Laurie Chamberlin, Head of Recruitment Solutions, North America at LHH, an integrated talent solutions provider.
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As layoffs continue to make headlines and market concerns rise, many sectors aren't in a position to make external, permanent hires. Organizations need strategies to fill needed roles while reducing the time and costs that go into traditional recruitment processes. But on top of that, they must also ensure their current employees are properly supported.
Quiet hiring—when companies fill talent gaps without bringing on full-time employees—has emerged as a way to meet business needs while also investing in the growth and mobility of existing talent. Adopting this hiring strategy can be effective in today’s economic conditions, but it must be approached with a people-first mindset. Introducing internal movement and increased responsibility has the potential to add too much of a workload on already overwhelmed employees.
To avoid this, recruiting teams can take several steps to leverage this trend successfully.
1. Strengthen Internal Talent Pipelines
To build the foundation for effective quiet hiring, you need a clear understanding of employees’ strengths and potential. By identifying high performers, you're better positioned to fill openings with efficiency and elevate successful workers.
A key component is maintaining open lines of communication between managers and employees so internal job openings can be shared and discussed in a timely manner. Regular performance reviews are also vital and should take a holistic approach. This will allow leadership to both reflect on an employee’s recent performance and evaluate their potential for growth or interest in making career pivots.
Additionally, be sure your company prioritizes talent investment through development and career progression opportunities. According to joint research conducted by Adecco, Akkodis and my company, LHH, 44% of workers said staying with their current employer hinged on the training and upskilling opportunities available. This demonstrates a major insight for supporting internal development and workforce engagement.
2. Lean On Temporary Staffing
While investing in existing staff is a key factor in leveraging quiet hiring, the truth is that some talent gaps may still need to be filled externally. According to the February jobs report, jobs in temporary help services rose by about 7,000, suggesting a strong labor market that's still in competition for talent.
Though it’s a positive sign that organizations can take advantage of temp staffing, remember that onboarding is difficult. Temp staffers often arrive to a job already well-equipped to perform the task at hand. But you'll still need to provide specific training and support so incoming workers seamlessly transition into their roles. This will help support them and ensure they're providing value to the rest of your team and company.
Down the line, you might consider converting temp workers to permanent positions. If you're looking to fill long-standing skills gaps, transitioning high-performing temp workers to regular employee status can reduce the time and resources you would've invested into new recruitment processes. To develop a fruitful temp-to-hire pipeline, managers should be proactive about working with recruitment teams to identify which teams have permanent talent needs and flagging successful temp staffers.
3. Retain Strong Company Culture
Effective implementation of quiet hiring requires a commitment to upholding company culture, including DEI goals. If you don’t focus on these efforts throughout the recruitment process, quiet hiring could actually hinder the acquisition of new, permanent talent. To avoid this, you must keep your DEI targets top of mind and continue to stay accountable to them.
A recent report from talent development firm General Assembly, an LHH company, found that 87% of companies have failed to reach diversity goals because they made no changes to their hiring practices. One contributing factor may be that, during difficult economic conditions like we're experiencing now, DEI programs often aren't a top priority for employers. As a result, they're among the internal investments most vulnerable to budget cuts. But even when you're looking to tighten your purse strings, don’t renege on the DEI commitments you made.
To protect and strengthen your company culture in times of uncertainty, maintain open communication with employees and acknowledge that things are hard. When significant internal movement is occurring, it's incredibly vital to be transparent about changes in responsibility or structure as they occur. Leaving workers in the dark can impact company morale and productivity, so fostering an open and honest environment will help you build and retain trust.
Effective Quiet Hiring Means Prioritizing Workers
We find ourselves facing an uncertain economic landscape when it comes to recruitment. But the past few years have taught us that flexibility and creative approaches can help employers and employees thrive in the face of the unknown. Regardless of industry or company size, quiet hiring can be an invaluable tool for filling critical talent gaps. But to leverage its full value, employers must take key steps to ensure existing staff feels valued and supported along the way. Methods like internal redeployment and a temp-to-hire pipeline can ensure that needed roles are filled while employees' well-being remains the central focus.
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