Written by Roger Jowett, Brainiact Mascot business coach
After 30 years in leadership roles, and now coaching business owners across Australia, I can say with confidence: recruiting well is the hardest part of business.
It’s easy to underestimate how difficult it is until you’ve hired the wrong person or worse, hired too fast under pressure, only to find yourself regretting it six months later.
According to Jobs and Skills Australia’s Recruitment Insights Report – September 2025, 42% of employers are still struggling to fill roles.
Even with experience, recruiting is never a guaranteed win. I’ve personally made over 70 hires across my corporate and coaching career. When I reflect on the scorecard, I’d split the results into three buckets: one third were exceptional, one third were okay, and one third… painful lessons. And that’s from someone who cares deeply, gives it time, and does the work.
So how do we improve the odds? Here’s what I’ve learnt and what I teach the business owners I coach.
Recruitment isn’t a gut call. It’s a process.
Too many business owners still recruit on gut feel or rush to hire because they’re under pressure. One client I work with is constantly a person down. Every week they stay in that position, the pressure on the rest of the team grows. Before long, the stress pushes someone else out the door and suddenly you’re down two, not one.
That’s why the real work starts before the job is open. The best-performing business I’ve seen on this front is a trade company that works closely with TAFE. They consistently offer trial weeks, keep in touch with teachers, and invest time in mentoring young people. The result? They’ve always got a shortlist of capable candidates. They’re not pulling random CVs off Seek. They’ve built a pipeline. That’s not luck – it’s a deliberate recruitment system.
Don’t just hire. Onboard like it matters.
Even the best recruit is a 50/50 bet until they’ve settled in and started performing. That’s why I always say: you’re not done when the contract’s signed – you’re just in the starting blocks.
One of the best lessons I learnt in leadership came from a mentor who sketched a quadrant – a simple square showing how to structure the first few weeks… Each corner represented a level of support and autonomy. You start in the top left: four structured touchpoints a week. Then move to the top right: three. Down to the bottom left: two. And finally, the bottom right: one. It’s a simple way to show how you gradually step back while still being intentional. Early on, you’re investing your time with lunches, walk-throughs, and reviews, so that later, the new hire is confident, capable, and trusted to deliver.
If you skip this and toss them straight into the mix, especially in small businesses, you massively increase the chance they’ll fail.
In trades or hands-on roles, the best approach is a buddy system. Someone who can walk beside them, answer questions, and help them learn how your business works. Yes, you’ll cop a bit of banter on site. But smart leaders turn that into camaraderie, not chaos.
Be crystal clear on expectations – early
People aren’t mind-readers. One client I coached was brilliant at setting performance standards from day one. On a construction site, they’d say: “Here’s what good looks like. Watch Roger. He builds this in 15 minutes. That’s the benchmark. You’ll get there in three to six months – and we’ll help you.” No threats. Just clarity.
The worst thing you can do is let someone flounder, then get frustrated that they’re not delivering. Be upfront. Then review regularly. That means sitting down and telling them where they’re doing well, where they need to improve, and how you’ll support them to get there.
Keep an eye out – always
The best recruiters aren’t reactive. They’re proactive.
I’ve worked with leaders who are always on the lookout for good people, even if there’s no vacancy. One of them told me, “I don’t have a spot right now, but let’s stay in touch.” Then, when something opens up, the decision’s easy. No ad. No interview rounds. Just a confident call to someone they’ve already built rapport with.
That’s how you build a talent pipeline not just a candidate pool.
Don’t be afraid to take a risk – but know what comes next
Some of my best hires came when I backed the younger, less obvious candidate. I remember one role where the standout on paper was a 50-year-old with loads of experience. But I saw something in the 39-year-old: Potential. Energy. Coachability.
I took the risk but I knew it meant more work for me upfront. I’d have to invest more in their onboarding and development. And I did.
The same applies when you meet multiple great candidates for one role. The brave business owner might hire both and see who rises. It sounds harsh, but sometimes the risk of hiring two now is less than the cost of losing time and momentum if one doesn’t work out.
Good people want to work with good people
One of my most memorable experiences was with a team that told me point blank: “Roger, you’re not making this hire on your own.” They weren’t being difficult. They were protecting the dynamic they’d built. They had high standards and they wanted to be part of maintaining them.
Smart leaders involve the team in second or third interviews not just to get buy-in, but because it helps new hires hit the ground running. When people feel they belong, they stick around.
Fit beats flash
Some of the best CVs are backed by AI. Don’t get seduced by polish. Look for the story.
I’m personally drawn to candidates who’ve tried to run their own business even if they ultimately returned to employment. Why? Because they understand what it takes. They’ve dealt with cash flow. They’ve worried about paying wages. They value stability. And they bring empathy for the business owner’s journey.
I want people who’ve navigated challenges, not just talked about them.
Hire for diversity of thought
Forget surface-level diversity for a second – what we need is diversity of experience and thinking. One person looks at a problem like this, another like that. Between them, you find the breakthrough.
That’s why I encourage owners to recruit beyond their own background. Bring in someone from another industry. Someone who’s scaled a business on Xero or introduced a new app or process. You’re not just filling a seat, you’re adding capability.
Don’t let ego get in the way. If they’re smarter than you in their domain, good. That’s the point. Your job is to lead, not to know everything.
Track your wins (and misses)
Finally, be honest about how good you really are at hiring. Make a list of your last 10 recruits. Put them into categories: brilliant, average, didn’t work out. Then ask yourself: What did I do differently with the ones that succeeded? Did I rush the ones that didn’t? Was I unclear on expectations?
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. And if you accept that recruitment is the hardest part of business, you’ll start giving it the attention, and the process, it deserves.
Hard? Yes. Worth it? Always.
Recruitment will always be hard. It’s human. Messy. Emotional. And there’s no perfect system. But there are better ways to play the game.
If you want to scale, build a culture, and stop being the bottleneck in your own business, start by getting better at bringing in the right people and helping them succeed. Because at the end of the day, your business is only as good as your team. And your team is only as good as your recruitment.
If you’re stuck making hiring decisions in your business or want to improve your process, reach out for a conversation. Getting recruitment right changes everything.
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Roger Jowett is a Brainiact business coach and former CEO of Motion Asia Pacific. With over 35 years of global leadership experience, Roger specialises in strategy, succession, operational performance, and helping small to medium business owners achieve sustainable growth.
