In most growing companies, HR starts as a side job: the CEO hires, an office manager handles contracts, and the accountant runs payroll. That works – until it doesn’t. Somewhere between 30 and 60 employees, the side job becomes a bottleneck.
This article helps you recognise that moment and choose the right model for your company.
Signs that HR has outgrown the side job
- The CEO still interviews every candidate and spends several days a month on hiring.
- Good people leave, and nobody knows exactly why. There are no exit interviews and no turnover data.
- Managers were promoted for being good specialists and have never been trained to lead a team.
- Pay is decided case by case. Two people in similar roles earn very different salaries, and nobody can explain why. From January 2027, employees in Lithuania can formally ask.
- Documents are behind. A number of policies are required to be in place since hiring the first employee. Some of them are not only for compliance – they might be important elements to understanding who does what and valuable instructions on how we work together.
- Conflicts reach the owner’s desk because there is no one else to handle or prevent them.
- And most importantly – business is lagging behind, because we just can’t find and retain the people we need.
If three or more of these sound familiar, HR needs an owner.
Three models
| Model | In-house HR manager | External (fractional) HR manager | Mixed model |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A full-time HR employee | An experienced HR manager working for you part-time, e.g. 1–2 days a week | A junior HR or office coordinator in-house, supported by an external senior HR expert |
| Best for | 80+ employees, or constant hiring | 20–80 employees, or a new team in Lithuania | 40–120 employees with growing admin load |
| Strengths | Always available, knows the culture | Senior expertise from day one; flexible; no recruitment risk | Daily support plus senior expertise |
| Watch out for | A generalist hire may lack strategic experience; a senior hire is expensive, hard to attract | Needs clear commitment and a regular rhythm | Roles must be clearly split |
What the first six months of HR should deliver
Whichever model you choose, a company of around 50 people should expect:
- An HR audit – documents, processes and pay in one picture. See our HR audit checklist.
- Compliance fixed – contracts, work rules, remuneration system, equal opportunities policy.
- A hiring process that managers can run without the CEO.
- Employee onboarding/offboarding processes defined and implemented.
- Organizational design support – who does what.
- Pay structure and job groups – ready for the pay transparency rules from January 2027.
- Basic people data – headcount, turnover, absence, time to hire.
- Manager support – feedback, performance conversations, difficult situations.
- Partnership with CEO – helping to shape and implement own people philosophy.
How Amber Axis can help
Our HR as a service gives you an experienced HR manager for the time you actually need – from a one-off audit to ongoing part-time HR leadership. Contact us to discuss what fits your company.
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