Hire and Rental News - February 2018

27 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • FEBRUARY 2018 are using, new rental software available on the market and new legislation regarding employment and safety. “Many of the members wanted to hear my thoughts and experiences from Australia and were interested in how different the legislation was in relation to safety and employment. Plus at the exhibition, there were a number of interesting machines designed for the US market I had not seen before.” With another week spent learning the ropes at Bunce Rentals, Jeremy ended his tour by attending the annual Young Professionals Conference in Alexandria (south of DC) listening to keynote speaker, Kirk Weisler, an acclaimed author and leadership speaker. “One of the takeaways from the event was starting a Leadership Learning Journal Kirk gave to each of us. He encouraged us to continue to add to it each week when we are inspired by something or someone. I filled more than 10 pages of notes from that day alone!" Jeremy said he initially applied for the Leadership Exchange because he had followed the experiences of the past few participants on the GRA via their blogs. “I also wanted to learn how companies in the US ‘did rental’ and what products and services were different than Australia. “The reality of the exchange exceeded my expectations. My hosts were amazing and I was able to ask any question about their business and processes. I also enjoyed sharing information about Master Hire. “It seemed to me safety legislation was more relaxed in the US. Procedures were different in keeping and producing safety documents and I noted PPE requirements on jobsites were minimal.” However, Jeremy said since he spent the majority of his time with one rental company in Washington State, things may be different in other states or with other rental companies. The range of equipment in Washington rental companies made Jeremy take note. “Perhaps it was the area of the US I was in, but I couldn’t get over the amount of carpet dryers, de-humidifiers and drain cleaners all the rental companies in Washington seemed to have. I also noticed the size of their utes and trailers. Our Hilux’s and Rangers are like toys compared to those in the US." While Jeremy was amazed by US differences, his US rental counterparts also got time to consider differences. “They couldn’t believe the laws in Australia don’t allow us to tow anything over 2t without electric brakes and they wanted to know why our utes (pickups) were so small. They were also surprised not every hire company is Australia did both equipment and party rentals like they all seemed to do in the US.” Jeremy has worked at Master Hire for three+ years as Sales & Marketing Manager based in Brisbane. Master Hire is a family owned and operated hire company with nine branches in SE QLD and Northern NSW. See Jeremy’s GRA Leadership Exchange blog: http://globalrentalalliance. com/International-Rental-Business- Leadership-Program/2017-Jeremy-Shaw- United-States Jeremy joined the Australian YPN last August at the time the inaugural Young Professionals Conference at the Cairns Convention Centre was held. The YPN is a resource to meet like-minded, driven young hire industry professionals to develop careers and help form the future of the industry. “Not everyone has the benefit of being able to sit external management or leadership training, so any help the HRIA can give is beneficial,” Jeremy said. While in the US on the GRA Leadership Exchange Jeremy participated in an ARA Young Professional’s Forum. A total of 49 young rental professionals attended the event from all over the US and Canada. The session was ‘Becoming a Leader’ presented by Kirk Weisler, author, speaker and expert in creating workplace cultures and high performance teams from Phoenix. Kirk provided advice and wisdom on building teams, strengthening Initiatives for young hire professionals Leadership and basic management principles relevant for managing people and processes are top of the initiatives list for Young Professionals Network (YPN) member Jeremy Shaw. leaders and improving culture. “In the downtime between the US YPN sessions, I made sure I spoke to as many people as I could where we spoke about our roles and what we wanted to do in a few years. I noted a number of young professionals attending were from a range of positions in rental. Not everyone was a store manager. There were truck drivers, hire controllers, fleet managers and more,” Jeremy said. This year at HIRE18, a meeting for the YPN will be held to encourage network building among young professionals, to share career-building strategies and create new friendships. HRIA CEO James Oxenham said: “The HRIA encourages business owners and managers to support this industry initiative. For every hire industry member out there who can identify ‘up and coming’ future leaders within their organisation, the Young Professionals Network is a great resource for them to meet like-minded, driven professionals to develop their careers and help form the future of this industry." For more information on the YPN contact the National Office on: 02 9998 2255. INDUSTRY in FOCUS While in the USA Jeremy participated in an ARA Young Professional’s Forum The Young Professionals Network will meet at HIRE18 with a social night and workshops planned. Nominations for the YPN committee are also now open. Visit: www.hireandrental.com.au