Across virtually all industries and position levels, before people can become truly productive at a new job, they require thorough training with the tools they will be relying on. When it comes to the equipment rental industry, at most companies, software training makes up a large part of the overall training process for front office, back office, and field personnel. Because software is such an integral aspect of rental operations these days, ensuring fresh hires are up to speed with the applications they will be using on a daily basis is of the utmost importance. Imagine a rental coordinator who can’t quite remember how to pull up customer records or a dispatcher who doesn’t know know how to assign drivers to hauls; both would be completely ineffectual at their jobs.
But while training is 100% necessary to transition greenhorns to fully capable employees, many companies are tempted to cut corners. In a misguided effort to derive value from new hires as soon as possible, some companies choose to only cover the bare minimum during their software training. And while this approach may enable them to get new workers up-and-running faster than usual, more often than not, any immediate business gains will be negated in the long run by mistakes and inefficiencies made due to lack of software knowledge.
So does that mean rental companies are left with no options when it comes to equipping new employees with necessary skills in a timely manner? Not quite. This blog will explore how adopting the right software can dramatically accelerate the personnel training process, make companies more appealing to top industry talent, and facilitate transfer of industry-wide best practices.
Productive from Day One
When people think of qualities that make a particular piece of software easy to teach, most people think of user-interface, “intuitiveness,” or availability of support documentation. And while those details certainly have an impact on the training process, one other factor often goes neglected—popularity.
The more popular (or widespread) a particular software solution is, the greater likelihood that new hires will already be proficient with it, thus eliminating the need to conduct any training. For industries that use only a handful of specialized solutions, this phenomenon can have a big impact. Instead of having to spend days getting new hires up to speed (burdening experienced employees in the process), when companies hire folk already knowledgeable with their software, those new hires can be productive from their very first day on the job. In addition to accelerating operations thanks to additional manpower, this speed also means fresh employees are able to recoup their upfront hiring costs in far less time, which also serves to benefit businesses.
Attracting Top Industry Talent
People are quick to form opinions on the software they use, both positive and negative. And when workers are forced to use a software solution for dozens of hours a week as part of their work, the intensity of those opinions tends to magnify in both directions. Because of this, when professionals consider employment at other companies in their industry, they often look into what software those competing firms use. If they find that a reputable company employs a well-regarded software solution, they’ll be more likely to apply to that firm for employment. It’s important to note, that the inverse holds true as well. Because of this, while there are many different factors to consider when choosing business software, companies should consider how their software choices might affect their reputation among their industry.
Industry-Wide Knowledge and Best Practices
Oftentimes, a fresh perspective can contribute just the change companies need to unlock new levels of productivity. This axiom applies to many different aspects of business, but is especially true with regards to software. When companies welcome new people into their organization with knowledge of the software that company uses, they usually receive much more than just another employee. That’s because when people go from job to another, they bring their knowledge along with. In these scenarios, new hires can introduce best practices that they used in a past life to accelerate the productivity of operations at their new home.
