Poll: Election is a nonfactor in hourly employers' decision-making

RICHMOND, Va. — While hourly employers have an eye fixed on the presidential election and its potential effects on health care, most are not waiting until after Election Day to make business decisions, according to a poll of hourly employers by Snagajob, the nation’s largest hourly employment network.


More than half of hourly employers (55%) cited potential healthcare requirements as the key presidential election issue most likely to affect their business. Possible economic stimulus plans (25%) and tax code changes (14%) were among other concerns weighing on hourly employers. And more than two-thirds (67%) said that they did not have a “wait and see” attitude about their business plans during the campaign process.


“Some in the market may have expected that hourly employers would have a ‘wait and see’ business attitude in light of the upcoming election,” stated Jason Hamilton, VP marketing for Snagajob. “But when you consider that about 60% of our workforce is paid by the hour and that hourly businesses support many of the everyday services that we depend on, it makes sense that hourly employers have to press on, presidential election or not.”


The survey also found that staffing remains the top priority — specifically hiring and retaining good employees. When asked to evaluate a number of business factors, 64% of hourly employers said that the ability to hire good employees was “extremely important,” with a similar number citing the ability to retain good employees (63%). When evaluating other factors, 35% of hourly employers said a decrease in consumer spending was “extremely important” in terms of affecting their business, as is an increase in hard costs (29%).


“It might be hard for a manager to attach a specific dollar amount to staffing their front lines and replacing a good employee, but as this poll demonstrates, hourly employers still see quality staff as their top business priority,” Hamilton added.


Furthermore, the majority of hiring managers (57%) noted they encourage their employees to vote.

These results are based on unscientific polling of hourly employers who use Snagajob for their sourcing and talent management needs. The online survey was administered between Sept. 7 to 21, 2012, garnering 362 employer responses of various industries and sizes.