Benefits Canada Interview: Communication, incentivization key to ‘quiet hiring'

This article was originally published in Benefits Canada – written by Blake Wolfe.

As ‘quiet hiring’ becomes more prominent amid a challenging labour market, communication and incentivization are key considerations for employers, says Janet Candido, founder and principal of human resources consultancy Candido Consulting Group.

“It can be a great growth opportunity for an employee, whether it’s presented as a stretch assignment or just an upscaling opportunity. You need to present it as something that is a benefit to both parties, . . . not by saying, ‘Oh, lucky you, I’m going to give you a chance to do [more work].”

Candido defines ‘quiet hiring’ as the redeployment of current employees to different duties. While it isn’t a new phenomenon, the term has grown in popularity as a counterpoint to ‘quiet quitting’ — when employees perform their duties exactly according to their work contract — and as a method for employers to cover workplace responsibilities amid hiring challenges.

“If [employers] have a vacancy, it can take weeks or several months to fill. A lot of companies are also struggling financially — they’re still recovering from the impacts of the [coronavirus] pandemic and hiring [a new employee] can be expensive. Even if you [redistribute the workload] and give the existing employees an increase in salary, it will still be cheaper than hiring somebody new.”

However, with new or increased duties, employers must also take steps to safeguard against employee burnout, she says. “You have to be careful that you’re not doubling the person’s workload. Employers need to look at what their current workers are doing and say, ‘OK, I’m going to add five hours of work to your week, so are there three or four hours that I can take away from things that are not important right now?’”

‘Quiet hiring’ can also act as a retention strategy for both underperformers and overperformers alike, says Candido. “You may have a good employee and they’re trying really hard, [but] they’re just not able to do the job. You can move them into a different role and give them some training. That also works on the other hand, where you’ve got an employee who’s really ambitious and you really don’t want to lose them, so it’s a really good retention technique to offer them opportunities to try something new.”

CTV News Interview: What does the term 'quiet hiring' mean? These Toronto experts explain

This article was originally published in CTV News Toronto – written by Katherine DeClerq.

Months after the phrase ‘quiet quitting’ began to circulate social media, kick-starting a frenzied discussion about workplace boundaries and expectations, other similar buzzwords have started popping up.

First came quiet firing, in which an employer makes a work environment unsustainable so that a worker quits instead of the company fulfilling its termination process.

Now, the concept of “quiet hiring” is starting to become more pervasive. But what does it mean?

Similarly to the first two buzzwords, quiet hiring is not new, according to Toronto experts.

“It really only means that the organization is looking internally to find people it wants to promote,” Janet Candido, founder of Toronto-based HR firm Candido Consulting Group, said in an interview. “They're assessing their workforce and what they're looking for are employees who seem to be working not just working harder, but they're taking on job responsibilities that are beyond the scope of their own job.”

“So effectively, they've started already working on the job they want to be promoted to before the promotion.”

In these cases, employers are not promoting new positions and therefore reduce the chances of other workers feeling disgruntled when they don’t get the job, Candido added.

“They're recognizing that the person is already doing more than they were simply hired for.”

‘OTHER DUTIES AS NEEDED’

Nita Chhinzer, associate professor in the department of management at the University of Guelph, says the nature of the modern workforce is constantly changing. There is an expectation that a worker will take on tasks that may not specifically be outlined within a job description. Most businesses no longer include a specific list of tasks within job descriptions as a result. Lines such as “other duties as needed” can also be used to indicate the employee may be asked to perform roles outside of their expected scope.

However, Chhinzer adds that quiet hiring comes with its own risks. For example, there may be informal expectations that are never set by an employer, leading an employee to take on more responsibilities without the rewards.

“All employees are hoping for some form of incentive or reward, and the incentive or reward is often a pay bump or a raise, but it should happen simultaneously,” she told CTV News Toronto.

“Technically, if we're going to modify someone's job a lot, we should actually give them a new employment contract. But the truth is, in practice, jobs are fluid.”

Both Chhinzer and Candido said that a labour shortage provides employees with more leverage when it comes to having those discussions with their managers. It also could encourage companies to promote from within in order to retain the talent they have.

Employers are getting “a little bit more spooked,” Candido said.

“They might be losing employees without really realizing it. So they want to make sure they're paying attention and taking care of the people who are demonstrating more of a willingness to stay with the company and really work hard.”

The key to making quiet hiring work is communication. If a company is not transparent with their intentions, Candido says an employee may feel like they are being taken advantage of.

In these instances, it may be up to the employee to reach out and ask to be recognized for their efforts.

Chhinzer adds that employees should evaluate their capacity to add new responsibilities to their portfolio and not be afraid to ask that other tasks be removed.

“It's a desirable thing to have our jobs evolve. I think the challenge comes when new things are added without old things being taken off.”

Small Business Owners Should Spend More Time On These Five Things

If you think your business is too small to need Human Resources processes, think again. As most small business owners will tell you they wear many hats but often put more focus on customers, finances and their particular area of expertise. Good HR process is an area that can get overlooked, but the minute you have employees on the payroll, HR issues will abound.  

A small business owner should make sure they are getting these five things right, in order to attract, develop and retain good employees: 

Hiring: Don’t hire your friends, it is next to impossible to discipline or fire them. The boundaries between business and friendship are often either blurred or create resentment and tension if enforced. We think friends will be more loyal because of the personal connection, but often that is not true. Take the time to hire properly – consider your needs for the role, and the cultural fit within the organization. The more care you take in hiring, the more likely you will find a good employee. 

Onboarding: Most small businesses don’t have a formal ‘onboarding’ process, and it’s a crucial step that is often overlooked. This is an introduction to your company culture, environment, and fellow staff. Taking the time to onboard a new employee will help set them up for success. Be specific about how they fit in with the organization and any performance metrics related to their role.  As with any other important relationship, put in the effort to make them feel welcome.  Introduce them to others.  Take them out for lunch. 

Salaries: It can be challenging to get salary data to pay people properly. Often small businesses pay too much or too little, because they rely on information from their colleagues, or the employees themselves.  Look for independent, external, market data (recruiters often publish annual salary guides) and pay attention to internal equity (how employees are paid vis a vis each other. Note that when an employee believes their pay is not competitive, their loyalty and performance will suffer.  It is difficult to recover from this.

Bonuses: Small/new business owners may often give their employees generous bonuses at year end out of gratitude for a good year, believing it will engender loyalty and motivate team members. However, a ‘thank you’ type bonus that is not attached to a performance metric will not actually impact the business or the employee’s performance if they do not know how to earn that bonus next year. Also, it can give rise to a sense of entitlement.  Employees are happy as long as they get the annual bonus and as long as it is at least as much as last year, but the negative impact of a bad year is devastating to morale and performance. Bonuses are best tied to specific, measurable achievements

Compliance: Some small business owners may think they don’t need formal policies or try to develop them on their own, but not having them – or not meeting appropriate standards – could end up costing you more in the end. While some legislation is designed for larger businesses much of it is applicable to small businesses as well.  These include, for example, accessibility requirements, harassment and violence policies, health & safety training.  Don’t assume your business is too small; no matter your size, you need to meet certain standards and requirements.

Creating good HR policies and practices for your small business need not be expensive or time consuming. But you might be surprised at how much they will pay off in terms of productivity and reduced turnover.