The Workforce ▶What’s In: Higher Pay What’s Out: Obstacles to Employment

According to the 2022 PCT-NPMA survey, most PMPs (52 percent) said their top workforce concern was hiring employees. The most difficult part of this task was finding candidates with the right character and work ethic, reported 60 percent of PMPs.

“Hiring is, of course, central to what makes a pest control company great. If we can’t hire great people, we don’t have a great service,” said Stacy O’Reilly, who recently retired as president of Plunkett’s Pest Control, Fridley, Minn.

Hiring challenges hinder company growth. “It used to be you’d get sales and leads in to grow your business, but you truly are now limited by your people and the people you can bring into your business to be able to grow your business,” said Justin McCauley, CEO of McCauley Services, Bryant, Ark., and president of NPMA.

To help attract and hire new workers, 46 percent of PMPs said their companies increased their starting wage and 29 percent relied on employee referral programs.

At City Wide Exterminating in Charlotte, N.C., five of the six people hired last year were from internal referrals. “We hire good people, and they tend to associate with really good people,” said President Ashley Morrison of the quality candidates she found through the program.

As well, PMPs posted job openings on online recruiting websites (25 percent) and social media platforms (21 percent). Nearly a quarter (24 percent) had candidates ride-along on routes to learn about field jobs firsthand. In follow-up interviews, PMPs said this helped reduce the number of new hires who quit after onboarding.

Rottler Pest & Lawn Solutions, St. Louis, Mo., rethought its approach to hiring. “I think a lot of the things that we became accustomed to or what we thought that we wanted out of an applicant finally got thrown out the door,” said President Dan Rottler.

Before, candidates who had a history of job hopping or who needed immediate time off would not have been considered for employment at Rottler. Today, the company is “turning a blind eye” to such issues and is interviewing these candidates, he said.

Some PMPs are beginning to see improvements in hiring. “I think the job market is leaning in our favor at this point. We still need to retain the good employees and so those challenges remain,” said O’Reilly. In October, Plunkett’s Pest Control had 10 open jobs out of 650 positions. “This is much better now than it was 12 months ago,” she said.

Nearly one third (31 percent) of PMPs were concerned about workers leaving for other jobs, as well as issues like employee burnout (36 percent) and work-life balance (30 percent) that contribute to turnover.

To retain workers in the last six months, PMPs said their companies improved communication with employees (53 percent), increased pay for current employees (52 percent), recognized employees who achieved specific goals (36 percent), and engaged employees to improve processes and eliminate workplace aggravations (32 percent).

Like 26 percent of PMPs surveyed, McCauley Services offered greater work schedule flexibility. Traditionally, the company worked Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Now, it has employees who work more hours over fewer days, and some who work fewer hours over more days. The company generally is willing to accommodate employees if they provide their schedule one month in advance.

A softening economy could help the industry retain talent. “In all my years of doing this, I’ve found whenever there’s an economic downturn, it actually helps to stabilize the workforce. People do tend to stay where they’re at more; they tend to appreciate the job,” said Eric Eicher, founder and director of Versacor Managed Pest Solutions, Southlake, Texas.