Make a "Quiet Promotion" a True Promotion

Currently, there’s a new trend emerging in workplaces: quiet promotions. Technically, it’s a practice that’s long been a part of workplaces; it’s just only recently been given a name, one that’s serving as a counterpoint to quiet quitting.

Quiet promotions are a move that’s being used by employers in nearly any industry, and it often leaves employees frustrated. Fortunately, there are steps that professionals can take to turn quiet promotions into true promotions (or, at least, raises). Here’s what you need to know.

What Is a Quiet Promotion?

A quiet promotion involves an employer giving more responsibilities or a bigger workload to an employee without increasing their compensation or adjusting their job title accordingly. Essentially, it’s “promoting” a worker into a higher-level or more challenging role without any of the benefits that come from a formal promotion.

The practice is prevalent in workplaces in the majority of industries. During a person’s career, it’s not uncommon to experience a quiet promotion at least once. When it occurs, employees commonly feel mixed emotions. While it’s nice to know your employer trusts your capabilities enough to expand your duties, it’s frustrating to feel under-compensated once these new duties become part of your daily reality. Some also believe they’re being taken advantage of or manipulated, which only causes negative feelings to grow.

How to Make a Quiet Promotion a True Promotion

Making a quiet promotion a true promotion is possible. Similarly, even if a change in job title isn’t possible, you can often leverage a quiet promotion to secure a raise to compensate you for the extra effort. However, you need to use the right approach.

First, it’s vital to assess how much extra work you’ve been given and how long you’ve carried it. Additionally, you want to factor in whether the additional responsibilities are temporarily or permanently yours. For example, the situation is different if your duties are simply expanded versus if you’re handling more tasks after a coworker quits but won’t continue doing them once a new hire is selected.

Generally, your change in duties needs to be both significant and ongoing. Further, they need to fall outside of the position you were hired to fill. That goes beyond simply being a slight adjustment to your responsibilities, as roles adjust over time based on shifting company needs. Instead, they need to be elevated duties that don’t align with your job.

Once you’ve determined that the changes are outside of your position description, document all of your duties. Then, categorize them to show how many are within your original job level and how many are outside of it. Also, include notes regarding positive feedback you’ve received.

After that, compare your responsibilities, current skill set, and experience level to what’s typically required of the next role up the ladder. That helps you determine if you genuinely qualify for a promotion or if it’s wiser to seek a raise instead.

Then, schedule a meeting with your manager to make your request. Outline the information you’ve collected, express an interest in moving up in the company, and see how they respond. The outcome can vary. Some managers may take action to secure you a raise or promotion. Others may provide feedback about areas of improvement that can help you qualify if you don’t currently.

Consider your manager’s response before taking any next steps. If they can’t offer a raise or promotion currently, and they provide valid feedback as to why you know what it will take to secure a promotion. Then, you can follow their guidance to qualify.

If your manager is resistant without understandable justifications, then you may want to seek out new opportunities to get the compensation you deserve. Update your resume to add your new duties and any skills you’ve acquired. Then, partner with a recruiter to get the ball rolling.