Quiet hiring: A flexible admin solution to a capacity crunch

When the administrative and operational demands of running your business exceed the limited supply of your time and resources, you have a capacity crunch on your hands.

Capacity crunches happen from time to time, even to high-performing advisors with support teams. Sometimes it's avoidable, but other times it is caused by temporary factors of inconvenience or uncertainty.

Common causes of capacity crunch:

• Existing admin goes out on family or medical leave
• You’re faced with a compliance audit 
• The demand for your services has increased, yet you cannot find a match for the talent you seek in a staff person 
• Your admin is promoted or leaves, creating a vacant role
• You want to meet a certain level of production before committing to bringing on staff
• Cyclical busy times (e.g. tax season)
• Transitions like acquisitions (hello, repapering) 
• New technology adoptions

Faced with a capacity crunch, the natural inclination is to roll up your sleeves, complete what needs to be done, and move on. But by doing so, you’re robbing yourself of your most precious resource – your time. 

What is quiet hiring?

Human resource experts have dubbed “quiet hiring” as a top trend for 2023, and it is one that can help you put an end to your capacity crunch. 

Quiet hiring refers to when you increase your productivity and fill skill gaps in your organization without hiring full-time employees. Typically, it involves engaging with expert providers to strategically address acute, immediate needs. Quiet hiring could also be used to avoid the next crunch by handling low-value, high-volume tasks like those described in this blog, The Top 5 Admin Tasks to Delegate.

Why quiet hiring works

By quietly hiring administrative support, you could:

• Implement an immediate solution. It’s spring. You’re possibly in the middle of wrapping up tax season. By quiet hiring, you could have someone help you dig out from underneath the pile on your desk, schedule the annual reviews you haven’t gotten to yet, and clean up your CRM while they’re at it. 
• Hire for the amount of time that works for you, without a long-term financial commitment. LPL’s Admin Solutions, for example, has three-, six-, and full-year contracts available. 
• Secure an experienced admin resource who is trained in technology you use.
• Redistribute your time, energy, and cash flow to things that increase client satisfaction and add value to your business.