[Cover Story] Glen Rollins - PCT's 22nd Annual Professional of the Year

For the 22nd Professional of the Year honoree, Pest Control Technology magazine turns to the industry’s second largest and one of its most forward-looking companies. Glen Rollins, 38, is president and chief operating officer at Orkin Inc., owned by Atlanta-based Rollins Inc. However, Rollins didn’t just step into this position; he systematically, over a 14-year period, learned and honed the skills necessary to succeed. His dedication and achievements at Orkin and in the industry warrant this award, according to people with whom Glen has worked.

GROWING UP ORKIN. Just prior to Glen’s birth, his grandfather, O. Wayne Rollins, purchased Orkin Exterminating Company. Glen’s father Gary and his uncle Randall teamed with their father, acquiring additional pest control companies and extending the Orkin brand nationwide.

Glen’s involvement in Orkin dates back to his teenage years (see related story on page 24). He formally joined the company in 1990, after graduating from Princeton University, where he admits he did not learn all his lessons in the classroom. "I think sometimes experience might be the best teacher for business, unlike some other disciplines," Rollins said. He credits his parents as good role models for the business world.

Harvey Massey, president and CEO of Massey Services, Maitland, Fla., worked at Orkin for 16 years, including the period when Glen was just beginning at Orkin. Massey has observed Glen throughout the years and acknowledges that Glen "obviously has the Rollins work ethic. I always admired the fact that he looks for a new or better way to do something, and he’s not resistant to change."

After starting in sales, Rollins moved into the branch manager training program. Following completion, he was assigned to Arlington, Texas, "an office very much in disarray," Rollins recalls. "I don’t know if they did that because I couldn’t make it worse or they wanted me to learn that lesson."

However, Tom Diederich, vice president of government relations and environmental stewardship for Orkin, remembers that even though Rollins faced pressure in that situation, he did well. "He put his own stamp on that operation in terms of innovation and ideas. His attitude wasn’t ‘I’ll just stay here a month or two and I’ll move on.’ He really dug in," Diederich says.

Promotions to region sales manager in Richmond, Va., and assistant region manager in Washington, D.C., as well as region manager in east North Carolina followed, before Rollins returned to Atlanta in 1995 to tackle development of the commercial operation. "Over the previous decades, most of our people were preoccupied with looking at homeowners," Rollins said. "The biggest thing we did was get people to realize how big commercial business is."

Rollins immediately started gathering information. His sources ranged from colleagues inside Orkin to industry leaders such as Larry and Alfie Treleven of Tacoma, Wash.-based Sprague Pest Solutions. Rollins saw his role as a facilitator — he took the good ideas, championed changes at Orkin, and crafted "a team of experts that thought only about the commercial business." Today, Orkin’s commercial customers account for 39 percent of the company’s revenues.

ACQUISITIONS. A pivotal year for acquisitions in Orkin’s history occurred in 1999 when three companies (Prism, Redd Pest Control and PCO Services of Canada) were acquired. Rollins’ involvement in these deals would help shape his role in the 2004 acquisition of Western Pest Services, based in Parsippany, N.J. Western, owned by the Sameth family, was the eighth largest pest control company in the United States. Its footprint filled a vital gap in Orkin’s coverage. Rollins categorizes it as the "most significant merger in our history."

"From north of Washington, D.C., we are not as strong, especially in New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York and Connecticut," Rollins said. Western’s reputation, territory and customer base, along with its staff, appealed to Rollins, who continues to search for growth markets. "Because the Sameth family has entrusted the Western team to Orkin, we now have more excitement about our growth prospects in the Northeast than at any time in our history." Additionally, Rollins, along with Western’s General Manager Tom Walters, visited every Western office following the acquisition.

A LITIGIOUS SOCIETY. Another aspect of business Rollins must contend with day to day at Orkin is litigation aimed at the company. While a company the size of Orkin — more than $700 million — makes some treatment mistakes, there are other types of lawsuits that surface from time to time, the ones that result from opportunistic people living in a litigious society. "There are two types of lawsuits: One is when a company does something wrong and deserves it. What’s more troubling," he continues, "is the other half — people being opportunistic."

Rollins has chosen a course of action dedicated to customer satisfaction. Orkin also will focus on vetting potential customers. "From time to time we decline the opportunity to take on customers who we might think have a higher propensity" to file opportunistic lawsuits, he says.

TRAINING CENTER. Orkin University, located in Atlanta, is a project originated by Randall Rollins, and assumed by Glen Rollins in 2001. A three-phase approach has been followed at the center to meet the objectives of providing superior training for technicians and managers.

First, a full-sized "home" was constructed, complete with cutaway walls, crawlspaces, and a basement and an attic, to provide technicians with the opportunity to practice on something close to a realistic scenario they would encounter. Included with this phase is "a termite pavilion with just about every construction type," Rollins says. The home (which is solely a teaching tool for Orkin employees) allows students to see where pests enter, travel and harbor.

Second-phase construction has recently been completed on a commercial installation, including "a model hotel room, a model industrial kitchen, and a model supermarket aisle," Diederich said.

Construction is nearing completion on the third phase, a studio and editing room that will eventually include a satellite hookup. All Orkin employees would be able to benefit from this training facility with the completed studio, Rollins said. Currently, all commercial technicians, the service managers, branch managers, supervisors and master technicians physically visit the facility, along with all service technicians located in the Southeast division.

"We realize the value of this continuing investment," Rollins says. He explains that he has attempted to change the thinking at Orkin. "Our mode (in the past) was to operate on opportunity, to get new customers, and I thought there would be more opportunities if we would substitute that with more of a retention focus. We want our technicians in the field to become experts and develop long-term relationships with customers."

Orkin University has also been recognized as a leader in the training field. In both 2003 and 2004, it placed in the Top 100 list of Training magazine, based on criteria such as outstanding training initiatives and practices. Additionally, Orkin tied for first place for the 2003 BEST Award, presented by the American Society for Training and Development.

FUTURE. Glen’s father Gary continues as the chairman of Orkin. Diederich compares the traits of father and son, and finds many similarities. For instance, both are extremely interested in employee and customer satisfaction, and "both have their heart and soul in the business. (Glen) has more interest in technology and understanding automation, but that’s a normal generational/cultural difference," Diederich said.

Others in the industry see Glen Rollins as a leader for the next generation of pest management professionals.

"Glen is a breath of fresh air. He’s smart and he’s innovative and that’s good for the whole industry," said Bob Rosenberg, vice president, government affairs, National Pest Management Association.

Adds Joe Wilson of PermaTreat, Fredericksburg, Va., "The first time I had a serious conversation with him and talked about business, about 15 years ago, I recognized right off the bat that he was part of a new breed. I have over four decades in this industry and here comes a young fellow, a graduate of Princeton, and he has different ideas about how things should be done."

After a time of soft growth, Massey believes that Orkin is poised for a good future. "Glen, with the help of his dad and some of the moves they’ve made and some of the decisions they’ve made, (makes Orkin) strategically look as good as it has in the last 10 to 15 years."

Additionally, Orkin could be considered somewhat of a "hybrid" company, because it is publicly held, but the Rollins family owns about 60 percent. It’s the "best of both worlds" in Rollins’ opinion, and he’s particularly pleased that nearly 70 percent of Orkin employees also own stock.

Four key operating goals (see related story on page 28) play an extremely important part in the culture at Orkin, and are constantly reinforced.

"If we continue to work on co-worker retention, customer retention and the Rule of 23…it will make us a better place to work, be good for our customers and good for shareholders," Rollins states. "The more you have good customer retention, the better (and more profitable) place it will be to work," Rollins says. "I think Orkin is in a momentum-building loop where each of those goals is reinforcing the others and improving the overall performance."

The author is Cleveland-Ohio based freelance writer.