How to Get Ready to Hire in 2027 (Start Now, Not January)

Here's the key to hiring in 2027: start now. Not January.

A founder I know got fired up in January, posted "I'm hiring!" — and by March it had completely fallen apart. The person they hired was fine. The problem was that nothing was in place before that person started.

The timing was terrible. There was no setup. They were flying by the seat of their pants — building the plane while flying it — figuring out payroll and onboarding while trying to survive Q1 and build momentum. They were even trying to pay someone who wasn't properly registered to work for them as an employee yet.

Everyone sets out with the best intentions. You get your budget together, you plan: "We're going to hire next year." Then the year arrives, and it's chaos. You're just back from the holidays — hopefully a little rest, some time with family — and suddenly you're trying to hire someone AND make sure everything is set up correctly to do it.

Quick note before we go further: this is education from my 14+ years in HR, not legal advice, and employment and leave laws vary by state — always check yours.

Hiring in a panic creates a revolving door

Hiring in a rush is exactly how you end up with a revolving door of people. (If you want more on that, watch last week's video — hiring out of desperation is one of the most common mistakes there is.)

There's no rush here. Plan as well as you can so you're prepared to do this methodically and make a conscious, good decision about who you're bringing on. Because motivation in January is worthless without a foundation built in the fall.

What it actually means to do it right

A good hire takes real setup on the back end. Here's what that includes.

Start with the job description.

This is the basis of someone's entire role — not the nitty-gritty details, but the buckets of what they'll do and what's expected. You create it by figuring out what your business actually needs, so the person interviewing knows what's expected of them. And you'll keep coming back to it: their first week, the six-month mark, performance reviews. That job description is your living list of expectations for the role.

Set up payroll.

If you're hiring a W-2 employee for the first time — or hiring in a state you haven't paid in before — there's real setup involved. You need a payroll system, and the right one depends on your business: how many people you're hiring, whether you're U.S.-only or global, and more. This is something I love helping leaders figure out, because the software has to do more than cut checks. It has to keep employees compliant — taxes, withholdings, unemployment, all of it runs through payroll.

The best part: many payroll systems can be your one-stop shop for people. You can onboard through them, upload the offer letter, build the onboarding flow, and trigger it all with one link when you hire — so everything lives in one place with less room for error than manual forms retyped into a system. A lot of them also handle clocking in and out, scheduling, and mandatory trainings (in New York, for example, sexual harassment training is required). Some owners prefer to get onto a PEO (professional employer organization), which you can also do through these systems.

Insurance and state registration.

You'll need workers' comp if you have any W-2 employees, plus unemployment insurance, and you'll have to register with the states where you pay people. For remote workers, that's the state where they live — their home is their work location. If they come into an office, it's that state. And depending on your business (for example, if you work with children), you may need additional coverage.

Onboarding.

Think about what the process actually looks like, because you want it to be smooth. Those first few days are a two-way audition — you're forming an impression of your new hire, and they're forming one of you. A smooth onboarding gives them a genuinely good first experience of your business.

A handbook.

You need an employee handbook even if you have one employee. Non-negotiable. It protects the business and creates a consistent standard for your policies. I've seen this go wrong so many times: without a policy, owners give different employees different things. Bereavement leave is the classic example — one person asks, you say "take as much time as you need," and they take a lot. The next person asks, and you decide you'd rather give a set amount. That inconsistency can lead to discrimination claims. Clear policies are how you treat everyone fairly and equally and stay protected.

Why fall is the perfect time to set this up

That's a decent amount to get done. So here's my recommendation: start in the fall.

If you want to hire in January, great — post the job and start interviews in January. But the pre-work has to happen in the fall. Get your foundation done by December, enjoy the holidays, and start fresh in January, ready.

Because if you start in January, you won't actually get anyone. You really shouldn't bring someone on until March, because you need these tools and systems in place first. You can hire in January, or you can set up in January — but you can't do both.

Fall is perfect for it. It's event and networking season, so you're motivated and full of ideas, riding that wave of energy. And business often slows into the holidays — so use that capacity now instead of wasting it and stressing yourself out at the top of the year. Q1 is for executing, not for setting up.

Here's where I say "HR" — and you stay put

The fall setup is an HR function. Anything to do with people — who to hire, job descriptions, payroll systems, insurance, onboarding, the handbook — that's your HR foundation. Not an HR department. A foundation.

And this is exactly what I work on with business owners in my 3-month project. If you're hiring for the first time, we'll spend those three months getting you set up with your job descriptions, payroll system, and employee handbook, so you're fully ready for your new hire. If you already have a team but no process in place, I start with an HR audit and we use the next two months to fix whatever it surfaces.

The window: start by September

So make sure you're ready for January without the chaos. To get there, we need to start by mid-September — that's what leaves enough runway to have your foundation done before the holidays.

Comment DISCOVERY, book a call, or reach out through my website, and let's get you ready to hire. 

You can watch the whole video here:https://youtu.be/kbTgq3kxSkQ

Educational, not legal advice. Employment and leave laws vary by state — consult an attorney for your specific situation.