Hire or Automate?

The 3-question test before your next hire

First, the real cost of a hire (US numbers)

Receptionist: median pay $38,010 a year (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
Admin assistant / secretary: median pay $48,310 a year (BLS, May 2025).
Benefits: in US office and admin jobs, pay is about 69% of total compensation (70% across all private employers; BLS, June 2026). So a $38k receptionist costs about $54,000–55,000 a year in total. That's an estimate from averages.

The 3 questions (ask them about each task, not about the whole job)

1. Is it the same steps every time? Yes → automation candidate. No, every case is different → a person.

2. Does it need judgment or empathy? Calming an angry customer, noticing something's off, making a call on a gray area → a person.

3. What does a mistake cost? Low (a reminder goes out late) → automate. High (money, legal, safety) → a person decides, and automation can prepare the draft.

Worksheet

List everything the new hire would do in a week, one task per line.

Task	Same steps?	Needs judgment?	Cost of a mistake	→ Automate / Person
Answer "are you open Saturday?"	Yes	No	Low	Automate
Book and remind appointments	Yes	No	Low	Automate
Handle an upset customer	No	Yes	High	Person
...

Add up the "person" column. Often it's a part-time job, not a full-time one.

The rule

Automate the repeat work first. Then hire for the part that needs a person.