Case Study: Creating Clarity Before Hiring | ELCE
“We thought we needed to hire someone… but we weren’t actually sure for what.”
It’s one of the most common things I hear from founders when their business starts to grow.
Teams expand organically, people take on multiple roles, and suddenly the question becomes less about who to hire, and more about how the team should actually be structured.
The Client
ELCE ~ Fashion & Lifestyle brand
Support Provided
Organisation design, team structure and leadership support
The Moment Many Growing Businesses Reach
When ELCE first reached out, they were already working with a recruitment agency to hire a new role.
On paper, the brief seemed straightforward: the business was growing and they needed additional support.
But as resumes began coming through, something didn’t quite feel right.
The founders found themselves looking at candidates and thinking:
“These people look great… but we’re not actually sure this is the role we need.”
It’s a moment many growing businesses reach.
In the early stages of a company, roles evolve naturally. People wear multiple hats. Responsibilities grow organically as the business moves quickly.
But at a certain point, that organic structure starts to blur. People are doing a little bit of everything, and when it comes time to hire, it’s not always clear where the next person should fit.
That’s where The People Collab stepped in.
Stepping Back Before Moving Forward
Instead of pushing ahead with recruitment, we paused.
Together with the founders, we took the time to really understand the business:
how the team was currently operating
where responsibilities had naturally evolved
what the founders were spending their time on
where the business wanted to go next
From there, we mapped the functional roles that actually existed within the business, rather than just the job titles people held.
What quickly became clear was that the challenge wasn’t finding candidates. The real opportunity was creating a clearer structure for how the team should grow.
Designing a Structure for Growth
Once we had a clear picture of the current team and the direction of the business, we worked with the founders to reshape the structure in a way that would support their next stage of growth.
This meant:
clarifying how responsibilities should be grouped
identifying where capacity gaps genuinely existed
defining the roles the business would need next
creating clearer role ownership across the team
With this structure in place, the next hire became obvious, and the recruitment process could move forward with confidence.
From Uncertainty to Confidence
What began as a simple recruitment brief ultimately became something much more valuable for the business.
ELCE now had:
a clearer team structure designed to support growth
defined role ownership across the business
alignment between hiring decisions and business strategy
confidence in how the team will evolve as the company scales
From there, The People Collab supported the recruitment process end-to-end, helping the founders bring a fantastic addition into the team.
More importantly, the business now has a stronger foundation for future growth.
Client Feedback
“Emma stepped in to support us through a period of change within the business and brought an incredible level of professionalism, clarity and calm to every stage of the process.
From shaping the recruitment strategy for a new role through to candidate outreach, screening and coordinating interviews, she managed the entire process seamlessly and helped us identify a fantastic addition to our team.
What stood out most was her ability to balance structure with empathy. She is highly organised, thoughtful and proactive, while also bringing a steady and reassuring presence to conversations that require care and discretion.
Working with her gave us complete confidence that our people processes were being handled with the highest level of professionalism.”
Tara Cooper — Director and Co-Founder, ELCE
Key Results
Clear team structure designed to support growth
Defined ownership of responsibilities across the team
Confidence in hiring decisions aligned to business strategy
Successful hire into a clearly defined role
If this feels familiar, you're not alone.
Many growing businesses reach a point where the next hire isn’t the real challenge, clarity is.
That’s exactly the kind of work The People Collab exists to support.
If you’re navigating a similar stage in your business, I’d love to have a conversation.