Finding the right people, faster – how Hero Foundation transformed hiring at Holdsworth Community

About Holdsworth Community

Holdsworth Community is a growing NDIS and aged care provider supporting clients across New South Wales. With a diverse and expanding client base, the team relies on support workers who are not only qualified, but communicative, independent and genuinely motivated to care. Finding those people – and finding them efficiently – is what the Hero Foundation has helped them do.

The challenge

Like most providers in the care sector, Holdsworth Community was navigating the time-consuming reality of high-volume recruitment. Posting on mainstream job boards meant receiving dozens of applications, most of which didn’t meet even the basic requirements.

“We had about 30 applicants – and after calling them and doing a bit of screening myself, a majority of them don’t have a car, they don’t meet the requirements. Only one or two ever make it to interview, and then one turns up,” said Jamie Shin, Service Delivery Manager. 

For support workers who operate independently out in the community, strong communication is non-negotiable. That wasn’t always coming through from traditional hiring channels.

“On paper they’re brilliant, but then communication skills… it’s kind of like a one-way conversation. It’s normally us just communicating, rather than having that back and forth.”

The team was spending valuable time on basic eligibility screening – visas, transport, availability – before they could even begin assessing fit. There had to be a better way.

The solution

When Holdsworth Community was introduced to the Hero Foundation, Employment Hero’s charitable arm, Jamie and Ethan quickly saw what made it different. Partnering with Hero Foundation, they began receiving pre-screened, ready-to-work candidates – people who had already been vetted for the essentials and coached on how to present themselves well.

“Hero Foundation reviews dozens of candidates, works through the applications, identifies the best fit, and then presents us with a highly qualified candidate. Instead of spending hours searching, we’re making decisions from a shortlist of people we’d genuinely hire which is amazing,” Ethan Reed, People Manager.

Many Hero Foundation candidates come through Generation Australia’s training programme, arriving with sector knowledge and, crucially, the kind of attitude that can’t be taught.

“As far as qualifications go, great – they have them. But what I appreciate is their attitude and their work ethic.”

In a sector where genuine care and independent thinking are everything, that mindset is the difference. And it’s what the Holdsworth team has come to expect from every Hero Foundation referral.

The impact

The results have been clear. Uve – the team’s standout Hero Foundation placement – arrived with no prior support work experience and has since built a thriving roster of three to four clients a day. Muhammad, a more recent addition, is only in his second week and already drawing praise for his communication skills and can-do attitude.

“Uve started from nothing and built up his roster. He’s very much happy to have found this. He has the perfect attitude for this role.”

The positive energy these hires bring extends well beyond their own performance. They’re raising the bar for the broader team – and Uve is now being prepared to mentor new support workers during their buddy shifts.

“It’s setting a good example to other support workers. There’s never a ‘no’ with them.”

Building a more diverse team has been another meaningful gain, helping Holdsworth better serve clients from a wide range of backgrounds as the business continues to grow.

Why it matters

In care and disability support, the right hire is someone who genuinely wants to be there. The Hero Foundation makes it possible for Holdsworth to find those people consistently, without the noise, the wasted calls, or the no-shows.

The Hero Foundation is currently focused on placing candidates into roles in the Care Sector across Australia. You can learn more and reach out to the team here.