A few months ago, quiet quitting was a major workplace trend. Now quiet hiring is in the spotlight. But what exactly is quiet hiring, and is it something your company can benefit from? Emily Rose McRae, senior director of research at Gartner, said it's about using resources wisely. Let's say you have a need to hire five data scientists to meet a particular goal. However, your organization can't find candidates with the right skill sets. You then perform a skills audit company-wide and see if you have the talent in-house to get the job done. Those folks are temporarily moved until the goal is met, then go back to their original roles. “With quiet hiring, we're talking about an organization strategically, at a leadership level, looking at the talent they have across the organization and where the critical gaps are and finding ways to fill those,” McRae said. “It's trying to acquire new skills and capabilities without acquiring new people.” However, the “quiet” part is really a misnomer. For the practice to work, the company needs to openly communicate with employees about its priorities. Otherwise, it can look like you're just overloading employees and burning them out. “\[With quiet hiring \] a company is saying, ‘We are intentionally deprioritizing that space right now in order to prioritize another part of the business.’”