Many growing businesses blame underperformance on bad hires, when the real issue is broken systems. This article unpacks why clarity, structure, and process must come before adding new team members. Before hiring again, make sure your business is set up to help people win.
By Jason Pear| | Nacre Consulting
At some point in every growing business, systems that used to work begin to show cracks. The business hits a stride, revenue grows, and the team expands, but operations begin to feel heavier. Projects slip through the cracks, communication falters, and new hires, despite impressive resumes, struggle to gain traction.
The common assumption is: “We must not have the right people.”
In our work with over 150 scaling businesses, we’ve learned that this is rarely the case. In fact, most underperformance has less to do with hiring the wrong people and more to do with asking good people to function inside broken systems. What feels like a talent problem is often a clarity problem. What looks like disengagement is often the byproduct of a lack of structure.
The myth of the perfect hire, the idea that you just need the “right” person to fix the problem, is one of the most expensive and distracting beliefs a growing company can hold onto.
The Real Cost of Hiring Too Soon
When chaos starts to creep in, the instinct is to throw more people at the problem. Leaders rush to hire someone who can “own it,” hoping that a new body will restore order and forward momentum. But without the right systems in place, even the most capable person will struggle.
High-performers want to win. They want to make a difference. But when they walk into a role without clear expectations, repeatable processes, or aligned communication across departments, their energy goes toward survival, not strategy. They spend their first months trying to figure out what success looks like and who is responsible for what. Over time, even the most promising hires lose confidence, momentum, and in some cases, interest.
Before You Blame the Person, Check the Process
There are a few critical questions we ask leaders who are struggling with team performance:
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Do you have a clearly documented outcome for this role?
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Is there a repeatable process for how work is done in this area?
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Are handoffs between departments defined and followed?
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Can you articulate what success looks like in this position, and is that definition consistent across leadership?
When the answers to these questions are fuzzy, there’s no hire in the world who can consistently deliver. Most SMBs operate with tribal knowledge and undocumented workflows in their early stages. That works for a time, but once the business scales beyond a tight-knit team, it creates confusion. And confusion doesn’t just slow execution. It erodes trust, accountability, and morale.
Why Systems Come Before Talent
Hiring should be the final step in a system, not the starting point. At Nacre, we work with clients to get the foundation right first. We help clarify what outcomes the role is responsible for, map out the key processes involved, identify the supporting roles and tools, and document it all in a way that creates alignment across the organization. Only then do we revisit hiring. In many cases, the person you thought was underperforming is more than capable. They just needed a structure that let them focus and contribute.
The benefits go beyond individual performance. When roles are clearly defined and processes are reliable, onboarding becomes faster, communication becomes smoother, and leadership gains more confidence in delegation. Your team stops guessing. And you stop managing from the edge of burnout.
Even the Best Hire Cannot Outrun a Broken System
It’s easy to fall into the habit of looking for “the right person” to fix a department or carry a function. But the hard truth is that most team struggles are structural, not personal. A great person cannot consistently thrive inside a system full of bottlenecks, blurry expectations, or invisible landmines. Conversely, when a system is sound, even mid-level talent can perform well. The structure sets the stage.
That’s why our work at Nacre starts with the process. We don’t sell magic hires. We help clients build the systems that let great people do great work, and leaders lead from clarity instead of reaction.
Build the System, Then Hire
If you’re feeling let down by your team or frustrated with new hires who aren’t ramping as expected, take a step back and look at the environment they’re operating in. Ask yourself: Have I set them up to win?
Hiring isn’t about finding superheroes. It’s about building the kind of business where capable people can thrive, execute, and grow. That begins with clarity. That begins with structure. That begins with process.
If your team is stuck, it might be time to stop searching for better people and start building a better path for them to walk.
We’re here when you’re ready to build it.
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