Eye On Rental: Maximizing Your Rental Company's Performance

The state of the U.S. economy and consumer confidence is unusually unclear. We are all hoping for the best and the likelihood of a significant boost (in both). As I’ve pointed out in the past, I feel that it is wiser to concentrate on what is happening in the communities you serve and take a more in-depth and objective look at the state of your own rental company. It would be wise, for example, to analyze what is being done and what segments of one’s business need to change. In my opinion, two of the prime subjects that should receive even more emphasis in many equipment rental companies for 2026 are productivity and leadership. In some important ways, these two subjects are interrelated.

Here are a few thoughts on what you can do to position your rental company to grow faster and stronger than what would have occurred without this additional emphasis.

Effective Supervisors

Some rental business supervisors are not as effective as they should be. Try to objectively analyze the supervisory skill level of each of your supervisors. For example, many supervisors have never been trained to delegate properly as well as the correct way to set goals. Some may not be properly prepared to handle some of the recurring challenges of personnel management. 

The subtopics of motivating others and discipline may be among these needs. All of these have a direct impact on the productivity of the entire team. Certainly, there are numerous online and other training resources you can use to supplement your verbal training efforts. It is important to train and retrain supervisors and other leaders for them to become proficient in all areas of their responsibility.

Accepting Applications

In my travels throughout the country, I see a continuing shortage of qualified applicants for positions in rental companies. In some market areas, rental companies report not getting any applicants (qualified or not) for some key positions. This shortage highlights the importance of maximizing each new hire’s likelihood of success.

When you do get someone with good potential, be sure to prepare them for success and growth. If employees do not have a comprehensive orientation (including your processes and culture) and solid initial training, that potential could be wasted entirely. 

Building Your Team

An important training component for promoting productivity is to stress its importance from the first hour on the employee’s first day on the job and throughout the initial training period. Of course, in my opinion, along with all the other critically important topics such as great customer service and safety, productivity needs to be part of the company’s culture with frequent reminders — forever.

Remember, training or retraining team members in having a more organized, systematic way of doing things in various day-to-day business activities not only leads to greater efficiency and productivity, but it also takes away some of the out-of-control, stressful and similarly dissatisfying aspects of working in a rental business. Sadly, too often, people with good potential quickly exit the company. (It is also important to remember that in many cases, employees quit because of their supervisor, not the job itself).

Helping Your Leaders

Another aspect of developing good leaders can be summed up as “good decision-making.” Of course, in my opinion, some individuals are not good at this and may never be great at it. However, some supervisors and other leaders can improve their decision-making skills with a patient trainer. 

With so many “gray areas” in the rental industry, good decision-making is even more important than in many other types of business. It may be possible to have your rental software help to reduce some of the decisions. 

Tightened, better-communicated policies, processes, and procedures may help your leader. For example, having more common “black and white” policies (and procedures) may make it easier for rank-and-file staff to “follow the script.” 

It will be interesting to see how artificial intelligence (AI) helps improve decision-making (to some degree). 

On AI

Speaking of AI, I’m in the camp with those who believe that AI will help smaller companies compete with the large rental companies. 

Although I’m certainly not an expert in AI, the small amount I know makes me a believer that it will help small rental companies to increase productivity (and overall efficiency) without significant disadvantages (or downside risks).

The rental industry has shown its resilience in the past when other types of businesses have wavered. As we prepare for the next year, I think a focus on helping your team excel will serve you well, no matter what 2026 has in store.