When deciding what kind of designers to hire, start by understanding why your company needs a designer in the first place. Consider whether you require a specialist for a one-time task, an in-house designer available full-time, or multiple designers for different roles. Evaluate your team's performance and identify the tasks that are time-consuming or not being completed correctly.
Consider the specific designer qualities, skills, and competencies required for the outcomes you expect from the designer. For example, if you need someone to investigate user needs, you would look for qualitative and quantitative research skills, strong communication abilities, attention to detail, integrity, proactivity, creativity, and openness to criticism.
Also, remember to strike a balance between generalists and specialists. Generalists possess a range of UX skills and can be suitable for companies starting out in their design journey. However, for more complex design challenges, design specialists with deep domain expertise are often preferable.