Austin Women’s Forum Ignites Talks on Hiring, Retention and Growth

AUSTIN, Texas — Hundreds of women and men in the pest control industry from across the globe gathered last week in Austin, Texas, to be recognized for their contributions in pest control and to bring home valuable tools and resources for professional leadership.

On Monday, National Pest Management Association (NPMA) President Faye Golden and Texas Pest Control Association Executive Director Todd Kercheval welcomed attendees to the three-day event.

“As I look around this room, I am amazed at the growth each year that we have. We have attendees from around the world that are here in this room,” Golden said. “This event serves as a testament to the expanding influence of women in our industry. Today we come together not only to acknowledge the progress achieved, but to reaffirm our commitment to cultivating an inclusive environment where every voice is heard, respected and valued.”

Harmke Klunder, Envu key account manager of In2Care, shared words on behalf of Envu, the event’s premier sponsor.

“This event and network started with an idea, and now we’re here all together and enjoying opportunities for growth.”

Monday’s keynote speaker, Hilary Blair, co-founder and CEO of ARTiculate: Real and Clear, leadership coach, professional stage and voice over actor, touched on “The Power of Authentic Presence: Unlocking Success Through Interpersonal Communication.” Blair shared strategies to harness the transformative power of authentic presence and recognize miscommunication pitfalls in business practices.

Authentic presence is built on relationships and how it shows up differently in each person. At the end of the day, authentic presence can ultimately impact a company’s bottom line, Blair said. “When you show up, you establish peace, order and trust. I believe that all authentic presence is built on relationships, and a lot of things can get in the way of that relationship.”

Blair shared the importance of knowing the difference between having boundaries and walls in business operations. “Boundaries are intentional; walls are reflexive that protect us and tend to block people in order to explain and understand,” she said. “You can have your boundaries up and your walls down. We have to create work places that allow people to bring their whole selves to work.”

Jennifer Miller, Miller Pest & Termite; Sheri Spencer Bachman, Pest Control Business Coach; and Marci LaRouech, Seay Management Consultants; discussed how personality assessments, like Kolbe A Index, can help build the right teams for pest control companies.

Bachman shared her perspective as a business consultant for pest control companies and how personality assessments help shape different departments within an organization.

“We have to have the environment where there’s permission to ask,” she said. “A lot of these assessments, there’s more to it than just reading the results. You should bring someone in to help you interpret it.”

Miller’s company has been on a journey to find the right tools for the people in their company, and said the “assessments should make you curious to see what tools work best for your company.”

Miller said these tests have helped the company with hiring by matching personality and skill sets with job requirements.

LaRouech works across a number of different industries as an HR expert and said the No. 1 challenge, especially in the pest control industry, is still finding and retaining good people. She encouraged attendees to take a closer look at their application process to see how hard they are making it for people to apply.

“It is possible that you are losing good candidates because it can be too difficult for them to apply,” she said. “Get people in the door first before you start doing assessments on their capabilities. Let’s take a look at our job descriptions and the requirements for each role.”

NPMA honored 88 exceptional women from across the pest management industry during the Impact Awards ceremony Tuesday afternoon. Golden and Immediate Past President Marillian Missiti co-hosted the awards presentation. The Impact Awards reflect the expanding influence of women in the pest management field.

Recipients walked the red carpet to receive their awards certificates during the ceremony, which was followed by a networking lunch sponsored by MGK and WorkWave. The award winners represented various sectors of the pest management industry, from business owners and technicians to corporate executives and scientists.

PCT will be providing more coverage from the Women’s Forum, including more presentations on hiring and retaining women and tips on improving attention management throughout the week.