Business
Before You Hire Another Employee, Answer These 4 Questions (You May Not Need the Role After All)
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Published 10/26/2026 11:00:00 AM
Before You Hire Another Employee, Answer These 4 Questions
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Key Takeaways
- Before you create another job, ask: What outcome are we actually trying to buy? Design a system around the outcome you want and then decide where human capability creates the greatest return.
- Break the job apart before you fill it. Start with the outcome, then identify the work required to produce that outcome.
- Ask four questions before approving another hire: What outcome do we actually need? What work creates that outcome? What requires human judgment? What capability are we actually missing?
One of the most common sentences I hear from growing business owners is, “We need to hire someone.” Sometimes they’re right. But often what they really mean is that something isn’t getting done. Sales leads aren’t being followed up. Marketing has become inconsistent. Customer service is overwhelmed. Or the founder is spending 10 hours a week doing work they know they shouldn’t be doing.
For decades, our solution to those problems has been remarkably consistent. Create a job, bundle together a collection of responsibilities, write a job description, decide on a salary and find somebody willing to perform those tasks for roughly 40 hours a week.
That model isn’t disappearing. But AI, automation, fractional executives, freelancers, outsourced partners and global specialists give entrepreneurs far more options than we had even a few years ago. So before you create another job, ask a different question: What outcome are we actually trying to buy?
Start with the outcome, not the person
I recently went through this exercise in one of my own businesses. We wanted to increase the number of qualified sales opportunities we were generating, and the obvious answer seemed to be hiring more business development people.
But “hire another salesperson” wasn’t really the outcome we needed. We wanted a consistent pipeline of qualified conversations with the right potential customers.
Once we defined it that way, we started breaking apart the work required to produce those conversations. Someone had to identify target companies, research them, find the right decision-makers, develop messaging, conduct outreach, follow up, qualify responses and eventually have a meaningful conversation with the prospect.
Previously, we might have bundled most of that into one person’s job. Instead, we started separating the capabilities.
We use dedicated research support to identify and investigate prospects. Technology helps us find and organize contact information. AI can assist with research and developing personalized outreach, while automation can take some of the repetitive work out of the process. Our business development people can then spend more of their time on the work where people add the most value: building relationships, understanding what a prospect actually needs and moving a genuine opportunity forward.
We still need talented salespeople. In fact, getting the right people into those roles becomes even more important.
But we’re no longer hiring them to do everything associated with “business development.” We’re designing a system around the outcome we want and then deciding where human capability creates the greatest return. That’s a very different way to think about hiring.
Break the job apart before you fill it
This requires us to think about hiring in a different order. Start with the outcome. What needs to be different after you spend the money? Then identify the work required to produce that outcome. Only after you’ve broken down the work should you identify the capabilities needed to perform it. That’s where hiring decisions become much more interesting.
Some capabilities may require a full-time employee because the work is continuous, strategically important and benefits from deep knowledge of your business. Others may require an expert for only five hours a month. Some can be outsourced to a company that performs that function every day, while repetitive work may be automated, and increasingly, some work can be performed or assisted by AI.
This isn’t about replacing employees with technology. It’s about stopping ourselves from assuming that every capability gap requires another person on the payroll.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 illustrates why that distinction matters. Its survey of more than 1,000 employers representing over 14 million workers found that 73% expect to accelerate process and task automation, while 63% plan to augment their workforce with new technologies. At the same time, 70% expect to hire people with emerging skills.
Businesses aren’t choosing between people and technology. They’re redesigning the combination.
Small businesses have more options than they used to
This shift may be even more important for entrepreneurs because smaller businesses have always faced a capability problem. A large company might employ a Chief Marketing Officer, graphic designer, financial analyst, cybersecurity specialist, HR director and software developer. A 20-person company probably can’t. But increasingly, it doesn’t have to.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Empowering Small Business report found that 58% of small businesses were using generative AI, up from 40% the previous year and 23% in 2023. Perhaps more interestingly, 82% of small businesses using AI said they had increased their workforce over the previous year.
That matters because it challenges the idea that technology and people are competing for the same seat. Small businesses can use technology to expand what their people are capable of doing while bringing in specialists and partners for capabilities they don’t need to own permanently.
A smaller company might have an experienced fractional marketing leader for part of the week, outsource cybersecurity to specialists, use AI for first-pass analysis, automate repetitive administrative work and employ a great internal marketer who coordinates the pieces.
The company doesn’t own all those capabilities through employment. It has access to them. That’s an important distinction because headcount comes in relatively large units. Capability doesn’t have to.
Ask four questions before approving another hire
The next time somebody in your business says, “We need to hire someone,” don’t immediately start writing the job description.
First ask: What outcome do we actually need? Be specific about what should change as a result of making the investment.
Then ask: What work creates that outcome? Break the proposed job into the actual activities required instead of relying on the job title to define them.
Next: What requires human judgment? Relationships, accountability, context, creativity and important decisions may need people, while other parts of the work may not.
Finally: What capability are we actually missing? Only then should you decide whether the best answer is an employee, specialist, outsourced partner, automation, AI or some combination of them.
You may go through that exercise and conclude that you absolutely need to hire someone. Now you know why you’re hiring them. But you may also discover that the $80,000 employee you thought you needed was actually five different capabilities bundled together because that’s how we’ve always designed jobs.
Build for capability, not size
For much of my career running professional-services businesses, growing the company and growing the team were closely connected. More clients created more work, and more work usually meant more people. That relationship is becoming less automatic.
Today, I can build a capability using an employee in one country, a specialist somewhere else, an outside partner, software, automation and AI. The challenge is designing those pieces so they operate as one system. For smaller businesses, that’s a significant opportunity. We may not have the headcount of a larger competitor, but increasingly we can access many of the same capabilities.
The next time your company hits capacity, resist the instinct to start with a job description. Start with the outcome. Then build the best system to deliver it.
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Effective product pages help online shoppers decide whether an item fits their needs and what buying it involves. A beautiful photograph gets attention. Product details such as dimensions, available sizes, delivery details, and a clear price help turn that attention into a purchase.
Even established retailers miss these basics. In its benchmark of leading U.S. and European retailers, updated in March 2026, Baymard Institute rated 52% of desktop sites and 62% of mobile sites “mediocre or worse” for product-page usability1.
Product-page changes can affect revenue, too. In a 27-day test for Life Pro Fitness, agency Media Contour made product images, key details, and buying buttons visible without needing to scroll. Testing vendor Wingify reported that the revised page generated $0.67 more revenue per visitor than the original2.
If you are building a new store, follow the five tips below as you create your product pages. Have those pages ready before running ads that send shoppers to them.
If you already have an online store, choose one product page to improve. Reference these steps to check whether it answers shoppers’ questions and lets them add the right item to their cart.
1. Answer shoppers’ questions in the product description
Identify the main question a shopper needs answered before buying. Look for questions customers ask repeatedly or misunderstandings behind returns. For a new product, start with fit, compatibility, or what is included. Confirm the answer against your product specifications, then put it near the start of the description.
For example, consider a pet-supply retailer selling a dog harness. Someone choosing their first harness needs measurements and adjustment details to judge the fit. Someone replacing a harness they already own needs to recognize the same model and size. The page should make both tasks straightforward.
Also, use consistent labels and units across similar products to make comparisons easier. Include limitations, such as incompatible models or items sold separately, so shoppers can rule out an unsuitable purchase.
In e-commerce platform BigCommerce, for instance, online sellers can use the product description and custom fields—additional facts such as material or compatibility—to present these details. Preview the product page to check that shoppers can find the information they need.
Then, use those same facts to help shoppers recognize the item in search results. In BigCommerce’s page title field, use the product name and a relevant detail, such as its model or material. Avoid repeating keywords or giving every product the same title.
2. Give every product image a question to answer
Plan your gallery around what someone needs to inspect. Show the whole product, a useful detail, and the product in use. For example, a lighting retailer could photograph a lamp beside a chair to show its scale and how it lights a reading space. A close-up of the switch shows how someone would operate it. Together, these images help shoppers picture using the lamp at home. Keep written dimensions available as well.
The same Baymard overview describes how shoppers use images to judge size and can struggle when photographs lack a familiar reference.
If you sell a bundle, make clear which pictured items are included. For products that need assembly or demonstration, you might even consider creating a short video. Add alt text: a short description of the useful information in an image. Screen-reader software can read that description aloud or present it in braille. Keep essential instructions available as text as well.
BigCommerce supports product images, images for variants such as different colors, and YouTube-hosted product videos. Check that your gallery presents the right item as shoppers change their selection.
3. Make choices, prices, and recurring charges clear
Keep size, color, quantity, and purchase options close to the buying button. Label them plainly, show the current selection, and make unavailable choices recognizable. If the size options fit on the screen, show them as labeled buttons, such as S, M, and L. This lets shoppers see which sizes are available without opening a menu, as the Baymard overview explains.
Place helpful links beside the choice it explains. For the dog harness, for example, consider putting a measurement guide beside the size selector so shoppers can check the fit before choosing. Keep it visible or provide a clearly labeled link that works by touch and keyboard.
In BigCommerce, online sellers can configure choices such as size and color through product variants and options. Then check that the displayed price and availability match the shopper’s selection. For multipacks, show both the pack total and the unit price. Make the full pack price easy to find so shoppers know what they will be charged.
If you offer subscriptions, let shoppers explicitly choose between a one-time purchase and a recurring order. Put the recurring charge, delivery frequency, and change or cancellation terms beside that choice so shoppers can compare the commitments before selecting. Confirm that these terms match how your subscription service works. Select a subscription yourself and verify that checkout shows the plan, price, and frequency you chose.
4. Make sure delivery, returns, and reviews are easy to find
A shopper who needs an item by a particular date wants to know whether it will arrive in time. Show a delivery estimate for their destination. Put a short explanation of shipping and returns near add to cart, with links to the full policies.
Show shipping fees or explain how they will be calculated. Clearly describe return windows, fees, and exclusions that matter for the item. If pickup is offered, distinguish stock at the selected location from stock elsewhere. Avoid presenting an estimate as a confirmed promise.
Also consider making reassurances that are specific to the purchase. Using the dog harness as an example again, you’d want to explain whether a shopper can exchange it if the fit is wrong and which conditions apply. That answers the practical concerns that a badge saying “Shop with Confidence” leaves unresolved. Use only promises your business can honor.
Customer reviews provide another way to assess the product. Show the review rating, text, reviewer’s display name, and date on the relevant product page. If reviews come from another service, name that service. These details help shoppers understand whose experience they are reading and how recent it is.
5. Test the path from product page to cart
Shoppers need to know that the page has registered their choices and whether adding an item succeeded. Open your chosen product page on your phone. If a required option starts unselected, try adding the item before choosing it. The page should tell you what to select or explain why “Add to cart” is unavailable.
If the product has options, choose them, then change one selection. Check that the price, availability, and any option-specific images match. Add the item. While the request is processing, the page should make that clear. Once it succeeds, a confirmation or the cart itself should show what was added. If an error occurs, it should explain how to continue without losing other selections.
From there, make sure to check the item’s quantity, options, and price in the cart. If you chose a size or color, return to the product page and check whether it still shows that selection. These checks help catch a wrong selection or an uncertain result before a shopper encounters it.
Shoppers who cannot use a mouse need to select options and add products using a keyboard. To check that they can, repeat the steps above on a computer without the mouse. Use Tab to move forward between controls and Shift+Tab to move back. A visible outline or other marker should show which control you are about to use. Press Enter to activate links and Enter or Space for buttons. In a drop-down list, such as a size selector, use the arrow keys to move through the options.
Shoppers who need larger text must still be able to read product details and reach Add to cart. Use the browser’s Zoom control to enlarge the page to 200% and try the same steps again. Check for overlapping text or controls that disappear. Across all these checks, record anything that prevents choosing the product, adding it, or correcting a mistake.
Keep improving one page at a time
Clear facts and images help shoppers judge the product; clear choices, terms, and working controls help them act on that decision. Choose one issue from your review to fix first. Give priority to a problem that prevents adding the correct item to the cart. If shoppers can add the correct item, address an unanswered question that could lead someone to buy the wrong product.
Record what you changed and when. If you have sales reports, compare purchases and revenue for the product over equal periods before and after the change. Note any promotions or changes in visitor numbers that could also explain the results. Customer questions, order corrections, and return reasons can help you check whether the same misunderstanding persists.
For more examples, explore BigCommerce’s product-page guide, then apply the same review to the next product page.
1 Product Page UX 2026: 10 Pitfalls and Best Practices (Baymard Institute)
2 Media Contour uses split URL testing to improve the revenue from product pages (Wingify)
