“Quiet quitting” is so last year. The top workplace phenomenon that employers will see in 2023 is “quiet hiring,” according to one expert. The good news for organizations is that, in contrast to quiet quitting, this trend could find them more in control.
What is quiet hiring? Emily Rose McRae, the leader of management consulting company Gartner’s team researching the future of work, tells CNBC that internal quiet hiring involves employers asking existing workers to temporarily take on different roles in the company to address crucial, immediate business needs. One real-life example, she said, was when executives of Australian airline Qantas were asked to work as baggage handlers for three months last year to address a labor shortage.
Your organization already may hire universal workers, but quiet hiring could apply all the way up to the upper levels of your organization — with a potential side benefit that executives ultimately will better understand operations. And your organization already may expect community executive directors to pitch in wherever and whenever needed, especially as senior living providers continue to face workforce challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Quiet hiring, however, can be part of a more formal strategy, with assignments having specific end dates.
To help employees not worry whether their “official” jobs remain important, managers should clearly state how the temporary work will help the company be successful, McRae advises.
Speaking with employees about expanding their duties also can be an opportunity for managers to discuss their long-term career goals. Quiet hiring, McRae and Peter Aykens note in a post on the Gartner website, provides opportunities for employees to learn new skills.
As senior living organizations know, staffing agency use can come with a steep price tag. In addition to short-term contract workers, however, employers, if needed to keep things moving, may be able to deploy an external quiet hiring strategy using former employees and gig workers who can be flexible and provide assistance only when needed, McRae and Aykens say.
Read about eight other trends that Gartner predicts here.
Lois A. Bowers is the editor of McKnight’s Senior Living. Read her other columns here.
