Anybody who has paid attention to the news in recent weeks and months knows that the United States Stock Market has gone on somewhat of a “roller coaster” ride, soaring both up and plunging down (sometimes during the same day).
However, here’s the big question: has this affected recruiters’ production, and if it has, how much has it? In other words, are recruiters ahead of where they were at this point last year?
To help find the answer to this question, we conducted a poll of our member recruiters in the Top Echelon recruiting network. Here’s how we phrased this particular poll question:
How does your overall “cash-in” through three quarters of this year compare to the first three quarters of 2014?
Results:
The choice of answers that were provided is listed below, along with the percentage of Network recruiters that selected each one:
- Up more than 25% — 16.5%
- Up 1% to 25% — 21.5%
- The same — 25.3%
- Down 1% to 25% — 15.2%
- Down more than 25% — 19.0%
- I don’t track my numbers that closely. — 2.5%
Analysis:
There are many different ways to view a poll question such as this one (not to mention the results). An optimist might say, “Over 63% of the recruiters who participated in the poll are either enjoying better production or the same production that they enjoyed in 2014.”
On the other hand, a pessimist might say, “Only 38% of the recruiters who participated in the poll have experienced any growth this year. Everybody else has either remained stagnant or have actually seen their production decrease.”
So it all comes down to the answer “the same,” which garnered 25.3% of the vote. If a recruiter had a good year in 2014, they are more than likely satisfied to have the same year in 2015. That, all by itself, makes the results of this poll very situation-specific and more difficult to analyze on a strictly objective basis.
Conclusion:
The Great Recession started seven years ago, and economic conditions have been getting steadily better since then. However, it’s only been during the past three years that conditions have markedly improved. The first three years following the recession were typified by abysmal conditions, and if there was any growth, it was barely perceptible.
While all recruiters are different (including their talent and skill levels within the profession), considering where we are in terms of the nation’s economic recovery, the results of this poll indicate that as a group, recruiters ARE ahead of where they were last year. Sure . . . opinions, experiences, and points of view vary, but the trend of the past few years is continuing.
Every year has been a little better than the year before it, which begs the question:
What will 2016 bring?
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