We explain more about the latest workplace trend, quiet hiring, sharing the advantages and disadvantages, and how you can make the most of it.

Quiet hiring is the latest concept in a series of quiet-related hiring and firing trends. Following in the wake of quiet quitting and quiet firing, quiet hiring is all about improving the skills of people already working for a company or organisation. But is quiet hiring good for everyone involved?

What does quiet hiring mean?

Quiet hiring, also known as silent recruitment, involves helping employees to improve on existinting skills or develop new news. This can help not only individuals to learn and grow, but can also save workplace time and money as it means less time spent on lengthy, expensive recruitment processes, and can mean fewer roles needing to be filled.

Quiet hiring is a way for employers and employees to invest in the talent they already have, and to focus on developing new skills. Getting new skills can be great for you, as it means you have a new skillset for your CV, it can help increase your confidence and can even improve your job prospects. For employers, it can help to fill a skills gap without the need to hire anyone new.

Quiet hiring can involve:

  • being reassigned to a new role where your skills might be put to better use
  • receiving training, upskilling, or mentoring to help you learn new skills
  • reskilling to help you learn skills that are more suited to the company’s needs or to fill a gap
  • stretch assignments (tasks or projects beyond your level of knowledge or skill, designed to help you learn and grow on the job)

What are the advantages of quiet hiring?

There are numerous advantages for individuals and workplaces when it comes to silent recruitment. For employers, quiet hiring saves time and money, as they do not need to put out job adverts, run interviews, train new people on existing systems and processes – all of which costs time and money. 

Knowing that there are opportunities for growth and progression can also help individuals to feel more engaged, motivated, and valued – making them less likely to seek out new job opportunities elsewhere. Learning and developing new skills can also lead to opportunities for promotion. 

When our employers invest in us, it can help us to feel valued and appreciated. Having someone recognise an ability or affinity we have for something can be flattering, and getting the opportunity to expand on that and to improve ourselves can be a great motivator. 

The opportunity to learn new skills and take on different kinds of responsibilities can also be a way for you to discover if you enjoy other tangential roles and career paths. For example, you may find that you enjoy leading a team on a certain project, which could lead you to consider management career path opportunities. By trying these new skills and responsibilities out in an existing role, it can also feel like less of a risk – and less pressure – if you find that it isn’t a path you wish to pursue as a new role. 

When we feel valued, we’re also more likely to be more productive – and to work harder. This can help your team, and the business as a whole. When we feel valued and appreciated, it can also help us to feel more loyal to our employers, making us feel more satisfied – and our workplaces happy to retain engaged, happy employees.

What are the disadvantages of quiet hiring?

While there are many advantages to quiet hiring, there can be disadvantages and challenges as well. Learning new skills can seem like a great opportunity to improve your resume or for businesses to have multifaceted employees, but if you aren’t careful, it can result in people feeling burned out, overworked, or dissatisfied in how much their role and responsibilities have changed.

Burnout can happen when you experience too much stress at work, due to having too many responsibilities, a poor work/life balance, feeling overworked and undervalued, or experiencing poor communication with your manager or team leading to feelings of isolation. 

Over time, if you are expected to take on more new responsibilities or your role keeps expanding, and if you don’t feel like your increase in work is being recognised or compensated, this can lead to feelings of resentment and dissatisfaction. You may feel like you have no time for prior responsibilities or even tasks that you enjoyed as new, more challenging ones may take priority. It’s important to speak with your manager if this starts being the case, to try and have an open, honest discussion before things can start to feel like too much pressure. 

Frustration and poor job satisfaction can also be risks if you find yourself having to learn new skills or do new taste that you aren’t interested in or weren’t part of your job description. This not only affects you, but your performance too; a good employer should be willing to listen to your concerns and work towards creating a more equitable balance, to help avoid dissatisfaction growing to the point where you may feel like you want (or need) to leave. 

How can I use quiet hiring to my advantage?

Explore different departments, teams, or areas of the business. Temporarily getting to work with or connect with other professionals you might not usually work with can be a great opportunity not only for networking, but to see if there may be other areas you may be interested in working – without having to make the commitment of a role or career change before you are ready.

Use your new skillset to your advantage. Taking on new responsibilities can (and should) come with an increase in your compensation. Ideally, this should mean a pay rise, but if that isn’t possible, consider trying to negotiate for other benefits. This could mean negotiating for bonuses, extra time off, flexible hours, remote working, or compressed working hours. 

Update your CV. Keeping your CV up to date isn’t just useful when you are considering finding another new role. It can be a helpful reminder of all of the skills and experience you have, helping to boost your confidence and help you feel more reassured in your skills. It can also help you to identify any gaps you might not be aware of, such as qualifications or training that might have lapsed, or additional areas you might want to consider trying to upskill yourself on to help create a more balanced, rounded package.