By: Shawn Sparks (bio)
Gen-X of RTO

"60 hour work weeks are a direct result of poor training."

I was 18 years old and working for a high end furniture retailer when I first heard of Rent to Own.  I was lured over to the darkside by the promise of huge bonuses and a large annual salary. Of course the part about working 60-70 hours a week as a result of little or no training wasn't part of the pitch. Most of those I started with are gone. Frustrated to the point of surrender by a system with plenty of goals but no training on how to achieve them efficiently.

Which brings me to my point. High turnover must not be an accepted part of any Rent to Own business. Thos who take this stance are at best complacent, at worst lazy. They suffer from an unwillingness or inability to offer their people a better quality of life.

I use the word people for a reason. Believe it or not, when your profit units/associates go home, they don't simply plug into an outlet and recharge for the next days renting and renewing. They actually have families and personal lives they would love to enjoy but can't because Mrs. Johnson's account is 60 days non renewed and must be collected. Unless you have given them the tools necessary to successfully renew Mrs. Johnson, associates will become frustrated to the point of quitting...regardless of fat bonuses.

There is a point to my raving;

• A training program that gives an associate the tools necessary to succeed is infinitely less expensive than high turnover.
   
• A happy associate will never leave, even if courted by a competitor at a much higher level of pay.
   
• The solution is not more money...it's a commitment to giving associates the 'right tools for the job'.

If you don't have a great, and I mean GREAT training program that allows your people to succeed in a reasonable work week, AND have a good quality of life, you're cruising down 'poor profit highway' to high turnover land.

The moral of this story is "Train like they're the only employee left and treat they're quality of life with the same intensity as the bottom line."