A crowd of about 75 attended the Rental Town Hall Meeting as part of the American Rental Association's seminar program on Sunday, Feb. 21, the eve of The Rental Show 2016 in Atlanta, GA. Rental professionals gathered to hear how their peers deal with some of the most important issues facing the industry. How to retain and get the most from a rental company's most valuable resource, its people, was a dominant theme of the discussion.
ARA Past President Ted Cook moderated the panel discussion, which included Daniel Morris, Kennebec Equipment Rental Co., Woolwich, ME; Tony Murray, American Rentals, Long Beach, CA; Josh Nickell, Nickell Equipment Rental & Sales, Newnan, GA; and Jeff Van Marter, Sunstate Equipment, Anaheim, CA.
Cook invited participation from the audience in the discussion, which he kicked off by asking the crowd to give a thumbs up or down on how they feel about the coming year. Of those who responded, the overwhelming majority gave a thumbs up, indicated they have high hopes for this year's rental season.
As far as the biggest challenges facing their business, the panel said fleet planning is a critical issue; managing growth for maximum profitability. "We're trying to grow without growing too fast," Morris said.
Of the highest concern to all panel members seemed to be managing personnel. This includes finding qualified people, motivating them and retaining the good ones.
"We have a long and arduous hiring process," Nickell said. "It requires multiple interviews, but once hired, we've ingrained in them how we do things, our safety philosophy, and so on. They shadow other employees for a long time. They're not just released to the wild."
Van Marter said his company uses a similar technique. "Our hiring process is fairly long as well. We have at least two interviews and then the new employee gets a mentor. That mentor is a crucial part of onboarding someone," he said.
Once hired, fostering teamwork is the next crucial step. Van Marter said at Sunstate, they don't incentivize outside sales because they want employees to feel free to share leads. He says the policy has worked very well for his company.
Nickell says it's also important to look at everyone's strengths and weaknesses and how they work together as a team when hiring. "We don't just hire to fill a position. We hire to fill a particular need on our team," he said.
Van Marter added, "Understanding people and their motivations is vital. We aim to help employees attain their personal goals."
Among other topics discussed during the meeting were Tier 4 concerns, how to improve safety, how much is the right amount to spend on advertising, and finally, the "golden nugget" question from Cook. He asked each of the panelists to provide a "golden nugget" of wisdom to the audience.
"I would just like to spread the word on how great this industry is," said Van Marter. "People make all the difference. You can have all the technology, but unless you invest in people, your business is going to lag. Take care of your people and they'll take care of your customers."
Nickell waxed philosophical with his answer, basically telling the audience to "be yourself."
He said, "Figure out your strengths and then find a market for them. Win the game that only you can win."
