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Seems like an incredibly stupid question, right? Because they need people to do things, duh! But in reality it’s a bit more multi-tiered and complicated than just that, and I think it’s worth 1–2 minutes of exploration around why companies actually hire.
The utopian reason
They are growing and they’ve strategically looked at where they need solid performers in order to grow more or better support existing operations in the name of client/customer success.
I would guess this happens in maybe 3–5% of hiring scenarios.
The more common reasons
A partial list:
- A hiring manager felt busy.
- The company could get x-percentage tax break if they deliver y-amount of jobs in a new or existing location, so they rapidly create jobs to avoid taxes.
- A hiring manager wanted more direct reports to feel relevant or important or get closer to the power core themselves.
- An executive looked at numbers and thought they were trending in the wrong direction, convened some panels/committees to discuss the bad trend, and they decided to hire more of a certain role, i.e. BDR or sales manager or key accounts.
- Someone yelled the loudest in meetings where extra money…
