From hiring mismatch to SmartMatch: 5 critical things your recruitment strategy is missing

Is your hiring process starting to feel a bit like a guessing game?

For many Aussie businesses, that’s exactly what it’s become. A drawn-out, admin-heavy and unpredictable process that leaves you with mismatched hires and more missed opportunities than you’d like to admit.

Whether it’s confusing job ads, clunky hiring practices or simply not getting your role in front of the right people, the writing’s on the wall: small gaps in your recruitment process are costing you time, money and the top candidates.

And with the average annual spend on hiring sitting at $13,545 per year, something’s got to give.

Thankfully, help is on hand. With the right strategy, tools and a modern approach to recruitment, you can turn it around so the odds are forever in your favour. 

We’ve wrapped up five critical things your recruitment strategy might be missing so you can feel confident in your hiring decision, every time. 

You’re not leading with data 

Too often, hiring decisions are often based on gut feel. Relying on this solely is where things start to go pear-shaped, resulting in those dreaded and expensive hiring mistakes. 

If you’re not prioritising a data-led hiring strategy, you could see top talent can slip through the cracks, and people who don’t quite fit the requirements float to the top of the pile.

So, what metrics should you consider in your recruitment process? Consider reporting on: 

• Time-to-hire: The time it takes for a candidate to move from job application to offer acceptance.
• Cost-per-hire: The cost involved with filling a role. This is calculated by taking the total cost divided by the number of hires. 
• Source-of-hire: The place or source where successful candidates are coming from, e.g. internal referrals, social media, job boards
• Time-to-fill: The number of days it takes from posting a job ad to filling the role.
• Application drop-off rates: Are there any parts during your recruitment process where candidates are withdrawing their application or dropping off?

Data is one of the most powerful things you can have in your back pocket. Not only can you use the results to drive action and strategy, you can also use it to predict future performance. Is there a trend where candidates hired via employee referrals stick around longer compared to other sources? Or do certain roles have a higher turnover rate? Tap into this data and use it to your advantage to make better hiring decisions. 

The benefits of data don’t stop there. When you take a data-driven approach to hiring, you also reduce the opportunity for any unconscious bias that can unknowingly creep in. When your decisions are backed by data and set against a measurable, objective criteria, you can be confident your process is equitable, fair and consistent.

Your job ads speak to everyone (AKA, no one)

Think of your job ad as your business’s elevator pitch to your future employees, followed by an invitation to step in. It should showcase what you stand for as a business and paint a picture of what it would be like working with you.

But sometimes job ads fall flat. Generic job descriptions, zero brand personality or a lack of clarity around the role can make candidates question if the role is really for them. And worse, it could turn off top candidates and end up attracting the wrong ones. 

To cut through, you need to spend time crafting a standout job ad so you can speak directly to the talent you want to attract. It should cover the basics of the role, what you stand for as a business, what success looks like and your workplace culture. For a quick checklist, check out the non-negotiables below or read our in-depth job ad guide here.

An overview of the job description and duties

This is arguably the most critical part of the job ad, where you outline the responsibilities of the role. To avoid confusion, we suggest keeping it simple, specific to the role and free from any industry jargon. 

Outline the key responsibilities in dot points, who the role reports to and how it contributes to the business goals. When writing the responsibilities, consider outlining the day-to-day tasks, as well as any other teams they may be working closely with.

Employee skills requirements (and nice to haves)

List the essential skills, qualifications and experience required for someone to be successful in the role. We suggest breaking it up into two sections; one section outlining the essential skills, and the other outlining the ‘nice to haves’. 

Employee benefits and perks 

Be upfront about all those little extras that could help sweeten the deal when it comes time for your top candidate to sign on the dotted line. 

Do you offer any standout perks like an annual budget for professional development? An epic bonus scheme? Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? Or even an allowance to set up your remote working space?

These are all things that make top candidates take notice, and have the potential to tip the scales in your favour when it comes down to them making a final call between you and a competitor. 

Looking for some pointers on attracting top talent? Download the business leader’s guide to competing for top talent. 

Working hours and location

Before applying for a role, candidates need to know where the role is based and where they’ll be required to work from. 

Include details about work location and whether it’s in-office, hybrid or remote. You should also include the hours of work and clarify if the role is shift-based. 

A link to your privacy policy 

Be upfront about how you’ll be handling personal information from applicants. Include a link to your privacy policy and outline the key parts of how their information will be handled or used. 

Inclusive language throughout

It’s important to use language that welcomes everyone to apply for the role. Steer clear of gendered terms and corporate jargon that can feel exclusive or confusing. Make sure the tone is inclusive and accessible, and encourages people of all backgrounds, ages, genders and abilities to apply. 

Reminder: Your job ads need to comply with relevant employment laws in Australia. Download our hiring compliance guide for everything you need to know. 

You’re looking in the wrong places

Most businesses look for talent in the same places they’ve found previous success. But if your recruitment strategy is built on posting a job ad to generic job boards, followed by paying and praying for good applicants, you could be missing out on a world of talent. 

Sometimes the people you want to attract to your open roles aren’t actively looking for a new role, and when they are, they probably aren’t looking in the same place. This is why casting a smarter and wider net matters, so you can get your job ads in front of the right people. 

Focus on maximising your reach, trying out new and creative ways of recruiting, seeking out passive candidates, and tapping into technology that can help automate it for you. 

We know this is a huge problem for growing Aussie businesses, which is why we’ve spent so much time building a suite of powerful recruitment tools. Our Applicant Tracking System (ATS) helps you cast a wide net by sharing your job ad across the most popular job boards, plus delivers hand-picked talent directly to you through SmartMatch, our AI-talent matching. 

With our range of hiring tools, you can tap into valuable data and insights, allowing you to see first-hand where your best candidates are coming from. The result? Further reach, more refined targeting, and a much better chance of connecting with candidates who align with your business, no matter where (or if) they’re looking.

You’re rushing the recruitment process (or moving too slow)

Good things come to those who wait… Unless you wait too long. In fact, our customers report that top talent can be off the market in just 10 days.

When it comes to nailing your recruitment, timing can be make or break. Move too slowly and you’ll see standout candidates accept a different offer before you’ve even scheduled their interview. Move too quickly and you could bypass the non-negotiables that lead to costly mishires. 

You want to include all of the essential elements of the recruitment process, and work through them quickly for your best chance of securing great talent. Avoid long wait times between communications, murky instructions on next-steps and a rushed process and you’ll ensure missing out on top candidates is a thing of the past.

Your hiring processes are slowing you down

Even if you have the best intentions and dedicate your undivided attention to hiring, poor processes can bring everything to a halt. 

If you’re still going through applications one-by-one, following up with managers internally for approvals, or juggling spreadsheets to track candidates, chances are it’s slowing you down and you might not even know it. 

You might attract the right people, but if your recruitment processes are clunky and slow, you run the real risk of losing the people you’re wanting to keep around. Every delay, duplicated task or slow piece of communication adds friction to the overall candidate experience. 

Consider these questions:

• Are you juggling messy email threads, spreadsheets and documents?
• Is your interview process unclear or inconsistent across different roles?
• Are you finding different hiring managers in the recruitment process aren’t aligned throughout the process? 
• Is candidate communication slow or falling through the cracks altogether?
• Is there confusion around who the final decision maker is when it comes time to send out an offer?
• Are you reviewing every application manually?

While these inefficiencies might seem small in the grand scheme of things, they all add up and can cause your best applicants to lose interest, disengage or drop out of the hiring process entirely.

Ditch the talent mismatch and make the switch to SmartMatch

Everyone wants to be ahead of the game, and our AI-powered recruitment tool, SmartMatch, can launch you straight to the front. 

Our powerful recruitment tool has shortlisted candidates ready and waiting for you to review, so you can hire the easy way.

With Employment Hero Hiring, you can:

• Hire two weeks faster: Forget writing, posting and paying for job ads. View instant shortlists of matched candidates, and reach out to them straight away.
• Cut hiring admin by 90%: Matched shortlists mean less time reviewing and contacting irrelevant applicants vs traditional job boards.
• Slash your budget: Never pay and pray for a job ad to work again, or pay thousands in recruiter fees.

Think of SmartMatch as your AI recruiter. Post a job through the ATS and we’ll do the legwork. It will find you the best matches, show you why they’re a fit, check their interest in the role, and present you with a top shortlist. Tap into all the perks of a recruiter, none of the steep invoices and one Employment Operating System that can do it all.

Don’t risk great candidates slipping through the cracks because your recruitment process wasn’t built with them in mind.

Ready to go from talent mismatch to easy recruitment with SmartMatch? Get started with our free hiring tool or speak to one of our business specialists today.