Due to recruitment fees, raised salaries, temp hires, and employee training, many employers are paying a significant price to make sure they have the skills to remain competitive and efficient. Has your rental business experienced difficulty in hiring staff? Have you turned down work due to a staff shortage?
What can you do to overcome the current skills shortage? One solution may be for rental organisations to embrace rental management technology to help plug the skills gap. Not only will you increase your business’ efficiency by completing laborious tasks in a fraction of the time, but many of your employees’ regular tasks can be simplified by utilising rental management software.
Streamline routine processes…
Imagine how much easier your life would be if many of your routine tasks could be automated. Online shops, for example, allow customers to order and pay for products without having to contact office staff, thus reducing staffing needs. Quotes and contracts can be generated quickly and signed electronically, saving both time and paperwork.
The equipment picking process can also be streamlined using barcode scanning; this not only reduces the time taken to select equipment, but it also reduces the chance of human error when picking your rental assets.
With an automated system, invoices, payments, and recurring contracts can be completed at the click of a button, saving valuable time and effort each month. What’s more, employees with lower skill levels can carry out these tasks, saving your rental business money to recruit and train highly skilled staff.
Planning made quick and easy…
A critical part of any rental business is the planning process to ensure it runs smoothly and efficiently. Traditionally this was a time-consuming role, requiring years of experience and skill. By identifying the products and equipment that drive your business, rental management software simplifies and speeds up the planning process.
Avoid unnecessary repairs…
In some rental businesses, unnecessary maintenance is being carried out, wasting resources that could be utilised elsewhere. With rental management software, each piece of equipment has a full maintenance history, making it easy to generate an accurate maintenance schedule. The result is a business that operates much more efficiently with fewer employees and only ordering parts when required.
Facilitating staff retention…
Streamlining routine tasks and planning may be two ways of optimising your rental business, but how can software assist with staff recruitment?
Rental management software makes it possible for more of your staff to work remotely. By no longer being restricted to working on site, you can expand your recruitment area and increase the number of potential candidates.
Rental software also allows you to keep up-to-date records of your staff's qualifications. Expiry dates are logged in the system so you know when they need to retrain. This will enable you to quickly identify the right person for specific jobs rather than having to recruit from scratch.
Recruitment is just the start for your business; retention is just as important. Store detailed job specifications and check-lists in your rental management system to make the completion of routine tasks faster and easier. In addition to facilitating training, an easy-to-use system can also reduce errors and alleviate boredom, resulting in better staff retention.
Ok, so rental management software may not be able to handle the recruitment process for you, but it will improve the efficiency of your business and help to identify critical areas requiring specialist skills. By working smarter, your business will not only reduce the number of hours worked but also greatly reduce the need for more qualified staff. This frees up some of your recruitment budget so you can attract the best candidates where they are needed most.