Now, more than ever, we need to pull together our resources in Top Echelon’s recruiting network.

There are definitely challenges in the job market at the moment. Hiring has slowed. Job orders are not flowing like honey like they did in 2022, during the height of the Great Resignation. And some candidates seem to be as obstinate as ever.

And then there’s the economy at large and world events, including inflation, interest rates, war in the Middle East, and take your pick when it comes to politics.

There’s so much uncertainty in the air, you can cut it with a knife. (Or in my case, a samurai sword.) And if there is one thing that the job market and the economy do NOT like, it’s uncertainty.

So what should you be doing? These things, among others:

• Run searches for candidates and jobs in the TE Network software. This includes the Network Candidates sourcing tool, which contains over eight million recruited candidates.
• Check your Alerts for matches.
• Call your trading partners and make things happen. Be proactive!

However, I do want to say one thing regarding jobs that you may have on the Network:

When one of the job orders you have posted on TE Network gets filled, please remove that job order from the Network immediately.

If you’re lax in doing this, then you greatly increase the chances that you’re going to waste the time of another well-intentioned recruiter. And that recruiter just wants to help you fill your search assignment.

Now, more than ever, every job in the Network should be open and active. That’s because now, more than ever, time is of the essence. Don’t waste your own time and don’t waste the time of other TE Network recruiters.

THIS is the time to connect with other recruiters and build activity. In fact, this is the time to generate more activity with your trading partners than you’ve ever generated as a member of the Network.

At Top Echelon, we have not survived and thrived for 38 years by accident.

We have survived and thrived during both good times and bad times because the Network pulls together.

So share your jobs and candidates, call your trading partners, and make it happen!

If you’d like to discuss your split network membership, then I encourage you to contact me. You can do so by calling 330.595.17423 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Recruiters live in their inbox. It’s where conversations begin, relationships develop, and placements take shape.

However, keeping that communication accurately reflected inside a recruiter’s ATS has always required extra steps and extra time.

That’s beginning to change with the new Inbound Email Sync feature in TE Recruit, although it’s important to note that this capability is not yet available to all users.

What Is Inbound Email Sync?

Inbound Email Sync allows TE Recruit users to connect their email account directly to TE Recruit so incoming messages are automatically logged as activities on the correct candidate, contact, or company records. This removes the need for copying, forwarding, or manually logging communication.

However, this feature is currently only available to beta users who are actively testing it. While it is designed for Professional Tier functionality, it has not yet been released broadly to all Pro Tier users.

As a result, early testers are helping refine the experience before wider rollout later this month. This ensures that when the feature becomes fully available, it will deliver a seamless and reliable workflow for all eligible users.

Availability And Rollout Status

Inbound Email Sync is currently live in a limited beta environment. Only selected beta users have access at this time, even if they are on the Pro Tier. Therefore, most Pro Tier users will not yet see this feature in their accounts.

In addition, Microsoft users will receive access before Google Workspace users. Integration with Microsoft has been completed more quickly, while Google Workspace connectivity is still in progress and requires additional approval and development time.

Consequently, users who rely on Microsoft will be the first to experience inbound email syncing once the feature expands beyond beta. Google Workspace users will gain access later, as integration with Google continues to move forward.

How This Helps TE Recruit Users

For years, recruiters have had to bridge the gap between their inbox and their ATS. This often involved copying and pasting emails into activity logs or forwarding messages to capture them in the system.

However, these extra steps slow down workflows and introduce inconsistency. Important communication can be missed or recorded inaccurately, which affects collaboration and candidate experience.

Inbound Email Sync removes that friction by capturing communication automatically. As a result, recruiters can focus on building relationships and making placements instead of managing administrative tasks.

A More Connected Workflow

Many teams already use outbound email syncing within TE Recruit. (Keep in mind that all outbound messages sent from TE Recruit specifically are logged with outbound integration. Emails sent from within Microsoft and Google Workspace and not from TE Recruit will continue to not be logged.)

With inbound syncing added, the platform moves closer to a fully connected communication workflow.

However, as mentioned above, this full experience is still being tested in beta. As the feature expands, more users will benefit from a unified workflow that reflects how recruiters actually work each day.

The Value Of Recruiting Efficiency

Manual logging has long been one of the most time-consuming aspects of recruiting operations. Recruiters should not have to duplicate their efforts just to maintain accurate records.

In addition, when communication is not logged consistently, visibility across teams becomes limited. This can lead to missed context, reduced collaboration, and gaps in knowledge when team members are unavailable.

Inbound Email Sync addresses these challenges by centralizing communication data. As a result, teams can rely on more accurate information and maintain continuity across every stage of the hiring process.

A Pro Tier Opportunity

Inbound Email Sync is designed as a Professional Tier feature and it highlights the value of upgrading from the Standard Tier. While the feature is currently limited to beta users, it will eventually be available to Pro Tier subscribers once fully released.

Inbound email syncing will only be included with a Pro Tier subscription. Therefore, Standard Tier users who want access to this functionality will need to upgrade.

This creates a strong opportunity for teams to enhance their workflows. By moving to the Pro Tier, users position themselves to take full advantage of automated communication tracking as soon as it becomes widely available.

What To Expect Next

TE Recruit is continuing to refine Inbound Email Sync through its beta program. Feedback from testers is helping improve performance, usability, and integration across platforms.

Microsoft users will be the first to gain broader access as the feature expands. Meanwhile, Google Workspace integration is still in progress and will follow once Google connectivity is finalized.

As development continues, the goal remains clear. Every recruiter should have a seamless way to capture communication without extra effort. When fully released, Inbound Email Sync will represent a major step forward in creating a more efficient and connected recruiting experience within TE Recruit.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at support@topechelon.com.

Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting may be the Recruiter of the Month for March and the Recruiter of the Quarter for the first quarter of the year in TE Network, but Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing is the recruiter to beat when it comes to scoring big recruiting fees.

Amy consistently makes some of the largest split fees in the Network, and she did so once again during the first quarter of 2026. Specifically, she and trading partner Sara Katz of First Search, Inc. won the Largest Split Fee of the Quarter Award!

Amy and Sara placed a Director of Operations to earn a split recruiting fee of $59,500 at 25%, good enough for first place. Amy was also part of the fourth-largest split of the quarter, placing a Director of Technical Services with Irina Kirnos of Executive Placement Network to generate a $50,000 fee at 25%.

Of course, I must mention that Brad was also represented twice on the top 10 list for the first quarter, as were Russ Hovendick of Client Staffing Solutions, Inc. and Larry Basilone of Basilone Executive Search.

As a reminder, Top Echelon determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its Network split recruiting fee awards in four distinct categories:

1.) Recruiter of the Month
2.) Largest Split Fee of the Month
3.) Recruiter of the Quarter
4.) Largest Split Fee of the Quarter

We only announce the winners of these awards in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. We do so usually (but not always) in the issue following the conclusion of each month and/or quarter.

Congratulations to everybody who made the largest split fees in TE Network during the quarter!

Largest Split Fees of the First Quarter – 2026

— — —

First Place:

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing and Sarah Katz of First Search, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Director of Operations and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Amy was the job order recruiter and Sarah was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $59,500.

— — —

Second Place:

Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC and Steven George of SteveRecruiter, LLC

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 30%.

Maria was the job order recruiter and Steve was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $57,000.

— — —

Third Place:

Christina Boudreaux of Connectly Recruiting and Ann Boland of The Boland Group

The position for this split placement was a Chief Executive Officer and the fee percentage associated with this placement was Flat.

Christina was the job order recruiter and Ann was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $56,250.

— — —

Fourth Place (Tie):

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing and Irina Kirnos of Executive Placement Network

The position for this split placement was a Director of Technical Services and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Amy was the job order recruiter and Irina was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $50,000.

— — —

Fourth Place (Tie):

Russ Hovendick of Client Staffing Solutions, Inc. and Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Russ was the job order recruiter and Steve was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $50,000.

— — —

Fifth Place:

Russ Hovendick of Client Staffing Solutions, Inc. and Mark Marshall of CRJ Search

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Russ was the job order recruiter and Mark was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $47,500.

— — —

Sixth Place:

Carol McBride of RCC Group, LLC and Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

The position for this split placement was a Director of Internal Audit and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Carol was the job order recruiter and Brad was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $43,750.

— — —

Seventh Place:

Larry Basilone of Basilone Executive Search and Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Larry was the job order recruiter and Brad was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $37,500.

— — —

Eighth Place:

Gary Kaufman of ExcelliSearch, Inc. and Adam Pantelli of AJ Search

The position for this split placement was a Plant Director and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 18%.

Gary was the job order recruiter and Adam was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $36,900.

— — —

Ninth Place:

Larry Basilone of Basilone Executive Search and Jeff Crowley of JobFormance, LLC

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Larry was the job order recruiter and Jeff was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $35,000.

— — —

Tenth Place:

Dan Trudeau of The Headhunters, LLC and Alpana Kapur of Saba Talent

The position for this split placement was a Principal Software Engineer – Computer Vision and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 20%.

Dan was the job order recruiter and Alpana was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $30,400.

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiter network, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting was the Recruiter of the Month for March, so . . . Brad is also the Recruiter of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2026!

Brad racked up 15 split placements during the first three months of the year, and those placements brought him a cash-in total of $146,887.07.

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing, who has been hot on Brad’s heels for the past several months, finished in second place. She was part of six splits during the month, earning $93,812 in the process.

Below is the information that we include with the Recruiters of the Quarter feature in TE Network:

1. The top 10 recruiters for the quarter
2. The “cash-in” total for each recruiter during the quarter. (We base the order of the recruiters on their amount of “cash-in” dollars, as opposed to the number of split placements they made during the quarter.)
3. The number of splits that the recruiters made during the quarter
4. The number of splits each recruiter has made during their TE Network career
5. Each recruiter’s cash-in total for their TE Network career

Congratulations to the recruiters listed below . . . and congratulations to every TE Network member who made a split placement (or multiple splits) during the quarter!

Recruiters of the First Quarter – 2026

— — —

First Place:

Recruiter: Brad Dodge
Agency: iLocatum Recruiting
Placements: Fifteen (15)
Cash-in total: $146,887.07
Career Top Echelon placements: 263
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $2,181,466.02

— — —

Second Place:

Recruiter: Amy Chapman
Agency: Key People Staffing
Placements: Six (6)
Cash-in total: $93,812.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 118
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $1,515,304.91

— — —

Third Place:

Recruiter: Steve Kohn
Agency: Affinity Executive Search, Inc.
Placements: Four (4)
Cash-in total: $53,497.75
Career Top Echelon placements: 586
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $5,333,200.63

— — —

Fourth Place:

Recruiter: Christina Boudreaux 
Agency: Connectly Recruiting
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $48,927.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 27
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $289,426.00

— — —

Fifth Place:

Recruiter: Russ Hovendick
Agency: Client Staffing Solutions, Inc.
Placements: Two (2)
Cash-in total: $45,825.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 28
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $326,091.00

— — —

Sixth Place:

Recruiter: Steve Schroeder 
Agency: Stratus Staffing
Placements: Twelve (12)
Cash-in total: $41,147.50
Career Top Echelon placements: 184
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $341,256.80

— — —

Seventh Place:

Recruiter: Sarah Katz 
Agency: First Search, Inc.
Placements: Two (2)
Cash-in total: $38,305.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 38
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $475,251.54

— — —

Eighth Place:

Recruiter: Maria Hemminger 
Agency: MJ Recruiters, LLC
Placements: Two (2)
Cash-in total: $37,366.41
Career Top Echelon placements: 260
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $2,267,553.37

— — —

Ninth Place:

Recruiter: Keith Cornelison 
Agency: Personnel Resources
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $34,207.07
Career Top Echelon placements: 164
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $975,149.59

— — —

Tenth Place:

Recruiter: Larry Basilone 
Agency: Basilone Executive Search
Placements: Two (2)
Cash-in total: $34,075.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 11
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $133,404.80

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiting network, then contact Director of Network Operations, Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

What does it really take to become a recruiting rockstar?

At TE Connect Spring 2026, you’ll have the opportunity to find out, directly from some of the highest-performing recruiters in TE Network.

The Top Producers Panel is designed to give you an unfiltered look at how top billers consistently outperform, build powerful partnerships, and drive revenue year after year.

This isn’t theory. It’s real strategy from recruiters who are doing it at the highest level.

Join Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing; Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting; and Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc. for a candid, no-fluff discussion on how they actually use TE Network to win.

These are producers who have built repeatable success, and they’re “pulling back the curtain” on exactly how they do it.

How Top Producers Use the Network

One thing is clear: top producers don’t treat TE Network as a side tool. Instead, they make it central to their workflow.

In this session, you’ll learn which TE tools have had the biggest impact on their success and how they integrate the Network into their everyday recruiting process.

In addition, a major focus of the discussion will be the concept of Core Groups.

Top recruiters are intentional about who they work with and how often they connect. I’m talking about long-term relationships built upon trust, communication, and shared expectations.

You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to build and maintain a Core Group that drives consistent results.

Choosing the Right Jobs (and the Right Partners)

Not every job is worth working. Not every partner is the right fit.

This panel will break down how top producers evaluate opportunities, select trading partners, and decide where to invest their time. Just as importantly, they’ll share when and why they choose to step away.

Learning this level of discipline can be a game-changer for your productivity and profitability as a member of TE Network.

Beyond tactics, this session will dive into the mindset that separates top performers from the rest.

You’ll hear how successful recruiters think about being both importers and exporters, how they approach long-term relationships, and how they position TE Network as a competitive advantage with their clients and candidates.

Lessons You Can Apply Immediately

One of the most valuable aspects of this panel is the practical, actionable insight that you can take back to your recruiting desk. From avoiding common mistakes to adopting proven habits, you’ll gain strategies that can immediately improve how you work the Network.

If you’re serious about increasing your billings, strengthening your partnerships, and getting more out of TE Network, this is a session you won’t want to miss.

Top producers aren’t just working harder . . . they’re working smarter. This panel will show you how.

Click HERE to register for TE Connect Spring 2026!

If you want to think (and bill) like a top producer, this is where it starts.