Want true Success - How to train your team successfully

Danny opens with the numbers: according to Edge Point Learning, 20% of US workers leave within their first 45 days, and that figure jumps to 50% in retail. But companies with a strong onboarding program see 91% of employees stay at least a year, and 69% stick around for three. The why behind training isn't just culture — it's the bottom line.

Before any training begins, Danny argues the groundwork has to be laid before day one. Send the new hire a welcome email with a first-week itinerary, dress code details, parking instructions, and even a couple lunch suggestions nearby. It's a small gesture, but it signals that the company is organized and actually cares about the person showing up.

From there, Pete and Danny break down four training methods. E-learning works well for basics — it scales easily, lets employees learn at their own pace, and keeps things consistent across multiple hires at once. The downside is that some people, Danny included, just click through it as fast as possible. Classroom or instructor-led training solves that by putting a real person in the room who can answer questions, read the group, and slow down when someone's lost. On-the-job training is Danny's personal favorite — shadowing, role-playing, situational scenarios, and position rotation all give employees real-world experience with immediate feedback. It's especially effective for developing assistants into GMs by cycling them through every role in the store. Video-based training rounds out the options — older-school, but useful when internet isn't available or budgets are tight.

No single method wins. Pete's point is that the best training programs use all of them, layered in a way that matches both the position and how the individual actually learns. After the first day — which Danny deliberately made tough to filter out who could handle the job — managers should be running a training checklist, following up daily, and making sure employees understand not just procedures but the culture and core values of the store. As Danny closes: training never stops, whether it's someone's first day or their tenth year.

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Transcript

Danny Lastra 0:07

And welcome to the RTO show with Danny and Pete. I'm your host, Danny.

Pete Shau 0:11

And I'm your host, Pete. And today we're talking about training and the way that you can get it done and make it more successful for you and your team. And how do we do that, Danny?

Danny Lastra 0:19

Well, first off, the obvious thing is the why. Why are we even talking about training, Pete? Let's let's address that issue, right? Before we get into the how. Why?

Pete Shau 0:29

Well, the big thing is, I mean, I've had several people say that, you know, we're we're doing everything we can to bring them on. You know, we're going through Indeed, we're going through people, we're going through interviews. Right now it's just that time of year where we it's very difficult to keep or the new retention is just very, very low. And then you bring them on, and if they don't know what they're doing or what's going on, I mean, what was the work for? We really got to put them in and get them focused and get them set up for success. And I think that's what we're, you know, in some places we're lacking a little bit. And not, I mean, some companies do it very well and some companies don't. And I think for us to approach and say, hey, listen, uh, if you're having any training, uh problems or issues or thinking about changing your training, these are the ways to do it. And this is what we think is gonna make you successful.

Danny Lastra 1:10

Well, and here's here's some facts for you. So according to Edge Point Learning, 20% of workers in the US leave their job within the first 45 days of hire, and that number skyrockets up to 50% in the retail sector, believe it or not. That's crazy to think about, all because of not having a foundational hiring process and onboarding training program. According to Tiny Pulse reports, 91% of employees will stick around for one year if the organization has an efficient onboarding process, and 69% of them will stick around for at least three years when the company has a well-structured onboarding program. And so, with those numbers, think about what 91% or even 69% of three years, what that would do to help your efficiency, bottom line, revenues. This is the why, in my opinion.

Pete Shau 2:04

Well, the historically stores and companies, and I should say companies, historically, companies that have a higher retention rate perform better overall because you have more tenured and experienced employees who know what the goals are for the company, and they can achieve that because they've been in that position for a while. If you have a lot of constant turnover, it creates it creates a harder work environment where everybody is always learning, not putting down what they learn, not being productive or as productive as they could be. And when you have a staff that can be straight productive, or at least you keep the turnover lower, man, the results will speak for themselves.

Danny Lastra 2:39

You mentioned this before in a couple episodes. Maybe it was to retain or replace or um interview questions, but you said there is a culture going on right now called quietly quitting. Now we're gonna speak on retention, like you just said, and trying to minimize the turnover. But we've had these conversations, P, where I've told you when I'm hiring, I'm honestly thinking, and I'm gonna say this openly, I I'm thinking short term because I know what the ratio is. I just gave you numbers. So if an employee sticks around for two years, boom, that was a success. It's not we don't have Gen X no more where there people are gonna stick around for 10, 15, 20 years, even though we even have some tenure ship in our company right now. But the new guys, they're not gonna stick around for a long time. So I'm banking, I'm investing to hope that they will stick around between one to three years, but the only way they're gonna do that is if we train them properly.

Pete Shau 3:33

Well, the best way to do that, uh in my opinion, is to create a plan, right? So the best way to get everything going is to first create a plan. And it it sounds almost trivial, but you have to determine what an employee needs to learn based on their position, based on their time, because you don't want to over you want to overload them. So you want to start out by writing everything that an employee should know, what skills they should have, and what is it gonna take for them to be successful at their job. And you want to structure the training program so it starts with the simplest, basic, fundamental information that they need and then lead up to more advanced, you know, training. And the skills should build on themselves from previous training so that they don't need to learn something that they have to go back to, but they learn that first, and then they can build on top of that. I mean, it's important to identify training gaps as well. If an employee lacks something and you start to treat teach them something a little bit more advanced, it's just not gonna go over well. So you want to start with the basic fundamentals, build on that, and then get that written in writing and get that into a set of what you want to do so that you you have a clear-cut plan of what you want to do when you go to set out and make these, whether it be online, whether it be a book, whether it be an HR manual, to get that all set up.

Danny Lastra 4:49

Uh, I agree wholeheartedly, and you know, I think the training starts before the hire even begins. That's where you need to establish your new employee procedure beforehand, and that's something you need to have ready to execute. You know, it's it's not like the old days, and I can tell you, I think we even talked about this before, but how were you trained in this industry? I don't even know you that long. I I wasn't there when you started, but I I I'll bet, I will roll the dice and even bet money that you were trained this way. This is how you call this and now go get my money. This is how you load something up, now go do all these deliveries.

Pete Shau 5:28

So, sinker swim, sinker swim mentality is definitely something that I've seen used in uh in several places, and I don't want to mention where or whom. Now I will say, contrary to probably uh what's believed, when I first started with Renter's Choice, which eventually bought out Rent A Center and changed the name back man many, many years ago, early 2000s, the very first couple of weeks was like that. And then I did actually have a GM, his name was John, who actually took me uh by the hands and was said, you know, we we need to train you because you're this is you know, we could definitely sell this is not your mindset, this is not your skill set. I was 20, so I didn't have any sets, I didn't have any skills at all. And he actually did take his time to teach me. But I did have a sink or swim couple of weeks, and I proved that I was sinking way faster than I was swimming, and he just had he had to come in and save me, he had to throw me a life jacket and say, look, we've got to train you. And uh he did some of the things that we have listed on here, and I want to talk about them. But just to a point, if you guys have created a plan and you guys are going through this, I mean, Danny's giving you the numbers, you can see how important it is. If you want to create a course, there's a possibility of doing and creating online courses, and just a couple of different places to do it. I mean, you can probably do your own research and find out what you think is best, but there's teachable.com, there's uh absorb lms.com, where you can actually create your online course yourself or go through with the business and have them help you create it. That would be the best. Because although you have rent to own as an industry, your company might do it a little bit differently, or you might handle things a little bit differently than the next guy. I always say we're like, you know, Burger King and McDonald's. It's the same sandwich made differently. And if you want to add your spice or you want to add how you want to do things, there's some different ways to do that. And I think, I mean, you even have the ability to use materials that have already been made, but maybe not just tailored to your business, but tailored to rent to own. Uh, we have a friend by the name of Jay Roberts. He reached out to us when we first started doing the podcast. Jay Roberts actually has a website, www.rtrainer.com. I mean, Jay's been doing this since 1981. He wrote his first training book in 1992, and he's basically been updating it ever since. So I encourage you to, if you don't have uh training going on and you want to implement something that's already out there, at least use that to help you until you get your own, try that. Try to go to the www.rtotrainer.com and even hit Jay up and see if there's he can help you out. Those are possibilities of some different things that you can do.

Danny Lastra 7:58

You know, do we immediately just then now now we're ready to execute the plan? I I I'm not I'm gonna say no, not yet. And this is why, because this day and era of age where it's really about the culture and how we're presentable and how we're relatable. I think the the important thing is the onboarding starts before their day one. And just just throwing this out there, you know, a great way to make them feel comfortable and excited is before their first day, why not send them an email and let them know, hey, this is what you can expect the first day, the first couple days, the next weeks of training. So they're prepared. Because think about it, you know, and now it's been a while since I had a new job, but I can think back when I did first get a new job, you're nervous, you're you're excited, but like what's gonna what's gonna happen? What am I gonna be doing? Oh my god, am I gonna look like an idiot? Whatever, whatever, you know. But if you send them a for, hey, Pete, welcome to the team, looking forward to starting your training program. This is what you're gonna expect on day one, on day two. Maybe you have the whole first week itinerary ready for them. Another suggestion is like letting them also know, hey, this is what the dress code. I don't know how many times I get asked that question when I have a new hire. What's the dress code? What should I wear my first day? Because obviously, maybe there's a time period of the uniforms that you have to order. You know, some companies might have them ready on the first day, some it takes a week or two. So that's that question. What what do I wear? Let them know beforehand, before they even start. Um, let them know where to park. You know, we're in a retail business. Do you have your employees park in the front or are those reserved for customers? Do you have everyone parking the back, or no, because it's gonna block the dumpster and cardboard, etc.? Um, another thing too is let them know since they are new, and maybe they're new to the area, maybe they're not, but here's another thing to be personal. Let them know, make a couple suggestions for lunch. Like, hey, you know, so this is where you can expect for the day, this is the dress code, this is where you can park FYIP. You know, your lunch should be around anywhere about this time. And here's a couple places I suggest to you. You know, I think that are within the area. Yeah, within the area, obviously. That that way, you know what that also does, it shows that you care, you're personable, but then think about this from the business point, if you're making a suggestion, most likely you're gonna suggest somewhere that's close that way. You ensure they have enough time to get there and back in a timely manner of their lunch break. So just just my two cents, but I think we're there. So you have a plan, you know, you send a pre-onboarding structure schedule. What's the next step?

Pete Shau 10:24

So if you have all those steps ready, I mean sometimes you have to learn what's best for you. There's a couple of different ways, and when I say a couple, I mean a few. There's a few different ways to train employees. And I don't think any one of them is better than the next. I think actually you should implement all of them. But at first, depending on your size and what you have the ability to do, some of them cater to being a little bit smaller, some of them cater to being a little bit bigger. So, you know, what works best for you, you'll have to sit down and kind of go over that with your GMs or your DMs or your owners and kind of say, hey, I think this will work if we don't have it, or this is what we have, I think this will work out a little better. But there's a couple different ways to do it. And some of those is the first one is e-learning, right? It's uh online training. A lot of, I know the Rack guys use this right now. I know buddies has it too, where you go in, you learn a computer, basically, you have something going on where you go and you log into classes and you kind of learn the basics of rent to own, you learn the basics of the industry, but you can go through content and activities basically at their own pace. And that's a plus because some people learn faster than others. You know, they have the ability to kind of just go at it and kind of understand it easier. There's no need to pay somebody to train that person for those preliminary, easy training tidbits. It scales. So one of the things that you got to remember is if we're talking about one hire, it would work, but it would also hire if you brought 10 people on or 20 people on. If it's an online course, you can teach them all the same thing the same way and the same amount of time frame. You know, if you're talking about one and two days learning, you don't have one person going around trying to train all these people. You can actually do it for one person or multiple people at one time. I mean, I think that's gonna be great depending on how big it is. So that big or small company doesn't really matter. It's gonna do, it's gonna give you kind of like, you know, a voiceover on what's going on, and you can see different scenarios and how they would do it. You know, when they see something, it kind of gives what you should do and what you shouldn't do. It's gonna resemble a little bit of a classroom. Basically, you want the lessons and the videos and the reading materials to all work as one, it's all gonna be online, but you don't have somebody who's gonna have to sit there and kind of work at it, but you can have somebody come in and overlook them and and see what the how they're doing. But most of the time, the e-learning they do quizzes or other activities that they cannot pass until they've learned something. I think e-learning is one of the easiest and best ways to get somebody introduced to what you have going on.

Danny Lastra 12:45

So let me ask you something. Uh, with the e-learning, does that include like a uh sandbox or digital version of some kind of the operating system so that way they can practice and learn the operating system, like how to take payments and et cetera? Like, is that what you mean by e-learning? I mean, I understand the concept of like, you know, like the policies and taking the quiz, like what do you do in this situation, which I think is a great idea, especially in our business where it's a lot of customer interaction and a lot of our new employees are a little nervous about I don't want to say the wrong thing with the phone conversations in person. I think that's a great idea to have the quizzes like for scenarios, like what do you do in this scenario, A, B, C, or D. I've seen a lot of other companies, they they have that as part of the interview process as well. But with the e-learning, is there like some sort of simulation of the operating system?

Pete Shau 13:35

Sometimes you will. I'm gonna say most of the times you don't have that. I think that that inquire that requires a lot more of the system to be able to do that. Um, I have seen it once or twice, but out of most of the e-learning that I've seen, usually the quiz will show you how to interact on the OS software, but not actually interact with the OS software. So it'll give you screenshots and and and show you the mouse moving something to somewhere or clicking or liking something, finding something, so it'll give you a screenshot and the mouse will go over and maybe you can select the customer or the account number or items so that you can look up your inventory. So it's mostly like that. They do have some that are interactive, and it's usually after like the first four or five sessions that you might actually have a sandbox, and it's something that it's very trivial. You it doesn't give you a whole lot of options, just basically the basic options to work out. But the e-learning is really to kind of get them through that regimentary first couple of days and kind of this is what you should do and you shouldn't do. And like you said, you know, dress code and and where you can park and different things like that, and then it'll probably go into how to greet a customer. Do you do it this way, this way, or this way? How much time do you have? You know, 30 seconds, a minute, two minutes, you know, when answering the phone, do you say this line or this line? And those quizzes are just basically there so that if you don't get it right, you have the ability to go back, you're not gonna fail, but you go back and you can see the right answer. It gives you the choice, and then it will reinforce that with a correct or incorrect quiz.

Danny Lastra 14:59

I'm gonna be honest with you, Pete. When I worked at Walmart, we had this part of the training program, it was called CBLs. I absolutely hated it. I'm not gonna lie. I hated it. I'm not, I don't, I personally don't like to learn from an e-commerce system or giving me instructions. Like, I'm gonna be honest, nine out of ten times, I'm just I'm gonna throw this out there. I'm clicking that next button as fast as I can so I can get to the end and just boom, boom, boom, let me get it done. Like, I'm just being honest, that's just me though. So maybe that's something you want to take in consideration before you plan your training program. I think you got to be a little diverse and have different scenarios or other options based off the individual, maybe.

Pete Shau 15:41

Well, then that leads us to option number two is classroom type or instructor type. You know, if you have a hard time being online and learning that way, sometimes you're you're gonna come across a lot of different people and they learn a lot of different ways. And I agree with you. Sometimes people learn like that very quickly. I think that's a great way to put down the basics, but I don't know if I would do continual training that way. Agree. The basics like, you know, like just the simple stuff. Yeah. But then that leads into the classroom, which I think is that something that you learn better with somebody talking to you and kind of giving you the rundown.

Danny Lastra 16:12

I'll tell you, I like classroom. All right, but now when it comes to classrooms, for me it's more of I'm looking for for me, a classroom is not the way to teach me basic training. That's just, I'm just being honest. That's not, I wouldn't, I would not want to learn basic training. For me, a classroom would be to, you know, like a trainer, someone that's been in the business or in that company for a while, and to give me more of advice, like how do I excel in my position and like telling me the ins and outs. So, like again, sports analogy, you know what I'm saying? Like when you go from high school to college, the college coach is not gonna teach you the basics on how to catch a ball and how to punt. They're gonna teach you little tricks of the trade, so how you improve your skill sets. So when I think of a classroom, I feel like I already got the basic training down, and now I'm going to improve my skill sets to improve and be better overall. And of course, then also learning from other individuals who are kind of in the same tier as me, and we can like, you know, bounce ideas, kind of like a meeting in the minds, round table discussions. That's my opinion.

Pete Shau 17:13

Well, the classroom setting is actually it's the trainer is usually somebody who's been employed with the company for a long time and has a good idea of different areas of the business that they have actually worked in, so they can say directly, this is how it is, or this is how you feel. So that would help. Also, they usually start with like an opening lecture, you know, hey, this is what we're gonna do, this is what we're gonna cover. But it really gives people a chance to talk directly to somebody who knows the materials and they'll be able to cover it right then. They can kind of cover your progress and what you're learning. It gives everybody a chance to also get to know each other when you're sitting in that kind of classroom setting, and let's say you're starting with three or four or five or ten different people, or even two different people. That's true. They can sit together and go, like, I have no idea what I'm doing. And the other guy can say, I have no idea what I'm doing. And they can go, hey, coach, hey, hey, coach Danny, or or instructor Danny, I have no idea what you're talking about. And it gives that one-on-one where you can say, Okay, that's great. I'm gonna stop by and I'm gonna talk to you. And I'm gonna, this is what we have going on. This is what I really mean by this. This is what this definition or this word means. And it gives you that one-on-one to be able to do that with that instructor-led training. I agree. So, you know, instructors also have the ability to take an entire classroom and let's say they give a task, right? Go ahead and read this or do this. And if somebody doesn't understand it, they can still have that one-on-one time with that person. So they can go talk one-on-one, make sure that they are 100% understanding or everybody in a classroom is understanding before they move on. And I think that's one of the great reasons why I don't think any one of these are great. I think all of them are great, but the classroom setting is definitely one of the ones that I like myself.

Danny Lastra 18:49

No, you you have some valid points there. You know, for sure, you know, as you were talking, I was thinking, like, if you know, it's a new employee if I'm there and somebody else is new, and people get scared all the time or nervous about asking a question because you don't want to look like the dunts in the room, but then you you find that part and you're like, hey, do you know what he's talking about? No, I don't. All right, now I got a buddy. Hey, two is better than one. We both don't know now. We feel comfortable, let's ask the question. So, you know, absolutely, I I you know, I see your point of view of that classroom, even for basic training, can be beneficial. Absolutely. I agree. I'm I'm just gonna be honest though. No, just speaking for myself, my personal favorite type of training, what works best for me is actually on the job. It's very hands-on training. That that's what works for best for me. You know, so you know, on the job training, what do I mean by that? I'm talking about like, you know, shadowing somebody, you know, that's if I'm going for a sales position or account, whatever it is, it's shadowing somebody that's already in that position. You know, I can observe that existing employee while they work, I can ask them direct questions, you know, maybe help out with the task, you know, and that way I can get a better understanding of what my responsibilities are going to be. Another one is role playing. You know, that's a great thing, having a mentor, the general manager, assistant manager, and putting me, like I said, in the hypothetical scenarios, like how do you interact with a customer? They do this, or they ask this question. That's on on the job training. I love that. Help me out here, P. What's another on-job training?

Pete Shau 20:11

Simulational training for when you're on the job and you come across different situations. You know, sometimes we try to train it, but it's it's good to actually be on the job and actually see how these different things affect the business. And simulational training could be this is what you do when you have a customer complaint. This is what you do when you have somebody who's calling in about their account and they can't make a payment. This is what you do when somebody comes in and they're not sure about what item that they want, although they do realize that they do have a need, right? What kind of washing machine is gonna work for them best. Situational training helps when you're doing it on the job, you're there, you're seeing it. And then the best thing about it is you see the fruits of your labor. So, like you said, when you're on the job, it's actually getting done. So it's a real world practice. I'm gonna see a problem, they're gonna help me through it, we're gonna go do it together, and then I see the positive results of doing it in this manner. You can't get much better training than that.

Danny Lastra 21:03

You know, you can rotate. I think that's good for cross-training. So if you rotate with somebody, if you're in a sales and then you rotate to an account or vice versa, that's you know, it'll definitely boost.

Pete Shau 21:12

You know, one of the things that some people some people have always asked us, how do you train an assistant manager? And it's not an easy thing to say because there's a lot of different things that go into it. This on-the-job training, this particular rotation that you're talking about, I think that's probably one of the best ways to say that we can train an assistant and a GM. You know what? You're gonna take a month and call accounts, you're gonna take a month and be on the trunk. You're gonna be on a take a month and be on sales. And it gives them that rotation of learning all these things so that when they become an assistant or they become a GM, they're not quick to say, you should do this and you should do that, because they know from experience how that job is done.

Danny Lastra 21:49

That's a great, that's a great idea. Yeah. Well, not only that, speaking of the system managers, especially if if you're doing on the job rotating of the positions, is gonna also help produce results quickly. And you know, it's gonna help that assistant develop leadership skills. So they are ever ready to step into that general manager role. They're they already started developing leadership skills, working side by side with their peers, mastering that specific department, gaining that experience, as you said, but then knowing then how to communicate and how to lead by example. So therefore they can lead a team to success if and when they ever receive their own store.

Pete Shau 22:24

You know, usually too, when you're doing on-the-job training, the results from that are usually a lot more immediate than learning it from somewhere else and then trying to apply it. So when you have immediate results, it's because they're in the real world situation. They can see the real world results, they can see a real world problem, and they know it's an immediate learning curve. It's not you learn it here, then you see it over here, you try to apply it, somebody talks to you and tells you right or wrong, and then it's implemented. It's all in the it's all thrown in one. The only downside of on-the-drop training is it's usually a one-on-one. Because there's there's pros and cons to each one. When you're talking about e-learning, it's usually done on your own, and there isn't somebody really there to explain the intricacies of that situation. If you have somebody who's teaching as an instructor, sometimes you have to take that person out of the situation. Now, when you're talking about bigger companies, it might not be so hard, but when you're talking about rent-to-own, you have generally have five or six employees in a store. It might be hard to take that employee and have somebody training somebody in that situation and take them out of the store unless you have like a company trainer. So that might be a little difficult for staffing purposes. When you're talking about on-the-job training, it does the same thing. It's based on one-on-one. It's great. You can keep them in the job, but it means that they're going to be taking their time to train somebody. So they might not be as productive in a sense of a normal day based on what they would normally do or how productive they would be because they have somebody there that they need to train and go step by step. So every one of these has a good and a, you know, I want to say bad side, but they have pros and cons. And that's why I think it's good to implement all of it. Because at the end of the day, I mean, when I first started, basically just watched a video.

Danny Lastra 24:05

Well, I was just gonna ask, you know, I don't know if you're reading my mind or whatnot, but um, I was gonna ask, you know, I don't think there's right or wrong. There's just or there's pros and cons based on the individuality of each person of how they learn. So I think these are great ideas to train, but it comes down to individual how they learn better. Like I said, I'm I'm a on the hands-on person. You might be um, you know, an e-learner, hypothetically. But speaking of e-learning, I don't know if this falls into it. You just said it right now, but like what about what about training videos? Does that fall under e-learning or is that like a separate category on its own? I know we talked about implementing training videos ourselves for Rank King, and you know, it would be like me and you actually demonstrating a task or a procedure or how to, you know, it could be anything from servicing a washing machine, like this is how you service a washing machine, you know, in a customer's home. This is how you take a payment, this is how you explain a rental agreement, et cetera, et cetera. Like, is that a category in its own or does that fall under e-learning? I mean, what do you think about that?

Pete Shau 25:05

Well, I think generally it's based on two different things. I mean, e-learning, I think, has taken over the video-based training, but video-based training has its own positives as well. So, video-based training is very rigamentary and it shows you what it is. It doesn't require interaction, so you can get a lot of basic information out at one time. But the difference between video-based training and e-learning is that you do not require an internet or phone connection. It is something that you can do on the fly, it's something that you can teach out in the field because it's just a video. So if you have something that has a video recorded on it, let's say you have a tablet. The tablet does not have internet connectivity, but it has a downloaded video, you can actually take that into the field. You can actually take that and train somebody where you wouldn't normally be able to do it. So let's say, for instance, and I'm not saying that this is the case or whatever the case is, um, as you have video learning, and I that's the way it was when I first started. Maybe you have a power outage, maybe you have uh a brand new store that isn't up yet, you don't have all the requirements needed, you don't have the power on, you don't have this, you have the ability to let's say download it to a device or a laptop or or a tablet, and you can still have that video-based learning without internet connectivity. Also, um, it doesn't require a lot of monetary institutions. So you can create a video if you're really savvy enough on your phone. You can create a video with a camcorder and still get that training available to your employees without having to spend the amount of time and money it takes to create an e-learning situation. So I think they go hand in hand, but I think video presents some better sides as far as maybe monetary and how easy it is to use outside of a uh internet area. And then you have the e-learning, which you would rather do, but it takes a lot more time to set up and get going, and probably, you know, a little bit more money. So there's pros and cons to both. I would love to say the e-learning is the best, but there is definitely space for video learning. I mean, if you go to now again, we're we're always talking about rent-to-own, but let's say you go to a fast food place, video learning probably isn't the greatest thing, right? They're not gonna have you back there on a computer because there probably isn't any computers back there. They're gonna have you watching a video. Same thing when you're getting really busy. If everybody, if you're if it's a busy Friday and everybody's on a computer, is it easy just to stick them in front of a TV and maybe let them learn that way for a little while? That's why I think none of them beat the other. I think they all have their own place in learning and training the individuals. And our job is to kind of recognize all the different ways to train and all the different things to bring to the table so that we can have the best trained team that we can have to be as successful as we can be.

Danny Lastra 27:36

No, I agree. And you know, regardless of what any company chooses on how to train, whether it's e-learning, whether it's video, whether it's on hands-on classroom setting, again, I think that's still that's still all that we just mentioned is still part of the planning. I think that's it it comes down to deciding whether it's one or all four, and you implement that you plan this is how we're going to train our employees. But after you decide, after you get that plan, after you have your steps and you're ready to put it in motion, that first day for that employee has to be super impressionable. It has to be almost like the best day of work for them because everybody remembers their first day. Now, impressionable doesn't necessarily mean easy or no, impressionable just means that impressionable. It could be a hard working day. Perfect example. I'll use this as an example. I used to do this all the time when I was running a store. Anytime I had a new employee, specifically, specifically account managers or delivery drivers, I personally went on super hard deliveries with them. And I pushed them to the core to like because you you know, there's there's there's heavy days like in the fourth quarter, you know, we're we're pushing out a lot of rents, there's gonna be a lot more deliveries than there are in the summertime, right? So I need to know if you can even handle a really tough sofa love motion third floor. Can you handle it? And I'm gonna push you to it. Like, and I feel like that's impressionable. You know, you can't handle the truth, right? You know, um, you know, what one of the best assistants, not the but one of the best assistants, me and you agree, were the twins, the mieva twins, but um, they told me they they confided in me that they almost quit after the first week working with me because I just put them, you know, they now back then they were 19 years old, uh a buck 40, you know, like they're skinny little scarny kids, and we and I'm we're we're taking this reclining sectional to the third floor, me and you, buddy. And it was like that, you know, they had to really evaluate. Now, on the flip side though, I made sure we had a lot of fun that day. You know, we joked, we laughed, I introduced them to everybody. That's part of making your first day impressionable. Like you need that individual going home and reflect on the entire day and and weighing out the pros and cons because you don't want to waste their time or yours, to be honest. But after the first day, I think it's super important for the store managers, and I think this is something mean you got to get better at. I'm just being honest, Pete, but there needs to be a training checklist. I and you know, we have an MIT checklist that we're very on top of, but I think we just need to have a basic training checklist, you know, for every position drivers, account retention, salesperson, and that store manager should be following up every day with that checklist. Because at this point, now they're doing on-the-job training, they're in the store, and we need a follow-up to see where each the individuals are at on the checklist. Why hasn't this been trained yet? You know, um almost quiz the employees, and that's where the follow-up happens, you know. And when it comes to training, it's not just about do you know how to do these steps? Do you know our procedures? Do you know our policies? Do you know what to do in this situation? How about this? What are our core values of this company? Do you possess them? Well, you definitely want to add that in. Right. Yeah, you definitely want them to know what they're doing. Do you know what the culture is in this company, in this store? And again, that's a big part of the store manager. That on that first day of pressure, that first week, first two weeks, that store manager really needs to be training that individual, the culture of that store and what how it how it's gonna be on a daily basis.

Pete Shau 31:13

So I recommend that uh for for everybody who's gonna work for Danny, you watch the movie Training Day, and I just want you to know that King Kong ain't got on me. So, what we're trying to say is take a look at everything you got going on, and training is so important, and I know we've said that time and time again, but we want to give you the different ways to train and how to get that out to your people because uh not everybody learns the same way, and sometimes you you know you're you're set in a certain way and you you can either monetarily afford it or time-based afford it. Well, there's a lot of different ways to do it, and these are some of the ideas that we think we can you know share with you guys. You know, in the beginning, create a full plan, see what everything that's going on and what you need to teach them. Make sure that you're training regularly, whether you're training when they're coming in as a first-time employee with your company or you're teaching advanced skills. I mean, don't be afraid to go outside and do something different if you don't have any online. Go to online courses that are creatable at teachable.com or absorb lms.com. You can even use jroberts, uh, rto trainer.com if you if you don't have anything right off the bat that you can kind of use to fit in, or even use all the time. Give him a call. He does have some courses that are available, you know. And then we've got the e-learning, we've got the classroom instructor, we've got, you know, on-the-job training, that's Danny's favorite, and then we've got video base where it's a little bit older, but it still gets the job done. I mean, these are some of the things that we we know implemented correctly are gonna help you to get to the next level. Always remember that employee investment is one of the biggest investments you can make and it directly affects the outcome of your day-to-day business. No doubt that's the way it works. Also, if you want to look great and be great, after a word from our sponsor. Unlimited Marketing Solutions is a social media marketing company that can market directly to your specific customer base and provide solid and trackable results. Unlimited Marketing Solutions are also extremely flexible to meet your unique needs and budget and are currently running a promotion for 10% discount off your first six months of marketing when you mention the code RTO show. That's R T O S H O W when you call them at 352-553-3245. You can also email them at unlimited marketing solutions LLC at gmail.com. You can buy some shirts from the RTO show. Go on to our uh website at www.the RTO Show Podcast.com and you can get your colored shirt ordered today.

Danny Lastra 33:43

I'm sorry, that was just hilarious. Uh also, lastly, training never stops. No matter if it's your first day or if it's your tenth year. Training is a continuous daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly thing. Um, the last step of any training program is regular reviews and adjustments to your training program. That's how you're gonna get better and exceed as a company. That's just my two cents. Just remember, guys, employee investment is one of the biggest investments you can make, and it directly affects the outcomes of your day-to-day business. So make sure you put the effort in, make sure you value that investment. RTO shirts, I just I just got two more myself. My daughter got one. She's happy, you know, she's uh going to be rocking it. Uh, we have some announcements to make, don't we, Pete?

Pete Shau 34:27

Well, we got some interviews coming up. To be real honest, we get we have a long time vet that we're gonna get with. Actually, we have a lot of interviews coming up for the 2023 season, which season two is soon to be out starting in 2023. Interviews on a regular basis. We have them lined up, guys, and we are so ready to share them with you.

Danny Lastra 34:46

No, absolutely. And just uh FYI, uh, we it looks like the the 26th will actually be the last episode of season one, and we're looking to pick season two up their 16th of January due to the holidays. I'm taking vacation again. Pete needs a break, he's working his butt off with the website with the ordering the shirts. I feel like he he's like 60%, I'm 40% partner sometimes, but I gotta I gotta pick up some weight here. But uh no, exactly. Uh, we got interviews coming up. Um, actually, next week, George Hanamio is gonna be on the show. Well, I was I wasn't gonna spoil it, but oh, I spoiled it. I spoiled well, you know, no, it's it's it's a done deal. So, I mean, uh it is scheduled. Let me repeat that it's a scheduled interview. Anything can happen between now and then, but he's excited, he's gonna be on board, he's got a lot of information to provide, a lot of history. And um, sneak peek, we have a special trip coming up at the end of January. That I won't spoil. I won't spoil where or what, but FYI, we may be recording. I can't say live because it's not a live show, but maybe we do live. I don't know. But we're gonna be somewhere special at the end of January. If you're in the industry, you probably already know where it's at. But you know, maybe you don't know, but you know, it's gonna be a fun business trip, a lot of business.

Pete Shau 36:02

We will not be in the rent to own show studios. We will be out and about. If you see us out and about wearing our shirts, please stop us, say hi. We love to meet you guys. Please go to our our social media pages. You guys can see us on Instagram and Facebook at the RTO show. You can you can see us trying to do some crazy stuff on there. Also, if you have anything that you want to tell us that we, you know, if you're out and about uh in the world and you you just come up with something, grab your phone, email us at Pete at the RTO Show Podcast.com, or if you want to reach out to Danny and leave me completely all alone out of it, you can do Danny at the RTO Show Podcast.com, or you can be real nice and you can just put CC on both of us and then we can both answer that question independently or together. But we love it when you guys send us messages and we'd love to talk up to you. Again, season two, two thousand twenty-three, trips planned, interviews planned, we have a lot of things coming up, some more giveaways that are gonna happen. Again, thank you to Venetian Worldwide for their gift, their donation for the helmet that went to Vinny Safey. So we're getting that all taken care of and lined up before the end of the year. And then we have Christmas. Christmas is around the corner. I expect a lot of presents, Danny. I just I just want to say that right now. I'm I want a lot of presents. It's it's actually already up. I'm not happy about that, but it's already up. So if you go to the website at www.therto showpodcast.com, make sure that you click on the videos link. There is several videos of Danny and I doing what we do best, and yes, there is one where I'm dressed like an elf.

Danny Lastra 37:37

Guys, we have a couple more episodes for the season, but we want to wish you uh happy holidays, have a safe holiday, and uh thank you for the love and support. And this is the RTO show with Danny and Pete.