Why Winging It With HR Will Always Cost You More
Every business owner has been there.
Juggling a hundred things at once, making Canva graphics at midnight, manually reconciling accounts, and frantically Googling how to deal with a tricky staff situation. Winging it is a survival skill that comes with the territory of being a business owner.
When it comes to HR, “figuring it out as you go” feels easy and cost-effective in the short term. But the longer you fly by the seat of your pants, the more expensive the fallout becomes.
Not just financially, but mentally, emotionally, and in lost opportunities for business growth.
Let’s unpack why “winging it” with your HR will always cost you more, and what you can do instead.
Why Winging It Feels Right (At First)
There’s something oddly empowering about being a business owner who wears all the hats. In the early stages, you’ve got a tiny team, maybe even just one or two people, and everything feels manageable. Writing policies? Meh. Performance management? Not needed. Hiring? Easy enough, especially if it’s your cousin helping out casually….
At this stage, HR doesn’t even feel like a “thing” you need. Most business owners associate HR with big corporate operations and bloated departments full of forms and red tape. It’s no wonder many don’t realise HR applies to them the moment they hire their first team member.
So we all wing it. And it works... until it doesn’t.
The Hidden Costs of Winging It
The trouble with winging it is that it has a sneaky way of creeping up on you. Everything seems fine, until something breaks. You suddenly realise a staff member has been underpaid due to a misunderstood award, or your ‘verbal agreement’ wasn’t quite enough to protect your business when someone walks out without notice.
But these aren’t just isolated headaches. They’re part of a pattern of hidden costs that show up when HR is left to the too-hard basket.
- Time Drain
Your time is your most valuable asset, and winging it chews it up. If you’re spending hours fielding repeated questions, resolving misunderstandings, or writing ad hoc policies, that’s time you’re not using to grow your business or lead your team strategically.
Trying to DIY HR, like doing a bookkeeping course at 7 months pregnant with a toddler and a growing business (true story), feels like taking control. But in reality, it’s a distraction. You don't need to be the expert in everything. You need the right support and structure.
- Mental Load and Stress
HR issues don’t just eat up your time. They weigh on your mind. The second guessing starts creeping in. What if I handled that termination wrong? What if I didn’t pay that allowance properly? What if someone goes to Fair Work?
The anxiety of not knowing if you’re compliant can be exhausting. Many business owners find themselves stuck in analysis paralysis - afraid to make a move in case it’s the wrong one. That fear often leads to inaction, or worse, poor decisions based on incomplete information.
- Financial Fallout
Yes, winging it can directly cost you cold hard cash. From unfair dismissal claims to underpayment backpay orders, the Fair Work system is unforgiving, even when mistakes are unintentional.
One employer had to backpay annual leave loading across their whole team due to one misunderstood clause. It wasn’t malicious. They’d simply been winging it. And it cost them tens of thousands.
Then there’s the cost of high staff turnover, poor hiring choices, lost productivity, and paying for unnecessary training to correct preventable mistakes. These hidden costs stack up fast.
The Illusion of Thinking It’s Working
One of the biggest traps is thinking everything is fine because there haven’t been any major problems …yet. But most growing businesses hit an inflection point at around five to seven employees. It’s here the cracks begin to show.
The informal systems that worked with a tiny team suddenly start breaking down. You find yourself being the bottleneck, the fixer, the only one who knows how things should be done. You’re putting out fires daily, stuck in the weeds, and wondering why your team just can’t seem to “step up.”
Spoiler alert: they probably want to - but without clear structures, processes, and expectations, they can’t.
Structure Is Not a Dirty Word
Here’s the twist: your team wants structure. It doesn’t have to be rigid or corporate, but clarity breeds confidence. When your people know where they stand, what’s expected, and how things work, they’re more empowered to take ownership.
Structure isn’t about software, either. Many business owners leap to buying expensive HR platforms thinking it will solve their chaos. But tech without process is just a digital mess. Software can support structure, but it doesn’t create it.
Start with clear systems, policies, and expectations. Then layer in tech if and when it adds real value.
Winging It Keeps You Stuck
Ultimately, winging it doesn’t just cost you time, money, and sanity. It stalls your growth.
The yo-yo effect is real: you make progress, something breaks, you swoop back in, everything relies on you again. Rinse and repeat. This cycle keeps you stuck in the day-to-day, preventing you from becoming the strategic leader your business needs.
It also holds your team back. They never get the opportunity to fully step up, because you’re constantly having to rescue or guide them. And that leaves you burnt out, frustrated, and secretly dreaming of running a business without people—which, let’s face it, is not a viable option if you want to scale or reclaim your time.
Stop Winging It: Start Building Your Foundation
Winging it served you in the beginning. It got you moving. But now it’s time to shift gears.
You don’t need to know it all. You just need to stop flying blind and start putting the right foundations in place. That might mean reaching out for support, getting advice on where to start, or putting a simple HR plan together before investing in fancy platforms or complicated tools.
Remember: HR isn’t just for corporates. It’s for every business that employs people. And when done well, it gives you back time, confidence, and control.
An invitation to join a thriving business community:
If you’d like to connect with other business owners, leaders and managers who also struggle with tackling tough conversations with their teams, I’d love you to join us inside our Facebook Group. Can’t wait to meet you inside the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia
