Quiet Hiring explained: Everything you need to know

The term ‘Quiet Hiring’ is becoming the talk of the town in the workplace culture. While some claim it to be an antidote to the buzzword ‘Quiet Quitting’, some believe that it’s already there; although it got its name recently.

Quiet Hiring: A method where organizations try to fill open positions without publicly advertising them. They do it by either finding talent internally or relying on referrals from current employees. 

Quiet hiring is a win-win situation for employers and employees

While quiet hiring helps employees enhance their skills and career goals, it benefits employers with higher retention rates. 

It enables companies to deliver products and services to end-users without any delay (Since the current employees have already filled up the open positions). The employees get immediate benefits of being recognized and rewarded for their efforts. 

However, this isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s important to create an actionable framework for implementing the quiet hiring approach. 

Implementing quiet hiring at a startup can be a valuable approach for creating a more thoughtful and effective hiring process. Here are some actionable steps you can take to implement quiet hiring at your startup:

• Define Your Hiring Criteria: Start by defining the key skills and experience you’re looking for in a candidate, as well as any cultural fit or value alignment requirements. Consider the specific needs of your startup and the type of candidate who would be the best fit for the role.
• Communicate Hiring Criteria in Job Postings: Update your job postings to clearly communicate the hiring criteria you’ve defined. Be specific about the skills and experience you’re looking for, as well as any cultural fit or value alignment requirements.
• Encourage Open-Ended Questions During Interviews: During the interview process, encourage open-ended questions that allow candidates to share more about their experiences and aspirations. This can help you get a better sense of whether a candidate is the right fit for your startup.
• Take Time to Assess Each Candidate: Rather than rushing through the hiring process, take the time to carefully assess each candidate and make a decision that aligns with the needs of your startup. This might involve multiple rounds of interviews or additional assessments to better understand a candidate’s skills and experience.
• Prioritize Transparency and Honesty: If a candidate is not a good fit for the role, be upfront and honest about that fact. This can help candidates avoid wasting time and energy pursuing a role that ultimately isn’t right for them and can help build a positive reputation for your startup in the long run.
• Consider Alternative Hiring Methods: In addition to traditional hiring methods like job postings and interviews, consider alternative approaches like referrals, internships, or contract work. These methods can help you identify top talent and assess their fit with your startup in a more nuanced way.
• Measure Your Hiring Success: Finally, it’s important to track and measure the success of your hiring process over time. This might involve metrics like time to hire, candidate satisfaction, and employee retention rates. Use this data to refine and improve your hiring process over time.

By implementing these steps, you can create a more deliberate and focused hiring process that prioritizes quality over quantity. This can help you build a stronger and more successful startup over time, while also creating a more fulfilling and rewarding experience for everyone involved.

Click here to know more about how you can optimize quiet hiring at your organization

….But there is a risk involved with quiet hiring as well

Employees will be working more than what their job description states. It can result in a risk of overworking which further leads to burnout. Especially, when they aren’t compensated for their extra efforts. 

Also, when done without adequate planning, it can cause confusion and disorganization among employees. 

Check out the few statistics below conducted by the monster survey to know what employees REALLY think about ‘Quiet hiring’ : 

To read more about quiet hiring: 

• What is Quiet Hiring & Why Employers Shouldn’t Be Quiet About it?
• Leverage 'quiet hiring' to improve talent retention: Sagar Pandey, Head HR, Swastika Investment
• Google Secretly Uses the Quiet Hiring Method. It's a Backward--yet Brilliant--Recruiting Strategy
• Best Approach to Make Quiet Hiring Work for You and Your People [+Basics]