ON TARGET

How we hire people at Timp Rental

“For full-time rental associates, we prefer employees with at least a high school diploma. If a potential employee has a college degree, it’s a bonus, but not required. We currently have two employees with college degrees. One has a bachelor’s degree and the other has a master’s degree. The other employees are either working on their college degrees or not attending college. All are high school graduates. We review data on wages and salaries for our market from reliable sources like the American Rental Association (ARA) and the State of Utah to ensure we are paying our employees above average wages. We find by paying above average wages we have a better selection of employee applicants.

“For yard staff, it’s rare to find someone who has experience with all the different types of equipment we rent. If the person has worked in landscaping, construction, automotive repair or agriculture, they tend to have a better understanding of equipment in general and their learning curve is shorter than a person without this type of background. It’s helpful to have some background in these fields, but it’s not required. We do a lot of on-the-job training. When we are hiring, in addition to having applicants fill out an employment application and a form to do a background check, we have them fill out a four-page personality test. We also ask a number of questions during the interview process to see how potential employees would act and react to different real life work scenarios. We look for people who are customer service driven. Below is a list of some of the traits we look for in a potential employee:

• Be a good listener.
• Show a high level of patience.
• Have a positive attitude.
• Be responsible.
• Pay attention to details.
• Be dependable.
• Be a team player.
• Have the ability to think on their feet.
• Be willing to go the extra mile.
• Be teachable.

“If a potential employee has a second language, it’s also a bonus, but not required. We currently have employees who are bilingual. Two are fluent in English and Spanish. One is fluent in English and Tagalog (spoken in the Philippines). In the past, we have had employees who speak English and also were bilingual in Portuguese, Japanese, German, Danish, Swedish or Mandarin Chinese.”

— Joseph Phelon, MBA, CBA, director of human resources, Timp Rental, Orem, Utah. Timp Rental has two universities within 20 miles of its stores: Brigham Young University has about 28,000 students and Utah Valley University has about 27,000 students.

How we hire people at A to Z Party Rental

“A person who is friendly and comfortable in their own skin can go a long way. If they exhibit confidence, humility, a willingness to learn new tasks and an ability to work in multiple areas, they will stand out against other applicants. Customer service can be a difficult position. It has become easier to determine which applicants are simply in need of any job versus those who find personal reward in caring for others’ needs. All employees must be willing to work outside of their job description. If they are not willing to assist their coworkers in other departments, they don’t have a place in my company. I have never asked an employee to perform a task I would not be willing to do myself. When hiring for a sales or showroom employee, we desire applicants with experience in any customer-related industry. Our most recent hire in the sales department spent 27 years as a florist. She brought with her a significant amount of experience with events even though she was never involved on the rental side. She has become an asset to our company and our customers.”

— Melani Kodikian, president, A to Z Party Rental, Montgomeryville, Pa.

How we hire people at Ruddy's Rental

“We look for experience in the area they are applying for or even something close. Does it matter if they have worked at a rental store before? I did not used to think so, but I’m now rethinking this and will work hard to try to find somebody who has some kind of rental background. We’re always willing to train and teach no matter what the person’s background is as long as they are willing, able and want to learn. Our main requirement is a positive attitude with a can-do mentality. We really need to see a work ethic and a team player. With that said, we can help with all the rest.”

— Chris Ruddy, vice president, Ruddy’s Rental, Forest Lake, Minn.