APRO revisited three of the highest-rated educational sessions from RTO World 2026 during its Best of RTO World 2026 webinar, giving rent-to-own professionals another opportunity to learn from some of the event’s standout speakers.
Facilitated by APRO Vice President Jen Troke, the encore webinar featured highlights from Teresa French, CEO of Precision Appliance Leasing; Trent Agin, President of APRO member SKC Enterprises Inc. dba Rent One; and Adam Stark, Director of Operations of APRO member Happy’s Home Centers. Together, their sessions offered practical RTO workforce development strategies focused on creating stronger cultures, improving account management, and making more intentional hiring decisions.
RTO Workforce Development Starts with Culture
French focused on the role culture plays in building teams where employees feel valued and want to stay. At Precision Appliance Leasing, she explained, culture is not treated as an abstract idea. It is built into hiring, employee recognition, leadership planning, and everyday expectations.
Her team defines its values clearly during the hiring process and looks for people whose attitudes align with those values. French also emphasized the importance of responding constructively when employees make mistakes. She shared the story of a relatively new driver who caused about $15,000 in damage to a company truck. Rather than immediately ending his employment, leadership focused on what could be learned from the mistake. Six years later, she said, he remained one of the company’s best drivers.
French also described handwritten notes, employee recognition programs, monthly meetings, and dedicated culture planning as ways she consistently invests in employees. Her message was simple: culture requires time, intention, and reinforcement.
Creating Consistency in Account Management
Agin’s segment introduced the ANCHOR framework: Act early, Navigate for progression, Create outcomes, Hold commitments, Optimize resolution, and Resolve decisively. The framework is designed to help employees move accounts forward consistently rather than repeating the same contact efforts without progress.
Agin stressed that meaningful commitments should include a date, time, and amount. Without those specifics, he said, a commitment is simply hope. He also encouraged employees to clearly communicate options when customers are struggling, including payment arrangements, returns, and reinstatement rights.
Agin also highlighted APRO’s RTO Ready learning platform, which includes 10 micro-courses covering RTO fundamentals, delivery and safety, communications, account management, sales, and other core skills.
Making Better Hiring Decisions
Stark shifted the conversation to hiring and interviewing, beginning with one tool: the scorecard.
Rather than relying only on job descriptions, Stark recommends defining the outcomes a successful employee should produce, the characteristics and competencies the company has identified as important to the role and its culture, and the skills required for the role. That scorecard then becomes a consistent reference point throughout the interview process.
He also encouraged employers to ask candidates the same structured questions about each previous position, including what they were hired to accomplish, their proudest achievements, their low points, the people they worked with, and why they left.
The goal is to identify patterns and gather evidence that connects a candidate’s past performance with the requirements of the position. Instead of relying primarily on instinct, leaders can use a repeatable process to make more informed hiring decisions.
Taken together, the three sessions demonstrated how RTO workforce development extends across the employee experience, from hiring the right people and establishing clear expectations to training teams and creating a culture that keeps them engaged.
The Best of RTO World webinar offered only a sample of the education presented at RTO World 2026. APRO members can continue exploring the complete RTO World 2026 session recordings and supporting resources.
