December 1, 2022

Shreveport GM Builds a Better Branch With Hands-On Approach

EquipmentShare general manager Jason Hogg
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

"When I go to hire people, I tell them — and I mean it — that EquipmentShare is a different kind of rental company. I’ll give examples from my past work experiences where at the end of the day, I wasn’t Jason Hogg — I was Employee 35718. We’re a big company and I wouldn’t expect the owners to know everybody’s name, but the way we treat people is special. I get emails all the time about a gift coming in the mail or wellness perks or a catered lunch for my crew. This is just a different kind of rental company."

A former boss gave Jason Hogg a piece of advice that has stuck with him: You have to inspect what you expect. He applies that lesson about taking nothing for granted in his role as the general manager of EquipmentShare’s branch in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he spends as much time in the yard as he does in his office.  

“If you expect equipment to go out clean, go out there and inspect it,” he said. “If you expect someone to do a job, go out there and inspect what they’re doing. I don’t mean stand over their shoulder and watch them all day, but check up on them and make sure they know what they’re doing has value.”

That hands-on approach has helped Hogg elevate the Shreveport branch since taking over in October 2020. The branch had its first $1 million revenue month in October 2021, and it has continued that upward trajectory. 

“We’ve more than doubled our size,” Hogg said. “That’s not all me, by any means. We’ve got three sales reps out of this location, and the mindset is, get every deal and say yes. In order to say yes, you have to be prepared for it. So one of the first things I tried to do was get these sales reps what they needed to be successful. That requires knowing your market.” 

Hogg drew upon his deep knowledge of northern Louisiana and the equipment rental business. He grew up in Ruston — which is about 70 miles east of Shreveport — and made his home there with his wife and teenage daughter and son. After nearly two decades working in sales and management roles for equipment rental companies across the region, he brought extensive knowledge that would make the branch more efficient and the fleet mix that would make sense for the Shreveport area. 

“Down here, there’s a lot of industrial work, whether it’s paper mills, lumber companies, gas plants or pipeline work,” Hogg said. “I started adding industrial fleet, like welders, warehouse forklifts, scissor lifts and electrical booms that would be mainly for plant type work. We rent a lot of cranes out of this store, and we previously didn’t have a lot of those in our mix. So I wanted to get our fleet right so we could attack that side of the market — not just the commercial but the industrial jobs, too.”

Taking the “you’ve got to spend money to make money” approach, Hogg doubled his fleet size in two years. But getting the right mix of equipment to meet the needs of the location was just one part of building a successful branch. The bigger piece was finding, developing and managing the right people. Hogg said one of his first priorities was getting his 32 employees to embrace the flexibility needed to work in the rental business. 

“Some of the guys had come from dealerships, and they were used to a set schedule and set to-do list, but with rental business, that changes every hour or two,” he said. “It’s all about the customer and the demand.”

Part of the reason Hogg has been able to hire the right people is he has a good product to sell. EquipmentShare takes pride in its People First culture.

“When I go to hire people, I tell them — and I mean it — that EquipmentShare is a different kind of rental company,” Hogg said. “I’ll give examples from my past work experiences where at the end of the day, I wasn’t Jason Hogg — I was Employee 35718. We’re a big company and I wouldn’t expect the owners to know everybody’s name, but the way we treat people is special. I get emails all the time about a gift coming in the mail or wellness perks or a catered lunch for my crew. This is just a different kind of rental company.” 

— EquipmentShare general managers act as the CEO of their branch. They have the freedom to run the branch the way they want, with flexible guidelines and a common goal. If this sounds interesting to you, we are hiring nationwide. Find your calling at equipmentshare.com/careers.

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