Doug Dennerline

expert panel

Quiet hiring is evolving beyond internal transfers and stretch assignments as companies use redeployment, selective hiring, contractors, technology and expanded responsibilities to build capacity without adding significant headcount. Members of the Senior Executive HR Think Tank explain how leaders can make the practice more transparent, sustainable and beneficial to employees.“Quiet hiring” may have started as a way to describe companies filling skill gaps without making traditional external hires. But the underlying practice is proving more durable than the label.In today's cautious hiring environment, organizations can expand their capabilities through internal mobility, selective external hiring, contractors, technology, AI-enabled productivity and employees taking on responsibilities that once belonged to separate roles. Recent BambooHR data illustrates the shift: Internal mobility accounted for 62% of hires in 2025, up from 51% in 2021.Members of the Senior Executive HR Think Tank bring perspectives spanning talent strategy, recruiting, ethics, organizational development, employee experience and workforce planning. Their message is consistent: Quiet hiring itself is not necessarily a problem. The risk comes when organizations use it to obscure how work is changing or expect employees to absorb additional responsibilities indefinitely without clarity, development or recognition.