"Quiet Hiring" and Other New HR Buzzwords to Know

I've never bought into the "Quiet Quitting" thing that has seemingly played out everywhere in the business world. There may be some people that have chosen to do the absolute minimum to be able to stay in the job they're in (which is the definition of the phrase), but that's been going on in workplaces way before now; most of us still call that "underperforming". (!)

Now there's a new crop of HR sound-alike terms that may sound new, but are actually new labels for things we've seen for some time. See if you've heard any of these newbies for 2023:

• "Quiet Hiring"

"Quiet Hiring" is where an organization takes on a new set of skills or adds to their current workforce without actually hiring additional full-time employees. It can mean reassigning people to different departments to take on new or additional responsibilities, or reshuffling existing staff into new roles that are very different from the jobs for which they were originally hired.

For example, in a ticket sellout situation where there's literally nothing left to sell, I've seen senior sales reps reassigned to the responsibility of servicing their customer base. It allows them to stay on and remain productive, but may require an additional set of customer service skills.

I've also recently seen service teams called into action to proactively sell ticket packages in a low-demand period where more phone calls and outreach efforts are needed. These service reps are often not sales-savvy, and may need the confidence that a good sales training program can bring to get them productive and profitable.

If a manager leaves and their position goes unfilled, "Quiet Hiring" can also mean the assignment of some managerial duties to a member of the team without additional pay OR any promise of the job being given to them. Without support in either leadership training OR a promise of the job potentially being theirs, this practice can be a disaster for both the team member and the organization.

(Side note: We at ISBI 360 work with many teams in "upskilling" people for additional responsibilities, including Ticket Sales, Customer Service, and Leadership. You can learn more here.)

• "Quiet Firing"

"Quiet Firing" is when an employer purposely makes life so miserable for a team member that they get them to quit on their own. It includes things like going years without a raise or promotion, moving duties around to less desirable jobs, or purposefully withholding development and leadership opportunities. This is usually a management issue, and it shows they don't have the guts to do what's right for both parties and actually fire them.

I've seen one situation recently where incoming leads from a sales team were purposefully funneled away from a particular sales rep, citing "house account" status and claiming it for the sales manager to handle. There are plenty of other examples, from not promoting someone from Inside Sales to withholding commission that was rightfully due them.

As a leader, your employees may feel as though you're guilty of this without you even knowing it. If you've withheld promotion opportunities, shifted people around without much warning, or didn't show them you have an interest in their careers, it may be going on in your organization right now. (We've recently helped several teams put together effective programs that had this going on that have helped retain and grow their people very cost-effectively.)

A 2021 Rallyware study showed that 94% of employees would stay with their current company longer if they showed interest and invested in their personal learning and career development on the job. "Quiet Firing" may not be the term you'd use to describe it, but training people regularly and purposefully has been proven to increase retention, improve job satisfaction, and boost the quality of work people do, all of which affect the bottom line positively.

I don't know what the next goofy HR word will be, but our goal as we all get better at what we do is to recognize our team members for who they are: our single greatest asset for success.

--?Bill Guertin?is Chief Learning Officer of ISBI 360, a training, sales and recruitment company that increases revenue and results for the business side of sports & entertainment. Reach out to Bill at?[email protected], or set a time to talk with him one-on-one at?www.calendly.com/bill-isbi360.