A 43% majority of respondents to last week's Quick Poll specified that the ongoing economic downturn has not impacted turnover, while another 32% indicated that it has had tremendous impact. Another 26% implied that they were looking for a new job for themselves. Doug Rothschild, managing principal of Tampa-based CLW Real Estate Services Group, works with national corporations and sees another favorable outcome to yet another downturn:

"The economic downturn has not affected us as far as employment. This is the third downturn that I've been through in the commercial real estate business and I can tell you when you're in a service business as we are, where we represent corporate clients, a company like ours ends up gaining credibility and exposure with our clients.

"When things are going very well, companies tend to treat real estate services like a commodity. It's all about speed and they don't really care about price or the quality of the job that's being done. But when we have an economic downturn, those same companies tend to focus much more on the cost of and quality of their real estate.

"That's when we pick up steam with our clients and the people who know us. We have some smart, strategic thinkers who can help them get out of some binds they might have gotten into, whether it's subleasing or disposing of space.

"After the downturn is over and once business ticks up again, we typically turn from disposition of space and consolidation of portfolios to a strategic move where the space that they need for the business at hand is done in a smart way."

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