In this episode of You’ve Got People Problems, host Melissa Ortiz is joined by organizational consultant Michelle Scribner to explore one of the most common, and costly, leadership questions: when to hire full-time, when to go part-time, and when fractional or outsourced support makes more sense.

Using accounting and operational roles as real-world examples, Melissa and Michelle discuss how leaders often default to hiring before fully understanding the work that actually needs to be done. They unpack how compliance requirements, especially in states like California, add complexity and risk to hiring decisions, and why many organizations unintentionally overcommit too early.

Key topics covered in this episode include:

• The difference between fractional, part-time, and outsourced roles
• How to evaluate capability needs before committing to headcount
• Why some functions are better handled externally at certain stages
• The hidden costs of premature or misaligned hires
• How to think about scale, flexibility, and risk when building your team.

This episode is especially valuable for founders, operators, and leadership teams navigating growth, compliance pressure, or uncertainty about their next hire. Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all answer, the conversation helps leaders ask better questions before making long-term people decisions.

If you’re wrestling with whether a role truly needs to be internal, or how to structure support without overextending your organization, this episode offers practical clarity.