The Hidden Hiring Gap: Why Scale-Ups Between 80 and 300 Employees Struggle to Hire - and What Actually Works

There is a stage in a company’s growth that rarely gets talked about - yet it’s where most hiring pain lives.

It usually shows up somewhere between 80 and 300 employees.

At this point, the business is growing. Revenue is up. Delivery pressure is real. Hiring is no longer a “nice to have” - it’s critical to momentum, customer commitments, and risk management.

And yet, this is also the stage where hiring quietly starts to break.

Not because leaders don’t care.But because the structure that used to work no longer does.

The Awkward Middle Phase of Growth

In early-stage companies, hiring is often founder-led. It’s scrappy, personal, and fast enough.

In large enterprises, there’s a mature talent function, processes, and scale.

But scale-ups in the middle sit in an uncomfortable gap.

They are:

• Too big for founder-led hiring

• Too complex for ad-hoc agency use

• Not yet ready (or willing) to build a full internal talent team

This is where hiring becomes fragmented - owned by whoever is shouting the loudest or under the most pressure.

The Symptoms Leaders Recognise Instantly

We see the same patterns repeatedly across telecoms, finance, enterprise technology, engineering, and regulated sectors:

• Roles stay open longer than expected

• Hiring managers are stretched and distracted from delivery

• Candidate quality is inconsistent

• Agencies are used tactically, but without a clear strategy

• Knowledge sits in silos and disappears between hires

• Compliance, delivery, or operational risk quietly increases

None of this feels catastrophic in isolation - but together, it slows growth.

Why “Just Hire an Internal Recruiter” Often Doesn’t Fix It

A common response at this stage is to bring in a single internal recruiter.

Sometimes this helps. Often, it doesn’t.

One person is expected to:

• Partner credibly with senior leaders

• Manage multiple technical or niche roles

• Handle stakeholders, process, and candidate experience

• Build structure where none exists

• Deliver at pace

It’s an unrealistic load - especially in specialist or regulated environments.

The result is usually burnout, frustration, or a return to agency dependency.

What Actually Works at This Stage

The companies that navigate this phase best tend to do something different.

Instead of forcing a binary choice between “no support” and “full internal team”, they introduce flexible, embedded talent support that matches their growth reality.

This often looks like:

• Fractional or embedded talent leadership

• Project-based hiring support aligned to growth milestones

• Specialist recruiters who understand the sector and delivery pressure

• Clear prioritisation of roles that genuinely unlock growth

Hiring becomes a business function, not just an HR task.

Why This Matters More in Specialist & Regulated Sectors

In areas like telecoms, finance, enterprise systems, infrastructure, and nuclear, the cost of slow or poor hiring is higher.

These environments demand:

• Scarce technical skills

• Long lead times

• Compliance awareness

• Credibility with senior stakeholders

Ad-hoc hiring approaches create risk - not just inconvenience.

At this stage of growth, hiring decisions directly affect delivery, reputation, and resilience.

The Quiet Advantage of Getting This Right

When hiring is structured appropriately for this phase, scale-ups see:

• Faster, more predictable hiring outcomes

• Less pressure on founders and delivery leaders

• Stronger leadership confidence in growth plans

• Reduced operational and compliance risk

• A better experience for candidates and hiring managers alike

Most importantly, growth feels intentional - not reactive.

Final Thought

The challenge isn’t that scale-ups between 80 and 300 employees don’t care about hiring.

It’s that they are operating in a hidden gap - where old ways no longer work, and enterprise models don’t yet fit.

Recognising this moment and responding with the right level of talent support - is often what separates companies that stall from those that scale with confidence.