So you've posted a job ad and... crickets. It's possible that the issue isn't a lack of qualified candidates. According to recent research from Employment Hero, many workers are actually open to new opportunities - they just aren't making their interest known. In fact, a whopping 67% of employees said they'd consider a new role that aligns with their skills and salary expectations. But here's the thing: only 6% of them are actively applying for jobs.
Employment Hero Managing Director, Talent, David Holland, said the way most hiring works hasn't caught up with how people behave. "For decades, recruitment has relied on candidates proactively spending their spare time searching for jobs, tailoring resumes and navigating lengthy application processes," Mr Holland said. "Today's workforce behaves differently. Millions of workers are open to a better opportunity if it lands in front of them, but the sheer friction of traditional job hunting keeps them on the fence."
So what should an owner check? The research points to three questions.
Question 1: How hard is it to apply?
According to the research, 55 per cent of workers said they stayed in their current job over the past 12 months because finding a new one felt too difficult, time-consuming or uncertain.
That is worth holding up against your own process. Count the steps. Ask whether a candidate needs to tailor a resume, write a cover letter or create an account before you've spoken to them. Employment Hero's data doesn't say which changes work best, but it does show effort is a barrier.
Question 2: Who can actually see the role?
Another 52 per cent said they felt they were missing out on suitable roles because opportunities were hidden, hard to find or never reached them.
Employers seem to see the same gap. The research found 48 per cent believe the talent they need exists in the market, but candidates aren't applying through traditional job boards.
That raises a simple check. If your role only appears on one job board, it may not reach people who aren't searching. Mr Holland said both sides are losing out.
"We have employers desperately searching for staff and millions of Australians open to moving, but because the two sides aren't connecting, both businesses and workers are missing out," Mr Holland said.
Question 3: What does a vacancy cost you?
This one is about deciding how long you can afford to wait. Among businesses facing hiring challenges, Employment Hero found roles sit vacant for an average of 5.8 months. That leaves remaining staff carrying heavier workloads, and can affect customer service and slow growth.
More than three in four of those employers, 78 per cent, said they had lost revenue because of unfilled positions. About 16 per cent reported a hit of $250,000 or more over the past year.
Mr Holland said the impact goes beyond one business. "When vacant roles sit open for months, it ceases to be just a hiring problem; it becomes a broader national productivity problem," Mr Holland said. "It means existing staff burn out carrying extra work, growth plans get put on hold and local businesses lose real revenue."
Working out what one empty role costs your business, in lost sales, overtime and delayed projects, can help you decide how much effort to put into filling it.
One caution: the figures come from Employment Hero, a company that sells hiring technology, and the release does not detail the sample size or how respondents were chosen. Treat the numbers as a useful signal about hiring friction, not a definitive picture of the labour market.