Top Workplaces 2023: Companies looking to bolster their skills are increasingly looking internally through ‘quiet hiring’

It’s considered to be one of the hottest workplace trends, but it’s such a stealth move that not everyone has heard of it.

Quiet hiring allows companies to acquire new skills without bringing on new full-time employees. It’s often accomplished by moving employees to different roles or having them take on new projects outside their job descriptions that stretch their skills, according to Emily Rose McRae, senior director analyst in global research company Gartner’s HR practice. It’s meant to strategically address acute immediate business needs.

As employers grapple with a talent shortage and uncertainty over where the economy is headed, a growing number are turning to quiet hiring. They’re also doubling down on the traditional tactic of grooming talent from within.

Quiet hiring “is partially being driven by the socioeconomic environment in which we find ourselves, the lack of individuals in the workplace to do the work that needs to be done,” said Jim Link, chief human resources officer with SHRM, formerly the Society for Human Resource Management, which has more than 325,000 members.

“We’re seeing that employers are being conservative in the way they think about adding to full-time head count,” he said. “They don’t want to overhire and an actual recession comes along.”

This is reflected in job openings. Through August this year, U.S. companies announced plans to add 135,980 positions, plummeting from the 783,074 new positions announced through the same period in 2022, Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported.

Manufacturing and retail industries began pursuing quiet hiring during the pandemic, McRae said. Bloomingdale-based NOW Health Group Inc., which appears on the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list as measured by the consultancy Energage in Exton, Pennsylvania, was among them.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, customer demand for our immune-building products skyrocketed, so it was all hands on deck,” said Patti Paulson Otto, director of compliance and employee relations at the company, which makes natural products and dietary supplements.

Employees from manufacturing, human resources, accounting, sales, IT and leadership worked evenings and first and second shifts on Saturdays at its distribution facility to pack orders, she said. Material handlers at its distribution facility were cross-trained and helped in manufacturing to meet the need, she added.

In some cases, quiet hiring involves hiring temporary workers to address short-term needs. Scale Virtually, a staffing company that also appears on the Chicago Tribune’s list of Top Workplaces, has seen that firsthand. Sean Connolly, CEO, said quiet hiring has driven increased demand for staffing services at the company, and he expects the trend to help drive future growth.

Companies that engage in quiet hiring are able to meet their immediate staffing needs without going through a lengthy and costly recruitment process, experts and employers say. It can be a strategy for riding out periods of volatility and managing costs as industries shift.

For employees, quiet hiring represents an opportunity to acquire new skills, get experience and exposure in a new department, and maybe even chart a new career course.

But there are pitfalls to avoid. Employers need to make sure their employees don’t become overloaded. And they need to provide adequate training and clearly communicate goals and expectations. Employees who are “quietly hired” should also be compensated for the additional work in the form of bonuses, personal time off or the opportunity for career advancement, experts say.

“This has the potential to be a game changer for employees,” Link said.

At Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., quiet hiring is part of the company’s philosophy of promoting employees from within, said Julie Fry, chief human resources officer.

“Because of volatility in the housing market, the interest rates and the lack of inventory, we’re going through a bit of a perfect storm,” Fry said. “With quiet hiring, we’re not having to hire externally. We have internal talent we’re putting to use in different areas to continue to operate and protect jobs.”

Loan processors and loan officer assistants are learning to wear many hats, Fry said. And during times of market volatility, employees on Fairway’s HR team have moved to work in the licensing department.

“They understand licensing, but more importantly, they are able to innately learn and grow their business acumen within Fairway by being in other departments,” Fry said.

Fairway appears on the Tribune’s list of Top Workplaces and is among the firms that ranked particularly well for providing formal training, which helps employees reach their full potential.

As part of its groom-from-within efforts, the company has an internal coaching platform for loan officers, operations staff and corporate leaders.

“They have the opportunity to come into this coaching platform and be coached personally and professionally,” Fry said. “It provides them knowledge and growth opportunities in their respective positions. They learn from inside experts on the different ways to operate within Fairway. They learn the culture and how to navigate our culture.”

Fairway employees Ron Kluk and Carrie Reznicek have been quiet hires. Kluk, who is now the principal data architect at the company, said he has held several positions at the company and was tasked with taking on responsibilities outside those roles. After a major IT software project went live, he was asked to join the executives’ team to provide more front line feedback. He eventually was also asked to manage the group responsible for that software program. He benefited from taking on the added duties.

“A lot of personal and professional growth has occurred,” Kluk said, and he’s been able to get outside his comfort zone.

While working as a mortgage adviser, Reznicek approached regional managers about taking on the additional responsibility of helping raise brand awareness in the Chicago region. In addition to her decadeslong experience as a mortgage adviser, Reznicek said she previously worked in marketing and sales in the hospitality industry, so she had the necessary skills. The company wanted to run with her suggestion but couldn’t make it a full-time position. So they asked Reznicek if she’d add it to her responsibilities.

“I wanted to find a leadership role, and this has allowed me that path,” she said. “There’s been a lot of learning, a lot of experience and it’s given me an opportunity to share some knowledge.”

Quiet hiring has helped Plante Moran, an accounting, tax and consulting firm on the Tribune’s list of top midsize employers, weather the national shortage of accountants, said Tom Kinder, managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office.

The company also has benefited from its focus on career development and training.

There are fellowships available for employees that allow them to work in different parts of the firm for a designated period, Kinder said.

A separate apprenticeship program exposes employees to a variety of segments of the business with the goal of helping them make informed decisions about the specialty they want to pursue.

Kevin Dailey, senior manager in Plante Moran’s assurance group, said he’s participated in several fellowship programs. He is currently in the firm’s professional standards group fellowship, which is for general managers and above, he said.

“It’s not meant to be accretive to the overall workload,” he said of the fellowship. “It’s meant to give me the opportunity to see more complex and more challenging concepts within the firm outside of my own client base.

“It forces me to delegate some of the work that I would normally do to some of the younger team members so they can get that experience, and it helps to push them and stretch them, to give them exposure to areas that they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to see.”

Compass, another company that appears on the Tribune’s Top Workplaces list, also provides training opportunities that allow workers to have upwardly mobile career paths.

There’s transparency and visibility on all the opportunities that emerge at the company, and “that’s not just when we need to hire somebody, but as work initiatives and projects are happening, everybody has full visibility to them,” said Fran Broude, regional vice president of Midstates for the technology and real estate company.

Among the training programs rolled out at Compass is All Hands on Tech, an eight-week program that tech and nontech staff members participated in to gain a baseline knowledge of the company’s tech products, said Angela Smith, senior director of marketing and operations.

Colin McCasland, agent experience manager at the company, said his job description is to help onboard new agents and teach them about the company’s technology. His responsibilities have expanded to include supporting other departments and being a liaison teaching agents how to submit commission and compliance work.

He’s welcomed the additional responsibilities.

“I feel like I’m more valuable to my team,” he said.

At insurance company American Income Life — Lloyd Agencies, another Tribune Top Workplace, anyone looking to advance is promoted through a hierarchy that all managers have gone through and that includes agent up to regional general agent, said Sabrina Lloyd, CEO of the insurance company. The system has created a culture of trust, where opportunities for advancement are clearly visible, Lloyd said.

“In many places you can’t advance until somebody retires or leaves,” said Zachary Otto, who has helped train agents at the company. “That doesn’t exist in a place like this. Your results speak for themselves.”

Stephen Baird, CEO of Chicago-based real estate services Baird & Warner Inc., said grooming from within “is a major tenet of how we run the organization.

“We’ve always felt the best way to develop people is internally. We know those people. When you go outside, you never quite know what you’re going to get. We have three different business segments, so we have lots of opportunities.”

People are encouraged to apply for different positions, and the company has detailed training programs for new agents, leadership development training and targeted training for individuals seeking to perfect certain skill sets, said Wendy Dahm, chief people officer. Managers also meet regularly with their employees, so they always understand their interests and career goals and can look for opportunities to help them realize those goals, Dahm said.

Employee LaToya Spann-Martin has benefited from that approach. She has been with the company’s Key Mortgage Services operation since 2018 and recently was tapped to be area sales manager of Community Impact, a new division dedicated to increasing homeownership in underserved low- and moderate-income communities. It’s something for which Spann-Martin said she has always had a passion.

In her personal life, she has enjoyed leading homebuyer workshops at church groups, schools and local businesses. While serving in her last role, she said she was asked to take on the additional responsibility of being a homebuyer education instructor for Baird and led workshops as part of a company partnership with Habitat for Humanity Chicago.

“They spent a lot of time investing in nurturing me, in helping groom me to be a strong presenter” and leveraging her community volunteer activities, she said.

So, when the division was launched, the company didn’t need to look externally to find someone to lead it. She stood at the ready and has the internal support she needs to be successful, she said.

“In today’s competitive hiring environment, it’s even more important for Baird to look at its own people and give them as many opportunities as possible,” Dahm said. “It’s a win-win.”

Francine Knowles is a freelance writer.