Harness a Hiring Expert For big-company resources at reasonable prices, call an HR consultant.

When Warren Carter was transforming his Chula Vista, California, executive search company from a two-person virtual organization to a more conventional model with full-time employees, the company lacked the processes and expertise to attract, hire and retain the employees it would take to fuel Qualifind Inc.'s plan for success. "[To] make that transition from independent contractors to search consultants on payroll, you have to create infrastructure," says Carter, 43. "We weren't big enough to put somebody at a director of HR level."

Carter's solution: Hire an HR consultant to help draft policies, write manuals, design benefits and lay out career paths. The consultant, a 25-year veteran with HR director experience, also mentored the more junior HR manager Carter hired.