A bad hire does not just cost you time and money. It can erode your team culture, drain your energy and set your business back months. For most small business owners, recruitment is something that gets done in a rush because the role needed filling yesterday. That pressure leads to compromise, and compromise leads to problems down the track. We help you slow down just enough to get it right.
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Trusted HR Solutions works with small and medium business owners across the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers to build a structured, consistent recruitment process that reduces risk and finds the right fit. Whether you need support with the full process from job ad through to onboarding, or just help with a specific stage, we tailor the approach to what your business actually needs. Our recruitment support includes end-to-end recruitment and utilises psychometric profiling to reduce the chance of a costly mis-hire.
Recruitment
The business is expanding and you cannot afford to get the next few hires wrong. You need a repeatable process that finds the right people, not a scramble every time a new role opens up. We help you build that process, from role definition and employment contracts through to onboarding, so growth does not come with unnecessary risk.
You have been through the pain of a wrong fit and you do not want to repeat it. DISC profiling and consistent interview methods give you a clearer picture of how someone will actually perform, not just how they present in the room.
You are running a business and cannot spend weeks sorting applications, writing ads and coordinating interviews. We handle the process from start to finish so you stay focused on operations while we deliver the shortlist.
You are meeting candidates but struggling to pick the right one. Clear scoring, behavioural questions and psychometric profiling give you better tools to choose the right person instead of hoping for the best.
Every business is different, but the situations that bring people to us tend to follow a pattern. Whether you need end-to-end recruitment or just help with one part of the process, here are the most common reasons business owners reach out.
If any of these feel familiar, your recruitment approach might be costing you more than you realise:
Skills looked right on paper, but the person does not fit the team, the culture or the way your business operates. Within months, you are dealing with performance issues or worse, a team conflict that needs mediation and conflict resolution.
There is no consistent process. Each time a role opens up, it is done differently, with different questions, different criteria and different results.
They present well in the room, but once they start, the behaviour does not match. Without the right tools to look beyond the surface, you are relying on instinct alone.
Every time someone leaves, you are back to square one. Writing ads, sorting through applications, interviewing, onboarding and hoping this one sticks.
The role needs filling now. There is no time to build a proper shortlist, run considered interviews or think about team fit. So you settle for whoever is available.
Good candidates on the Mid North Coast are harder to find than they used to be. When the pool is shallow, the pressure to compromise only grows.
These are the situations where a clear recruitment process makes the biggest difference. Not just filling the role, but hiring someone who actually fits and setting them up to succeed from day one. If broader HR gaps are contributing to the problem, an HR audit can help you see the full picture before you start hiring.
Define the Role
Before we advertise anything, we make sure the role is clearly defined. That means getting the position description right, setting practical selection criteria and understanding what success actually looks like in the role. This step prevents the kind of vague hiring that leads to mismatched expectations later.
Attract and Shortlist
We write the job ad, post it and manage the candidate responses on your behalf. From there, we shortlist against the criteria you have agreed on, so you are only meeting candidates who genuinely match the brief. If you already have applications coming in and just need help sorting through them, we can step in at this point.
Interview With Structure
We support you through interviews designed to go beyond surface-level answers. Consistent questions, clear scoring and a focus on behaviour, not just experience. For customer-facing or leadership roles, we recommend DISC psychometric profiling at this stage to give you a deeper picture of how each candidate communicates and operates.
Select and Onboard
Once you have made your decision, we help you set the new hire up properly. That includes making sure their employment contracts are current and compliant, their onboarding aligns with your workplace policies and they are clear on expectations from day one. A strong start reduces the chance of early turnover and protects your investment in the hire.
“She helped us make confident, defensible people decisions while keeping the workplace positive. I’d recommend Tania and Trusted HR Solutions without hesitation.”
Skills and experience get someone to the interview, but they do not tell you how that person will communicate, lead or fit within your existing team. That is where DISC psychometric profiling makes the difference.
DISC is a psychometric assessment tool that measures communication and behavioural styles. It shows you how a candidate naturally operates under pressure, how they prefer to communicate, and where their strengths and blind spots sit. It is not about ruling people out. It is about understanding who you are bringing into the team so you can set them up to succeed. For customer-facing roles, management positions and any role where team dynamics matter, DISC gives you a picture that an interview alone cannot provide.
We do not use DISC as a standalone exercise. It is built into the recruitment process at the right point, typically after the first round of interviews when you have narrowed to a final shortlist. DISC results then guide the second interview, so you are asking the right questions and testing for real-world behaviour, not rehearsed answers.
Tania is an accredited DISC psychometric assessment provider with experience applying DISC across government, health and private sector recruitment to lower the chance of a wrong hire. If you want DISC insights built into your ongoing recruitment approach, we can set that up as part of an HR business partner engagement.
One of the most overlooked parts of recruitment is how the new person will fit with the people already in the team. We assess the existing leadership and team mix and recruit for a complementary fit, not just someone who ticks the skill boxes. When your team works well together, engagement goes up, conflict goes down and your managers spend less time dealing with people problems. If your managers need support to lead their teams more effectively, leadership coaching can help bridge that gap alongside the recruitment process.
We help business owners find the right people and set them up to succeed. Here is what some of our clients have to say about working with Trusted HR Solutions.
Thinking about getting help with your next hire? Here are the questions we hear most often.
Absolutely. Recruitment can be delivered as a full service or in parts. Some clients just need help writing the ad and shortlisting, others want support right through to onboarding. We tailor the scope to what makes sense for your situation.
DISC is a psychometric assessment tool that measures communication and behavioural styles. It gives you insight into how a candidate naturally operates, not just how they present in an interview. We use it to reduce the risk of hiring someone who looks great on paper but does not fit the team or the role in practice.
It depends on the role and the market. A straightforward hire can move relatively quickly once the ad is live. More senior or specialised roles may take longer, particularly if we are running DISC profiling and second-round interviews. We work at a pace that balances speed with getting it right.
Yes. We write and post the ad, manage all candidate enquiries and applications, and deliver a shortlist to you. You are kept informed throughout but do not need to manage the inbox.
Early turnover usually points to something in the hiring or onboarding process that is not working. It could be role clarity, expectations, induction or cultural fit. We look at the full picture and address the root cause. Stronger workplace policies, a proper induction process and clearer expectations all reduce the chance of early exits. If you are not sure where the gaps sit, an HR audit can help identify what needs attention first.
If a new hire is creating friction or their behaviour is affecting the team, we can help you assess the situation and work out the best path forward. That might involve mediation and conflict resolution if team dynamics have been affected, or revisiting your recruitment process to prevent it happening again.
Yes. Part of what we do is help you build a consistent, repeatable process your team can use going forward. That includes templates, interview guides and onboarding checklists. If you want ongoing support to keep that process current, we can build it into an HR business partner engagement. If your managers also need help with the people leadership side, leadership coaching can run alongside.
No. We provide practical HR guidance within the HR scope. For complex employment law matters, we have a strong working relationship with trusted employment lawyers and can refer you directly.
A consistent recruitment process protects your business, strengthens your team and lowers the cost of getting it wrong. Whether you need end-to-end recruitment support or help with a specific stage, we are here to make your next hire the right one. Practical, experienced recruitment support for small businesses in Coffs Harbour and across the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers.