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With the 2026 salary increase forecast capped at a modest 3.5%, many Hong Kong HR directors are facing a dilemma: How do you handle a growing workload when you can't afford to bid for expensive external talent?
Enter "Quiet Hiring," the buzzword dominating Q4 boardrooms.
What is Quiet Hiring?
Unlike "Quiet Quitting" (where employees do the bare minimum), Quiet Hiring is an employer-driven strategy. It involves acquiring new skills and capabilities without hiring new full-time employees.
This typically happens in three ways:
- Internal Mobility: moving existing employees into roles with higher priority.
- Upskilling: training current staff to handle adjacent tasks (e.g., teaching a marketing executive basic data analytics).
- Flexible Contractors: using short-term experts for specific projects rather than adding permanent headcount.
Why It's Trending in HK Now
- The MPF Factor: With the abolition of MPF offsetting fully in play since May, the long-term liability of permanent staff has increased. "Quiet Hiring" reduces this long-term risk.
- The Skill Shortage: As noted in today's news, finding "digital-ready" safety officers or healthcare support staff is becoming expensive. It is often 30% cheaper to retrain a loyal employee than to recruit a mercenary from the open market.
The Risk: Burnout
The danger of Quiet Hiring is that it can look a lot like "doing more with less" to your staff. If you ask an admin assistant to take on HR duties without a title change or a pay bump, you risk triggering resentment.
Success Tip:
If you practice Quiet Hiring, you must pair it with "Quiet Rewards." This doesn't always mean cash. It can mean:
- One-off Performance Bonuses (instead of permanent salary hikes).
- Extra Annual Leave.
- Public Recognition of their expanded scope.
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References:
- HKIHRM. "2025 Pay Trends and 2026 Outlook."
- Staffing Industry Analysts. "Hong Kong private sector employment down 0.3%."