The other day I shared an article that LinkedIn posted regarding quiet promotions. My team and I did some digging to learn more about this trend that is going viral. While digging we also found another trend being talked about called quiet hiring.
What are these trends? Quiet promotion is when workers take on more responsibility, extra work, and hours without a new title and additional pay. Quiet hiring is when companies fill in holes or redistribute the work force without hiring new employees.
Quiet promotion and quiet hiring has been spurred out of companies needing to fill in the gaps with inflation-induced layoffs and the uptick of workers quitting during the height of the pandemic and over the past few years. Relating to quiet promotions, companies initiatives need to be accomplished by the “lone survivors” at companies, who are having to fill in, even if the duties are above their pay grade or part of what would be considered a promotion. However, relating to quiet hiring, companies may fill roles that are critical to the businesses survival with individuals from other areas in the company. It seems this is quiet to the outside, but communicated internally.
If you are an employer, it is important to understand that the cultural climate of employees has changed with more employees wanting to "work to live" as opposed to "live to work." Communication is key in being transparent as to why you need to ask someone to take on new responsibilities.
If you need someone to take on new responsibilities and the work they are doing is a promotion, then promote them with title and pay. Trust me, as a recruiter these people are looking to leave if they are not valued.
If you need them to fill in on a short term initiative that is not a promotion, let them know that, let them know the timeline, and document the work for their review and potential bonus. Again, they need to know they are valued or they will listen to new opportunities that come their way.
And if you are moving people to new roles, let them know that you are upskilling them, and the work you are having them do is instrumental in the growth of the company. Trust me on this one, it is hard as a recruiter to get people to leave in this situation.
If you are an employee, it is important to understand that promotions tend to happen when you have taken on new responsibilities and show that you bring value to the next role. And if you are asked to do a totally new role, it probably brings more job security as the company invests in training you to help drive critical initiatives. Again, communication is key. Don’t be afraid to ask what this means for you to climb corporate ladder and receive the promotion. And we did post something last week regarding keeping your personal brand strong, because there is more competition out there then you may be aware. It is a weird time in the world of work. There are some industries that truly don’t have enough employees. There are others that have more choices when looking for individuals in specific roles. It is really wise to build your personal brand to stand out internally and externally. As a leader it is critical to understand that communication can make or break a working relationship. Being transparent, even if there are challenges the company is facing, will have employees working with you to drive company growth, revenue, etc. They just need to know they are valued and actions can speak louder than words.