​​Is Staff Augmentation the Superior Alternative to Quiet Hiring?

2023 and 2024 were the most turbulent years for employees since they witnessed the most shocking and massive job cuts compared to previous years.

Calling it workforce rebalancing, both giant corporations and small startups have slashed hundreds and thousands of job positions, freezing external hiring and salary increases as it seems for ages.

Since January 2022, Meta has had to let go of 21,000 employees. Amazon’s also been busy, firing around 27,000 folks over the past two years across almost every department.

Microsoft and Google got in on it too, with layoffs of 1,900 and 1,000 people, respectively. Epic Games declared a layoff affecting 16% of its workforce or more than 800 people.

Twitch, Salesforce, and eBay don’t disclose data but reportedly the number of people who left the company is also in the hundreds or even thousands.

In general, such a harsh reorganization not only affected layoffs but also revised the entire hiring process. Companies began to increasingly consider alternative forms of employing workers, such as quiet hiring and staff augmentation.

What Is Staff Augmentation?

Staff augmentation is a convenient engagement model for businesses to bring in extra help without the bother of onboarding full-time workers.

To find temporary workers who can jump in and work alongside their existing staff members on specific projects, companies usually turn to third-party agencies.

An augmentation technique is popular in fields like IT, where companies might require more software developers for a quick undertaking, or in medical care, where healthcare centers require more staff at peak incidence.

The best thing about staff augmentation is that it gives businesses fast access to professional staffers without the necessity to employ them forever.

What Is Quiet Hiring?

Quiet hiring is the next trend coming after the Great Layoffs. Some people mix it with resigning without telling anyone but basically, it is a low-key way for companies to promote their current employees by giving them new functions or obligations instead of inviting outside hires.

The major reward of quiet hiring includes saving finances because companies can build on the mastery of their existing team without the expense of recruiting new people.

Key Differences Between Staff Augmentation and Quiet Hiring

With staff augmentation, companies can easily ramp up by bringing in outside talent whenever they need it. On the flip side, quiet hiring focuses more on current employees, which is awesome for developing talent internally but doesn’t scale as quickly.

Quiet hiring usually saves a good share of the salary fund since it uses the staff you already have, but staff augmentation can be a better alternative when you require premier talents, even if it costs a bit more upfront.

When it comes to speed, staff augmentation often takes the win because working with external agencies helps fill spots faster. Quiet hiring can slow you down since it implies retraining and moving members into new positions.

Plus, staff augmentation gives companies quick access to a bunch of professionals, while quiet hiring is limited to what your existing workforce can do, which might not always fit the bill.

As for keeping employees around, quiet hiring can actually help with that by showing members there are chances to succeed.

Meanwhile, while staff augmentation has lower risks for long-term commitments, it might not do as much for keeping morale high among your current team.

Limitations and Drawbacks of Both Strategies

For staff augmentation, the greatest limitation is getting outside employees to blend in with the current team and the overall organization vibe.

Another hurdle is communication, especially if the temp workers are remote or aren’t familiar with how things work. Plus, depending too much on temporary staff can create gaps in knowledge and continuity when they move on. Unfortunately, this is the price you pay for the benefits you obtain.

Quiet hiring, on the other hand, can expose employee burnout if current staff are constantly shifted into new roles without the proper support, desire, or practicum.

Some employees might feel ignored or abandoned for promotions, which can induce resentment. If the existing staff unit doesn’t have the aptitudes needed for new projects, it can also limit what the company can take on.

Particular Cases When Staff Augmentation Is Better Than Quiet Hiring

As we mentioned earlier, staff augmentation is super useful in scenarios when companies need quick help from specialized skills.

For example, if a tech startup is making a new application and needs extra programmers with exclusive know-how like metaverse or AI, they can just invite some freelancers instead of trying to re-teach their present programmers.

Retail businesses can also jump on this during the crazy holiday rush, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday. They can hire temp sales staff from an agency to handle all the customers, which means they get the help they need without committing to anyone long-term.

If a company wants to run a large marketing campaign but doesn’t have a designer on hand, they can easily hook a freelance designer to whip up some eye-catching visuals instead of moving someone from another team who might not even have the right skills.

In healthcare, if a hospital suddenly gets flooded with patients because of a local event, it can quickly bring in more doctors or paramedics to cope with demand.

Whether Staff Augmentation is a Better Alternative to Quiet Hiring

Quiet hiring can be incredibly convenient in a bunch of situations. For instance, instead of getting a new agent, a company might promote a sales associate who has demonstrated proven leadership.

In a tech company, if a developer wants to try their hand at project management, the company can train them for the role instead of looking for someone new.

During busy times, a retail store might have cashiers take on extra chores, such as supervising inventory, so they can make the most of their current staff without needing seasonal hires.

In medical services, in turn, rather than hiring more nurses for a specific department, a facility could offer internships to their current nurses, helping them acquire the skills required to administer the workload.

Verdict: Which Strategy Works Best?

In the end, if you want quick, tech-savvy help without all the onboarding headache, staff augmentation might be exactly what you need.

But if you’re all about promoting your current team and saving some cash, quiet hiring could be a better fit, especially when building skills for the long run matters more than just filling a spot.