AI-powered EH Hiring tool offers free job matching in NZ

Employment Hero has introduced EH Hiring, an artificial intelligence-powered recruitment tool that allows New Zealand employers free access to a shortlist of candidates matched from a database of 1.5 million jobseekers.

EH Hiring is built on Employment Hero's proprietary SmartMatch technology and aims to streamline the hiring process for small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike traditional job ads that generate large numbers of applications requiring manual screening, the new tool claims to present a ready-to-go list of potential hires without advertising fees or subscription costs.

David Holland, Managing Director of SmartMatch by Employment Hero, described inefficiencies in traditional recruitment practices.

"Hiring today often follows this path: Write a job ad; post it on a board; wait for applicants; get swamped by irrelevant CVs; hope the right one's in there somewhere," said Holland.

"It takes six to eight weeks on average to go from writing the ad to onboarding the new hire and that's if you're lucky. Job boards still dominate the scene, but they offer no real insight into who will succeed in your business – just a sea of hopefuls."

EH Hiring seeks to reverse this situation by shifting from a broad approach to a targeted one. The tool uses AI to curate shortlists of candidates from a pool covering New Zealand, Australia and beyond, filtering for specific criteria relevant to employers. "We wanted to tap into technology for the shortest distance between the employer and the candidate," Holland said.

According to Holland, SmartMatch's differentiation is in its use of data-driven indicators rather than simple keyword or job title matching.

"It's not just matching keywords or job titles – it's using real HR data and predictive AI to understand what success looks like in your business. When EH Hiring is integrated with our employee operating system which helps businesses manage end-to-end HR processes – we know who your people are, how long they've stayed, whether they were promoted or passed probation. That means when one resigns, we can instantly find someone with similar traits who's likely to thrive in that role too," said Holland.

He added: "That's something no job board can do. The AI also screens for key quality signals such as tenure, qualifications and career trajectory so you're not wasting time on job-hoppers or poor matches. It's a smart, scalable way to de-risk hiring, especially when you don't have a full HR team to lean on."

The tool is designed with smaller businesses in mind, recognising the challenges faced by those without dedicated human resources staff. "EH Hiring levels the playing field – whether you're a one-person startup or a growing team of 20, it enables you to tap into pre-screened, high-fit candidates without paying up front," explained Holland.

Kate Shuker, HR Lead at consulting firm Eliot Sinclair, noted the time savings delivered by the SmartMatch technology. Shuker manages up to 14 roles at a time across HR and marketing functions. She said SmartMatch saves "four to five hours a week in peak periods because it puts the best-suited candidates at the top so she isn't scrolling through hundreds of CVs."

EH Jobs, the candidate-facing part of the offering, is designed as a mobile-first platform, focused on industries such as retail and hospitality where quick hires are often required. "This is more than a job board. EH Jobs is the front door to a smarter hiring experience that works for both sides of the employment marketplace. Candidates who join via EH Jobs are automatically added to the SmartMatch candidate pool, where AI takes over to deliver precise, high-fit matches for open roles," said Holland.

Employers who use EH Hiring become part of a network that, according to Employment Hero, consists of a dynamic pool of high-quality talent available in real time.

Holland explained the rationale for offering the product free of charge initially. "We believe we've created the biggest leap forward in recruitment since job boards first went digital and want everyone to benefit from it," he said.

The product will remain free for the time being, allowing employers to experience what Holland believes is a hiring process that is "faster, more focused and built for real business needs."