By now, you’ve heard about “quiet quitting,” the phenomenon of employees committing to not doing the extra work that goes completely unnoticed. And you may have even heard about “quiet firing,” where employers treat employees poorly so that they’ll leave.
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But “quiet hiring” is something else entirely.
“Quit hiring” is the recruiting strategy used by Google that’s little-known but extremely effective — just not for those employees who aren’t willing to go the extra mile.
Essentially, “quiet hiring” means honing in on employees who are already going above and beyond, perhaps even taking on additional responsibilities that prove they have what it takes to excel in a given role, according to Inc.
Studies show that high-achievers can produce 400% more than the average employee, so from a business perspective, prioritizing them from the start just makes sense.
Google’s “quiet hiring” isn’t just limited to internal employees, either. Per Inc., Google’s hiring committee, which consists of five or six Google employees, judges each candidate on five “key aspects,” two of which are internal references and employee testimonials. The idea is to significantly reduce the risk of a bad hire.
So what about all of the “quiet quitters?” It’ll be much harder for them to land a job at Google or a company with similar values. Employees who only do what’s asked of them all the time might seem content where they are, getting overlooked for that promotion or raise in the process.
Related: 3 Ways to Avoid the Quiet Quitting of Your Gen Z Employees
But, in some sense, “quiet hiring” gives the power back to employees who want to move forward in their careers and earn more money (that is, if they actually work for a company that rewards their stellar performance).
