When Should a Startup Hire a Head of People or HR?

This is one of the most under-discussed hiring decisions at startups. Get the timing wrong and you either burn founder time on HR tasks or hire someone before there's enough work to justify the role.

The Signals It's Time

Signal 1: Headcount Crosses 20-25

Below 20 employees, a founder or office manager can handle people operations. Beyond 25, you need dedicated expertise for compliance, benefits administration, and performance management.

Signal 2: You're Spending 10+ Hours/Week on People Tasks

Track your time for two weeks. If you're spending significant hours on recruiting coordination, onboarding paperwork, benefits questions, and employee issues, it's time.

Signal 3: You've Had Your First Difficult Conversation

The moment you need to manage someone out, handle a complaint, or navigate a sensitive situation, you realise you need professional support.

Signal 4: You're Losing Offers Due to Process

If candidates are dropping out because your interview process is disorganised, your offer letters are late, or onboarding is chaotic, that's lost revenue.

Head of People vs HR Manager: What's the Difference?

Head of People / VP People

People Operations Manager

HR Coordinator (Part-Time/Fractional)

The Startup HR Stack

At minimum, your first people hire needs:

1. HRIS: Rippling, Gusto, or BambooHR

2. ATS: Lever, Greenhouse, or Ashby

3. Compensation data: Pave, Levels.fyi, or Magnus Kor's Salary Research Tool

4. Performance: Lattice or 15Five

Our Recommendation

For most VC-backed startups between Seed and Series B:

- 15-25 employees: Use a fractional HR consultant + Magnus Kor for recruiting

- 25-40 employees: Hire a People Ops Manager

- 40+ employees: Hire a Head of People

The combination of a specialist recruitment partner and a solid people operations hire covers 90% of your talent needs without overbuilding your internal team.