Your situation
Start with what you are experiencing, not with an HR term.
A concrete situation often makes it easier to see what is getting in the way and choose a proportionate next step.
Find your starting point
Which of these statements sounds most like your day-to-day reality?
The ten situations are grouped under five common needs. Open the one that sounds familiar; only one expands at a time so the focus stays on your reality.
Need
Recruitment difficulty
“We receive résumés, but no one seems right for the job.”
The role is posted, applications arrive and interviews are held. Yet few people seem to bring together what the team truly needs. Meanwhile, the work remains distributed among existing employees.
What the situation reveals
Before looking for more applicants, it may help to clarify the actual work, the role's priorities and the criteria that distinguish someone who can succeed in your context. The difficulty may not be a lack of candidates; it may point to a need for a more structured recruitment process.
A proportionate next step
Begin with a role-framing session. Describe the results expected after three and six months, retain three non-negotiable criteria and establish a shared interview guide. This makes decisions clearer before broadening the search.
Opening question
What does someone who succeeds in this role do concretely better after six months?
“Every time we hire, it all lands back on me.”
As soon as a role opens, leadership writes the posting, responds to applicants, organizes interviews and follows up with managers. Decisions take longer than expected and some candidates withdraw before the process ends.
What the situation reveals
This does not mean the company recruits poorly. It indicates that the process depends on one person and recruitment responsibilities have not yet been distributed. The issue is organizational as much as it is about attracting candidates.
A proportionate next step
Map recruitment in five stages: opening, screening, interview, decision and offer. For each stage, identify an owner, the information expected and a response deadline. Leadership keeps the final decision without carrying every operation alone.
Opening question
At which stage does recruitment most often slow down, and who is waiting for whom?
Need
Short-term staffing need
“We need help, but I don't know how long it will last.”
A new contract, a busier period or a specific project quickly increases the workload. The team needs help, but the company hesitates to create a permanent role without knowing whether the volume will continue.
What the situation reveals
The issue is not to choose immediately between hiring and not hiring. First distinguish temporary work, recurring work and the skills actually required. This clarification helps match the solution to an acceptable level of risk.
A proportionate next step
Break down the need over the next eight to twelve weeks: tasks, estimated hours, skills and a reassessment date. Then compare three proportionate options—limited redistribution, temporary support or a permanent role—with a decision point already scheduled.
Opening question
Which part of the work would truly disappear if volume returned to its usual level?
“Someone is away and everything gets turned upside down.”
A planned or unexpected absence requires several colleagues to take on tasks they know little about. Priorities shift quickly, information is hard to find and managers spend their time reallocating work.
What the situation reveals
The absence makes an existing dependency visible: some responsibilities, knowledge or decisions rest with one person. The immediate need is coverage; the longer-term HR issue is role continuity and knowledge transfer.
A proportionate next step
First identify the tasks that cannot wait, the person who can take them over and the information needed to perform them. Establish a short coverage plan, then document the three critical responsibilities that will now need designated backup.
Opening question
Which tasks would stop completely if this person were unavailable for two weeks?
Need
No internal HR function
“Everyone comes to me for everything.”
Leave requests, schedule questions, relationship concerns and hiring decisions come directly to leadership. Answers are provided case by case, often between other priorities.
What the situation reveals
This is common when a company grows around its founders. Above all, it shows that an HR point of reference is missing: employees do not always know where to bring questions and leadership does not have a shared framework for responding.
A proportionate next step
List the ten most frequent requests, identify who can answer each one and establish one channel. Sensitive or unusual situations can remain with leadership or an HR partner, while routine requests follow a documented response.
Opening question
Which questions could be resolved without you if a shared answer already existed?
“We've always done it this way, but nothing is written anywhere.”
Each manager welcomes, informs and supports employees differently. Some practices are clear in one team and much less so in another. When a new situation arises, the response must be rebuilt from scratch.
What the situation reveals
This gap does not call good intentions or experience into question. It indicates that growth has overtaken the informal mechanisms that worked with a smaller team. The issue is to make essential practices visible and consistent.
A proportionate next step
Inventory existing practices before writing new documents. Choose three priorities based on the most frequent situations—for example onboarding, absences and performance conversations—then formalize one simple rule for each.
Opening question
In which situation could two employees currently receive two different answers?
Need
Team dysfunction
“We've talked about it three times, and it keeps happening.”
After a conversation, the situation seems to settle, then the same irritants return: information not shared, tone misunderstood, decisions challenged or work redone by the other person. The manager intervenes mainly when tension becomes visible.
What the situation reveals
The repetition suggests that conversations address incidents, but not yet the work expectations that produce them. The issue may involve roles, communication or decision mechanisms rather than simply personality.
A proportionate next step
Meet each person first to distinguish facts, interpretations and impacts. Then bring them together around three observable agreements: what information to share, when to share it and how to signal disagreement. Set a date to review progress.
Opening question
What concrete behaviour would need to change for everyone to see improvement?
“Everyone works hard, but we keep stepping on each other's toes.”
Two people sometimes begin the same task, decisions remain pending and requests move between several managers. Everyone wants to help, but it becomes difficult to know who decides, who executes and who simply needs to be informed.
What the situation reveals
The problem is not a lack of commitment. Growth has added roles and levels of responsibility without making decision boundaries as visible as the work itself. The team needs clarity more than additional control.
A proportionate next step
Choose five decisions or processes that most often slow down. For each, identify one decision-maker, one person responsible for execution and those who should be consulted or informed. Test this map for four weeks before extending it.
Opening question
Which decision takes longer today simply because no one clearly knows who owns it?
Need
Training need
“I promoted her. She's excellent, but managing people is new to her.”
The person knows the work very well and has the trust of colleagues. Since the promotion, she must now set priorities, give feedback and handle conversations she previously approached as a peer.
What the situation reveals
The promotion recognizes expertise, but it also creates a new profession. Early difficulties do not signal a poor choice; they show a need for focused support to translate technical expertise into management practices.
A proportionate next step
Define three expected behaviours in the new role: clarify priorities, give regular feedback and address gaps promptly. Organize a short training session around real situations, followed by an application plan and a check-in after a few weeks.
Opening question
What conversation will this person need to have soon and does not yet feel equipped to lead?
“Everyone does it their own way, and we repeat the same mistakes.”
New employees learn mainly by watching colleagues. Some steps are explained differently depending on who is available, and the same corrections must be repeated before results become consistent.
What the situation reveals
Repeating an instruction is not always enough when there is no shared reference or opportunity to practise. The situation may reveal a need for operational training: make the method visible, check understanding and support application in real work.
A proportionate next step
Observe the process with an experienced person, retain the three actions that determine quality and create a one-page job aid. Then practise the method on a real case, with a simple check rather than a general presentation.
Opening question
At which precise step do gaps begin between the expected method and what is actually done?
The next step