a year once salary, benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead are added up; a major commitment for a need that, at this stage, isn't yet a full-time job.

Option two: Keep stacking the work onto whoever's already carrying it, a founder, an office manager, an ops lead, and hope the informal approach holds until it doesn't.

If this sounds familiar, it's not a sign of falling behind. It's the point almost every growing company reaches. The problem isn't the company. It's that the only two options on the table were built for a different size of business.