[Employee Motivation] R-E-S-P-E-C-T

When four pest control industry experts came together at a recent PestWorld conference to offer their views on motivating employees, they agreed on one main point: respect is key.

“Treatment of employees is extremely important,” said Ryan Bradbury, vice president of Viking Termite & Pest Control, Bridgewater, N.J. “If we don’t do a great job of respecting our people, someone else will.”

Yet respect goes both ways, notes Clarke Keenan, president of Waltham Services, a Boston area-based pest control company. “It’s not about demanding respect,” he said. “Leaders who have integrity command respect, set a tone of trust and build goodwill among their employees.”

While all panelists emphasized respect as a critical element in employee motivation, each one offered a unique perspective on their companies’ successful motivational techniques.

THE COMPENSATION EQUATION. Bradbury focused his presentation on motivating employees through proper compensation, but noted that this is only one facet of employee empowerment. Salary, bonuses, commissions, profit sharing, flex time, vacation time, gift certificates and team-building events all are part of Viking’s package.

Bradbury detailed Viking’s “Think Double” program, which was established in 2005 to encourage employee development while doubling the company’s size over a four-year period. The program awards points for employee performance and allows employees to trade their points for cash bonuses.

Technicians can earn points if they avoid preventable accidents, worker’s compensation and damage claims. Meanwhile, the program rewards salespeople and customer service representatives for production, supplementing existing sales commissions. With each point worth as much as $1, Bradbury said that many Viking employees receive sizable bonuses when checks are issued.

“Happy employees and satisfied customers are the ingredients for big profits,” Bradbury said. With this in mind, he added that the company rewards personal performance with additional $5 bonus coupons. “We want to promote and recognize personal achievements and give surprise awards for these efforts,” he said. The coupons are given by the district service managers and sales managers for outstanding performance in sales, service, attendance, personal appearance, vehicle cleanliness and neatness, and equipment care. They can be saved up or turned in to the branch manager for immediate redemption.

A similar contest motivates Viking’s office staff. “Our office workers need to know how their work affects the company’s growth,” Bradbury said. “The contest gets them working on the same page as their managers.” Office workers earn points for net gains in residential service plans, commercial monthly revenue growth, office appearance and length of employment.

But perhaps the most highly regarded reward at Viking is the coveted “Battle Helmet of Triumph.” Only one company office each year receives the trophy that recognizes the branch that most exemplifies excellence in customer service, technical service and overall growth. And while the trophy is a daily reminder of the office’s achievements, employees also receive a $600 one-time bonus or $50 per month of employment if they have not been employed for the entire year.

A smattering of “other oddball motivators” help keep Viking employees happy. Birthday cards, recognition in the company newsletter, handwritten notes from corporate officers and new uniforms based on employee requests are among the benefits available to Viking staff. “At Viking, we continue to build a service company that we would want to use,” Bradbury said. “We treat our employees and customers the way we want to be treated. It’s pretty simple, really. The big motivators are money, praise, recognition and challenges.” Perhaps this attitude helps explain why Viking was included in Entrepreneur magazine’s list of the “Hot 100: America’s Fastest Growing New Businesses.”

COMMUNICATION IS CRUCIAL. Waltham Services’ Keenan shared his wisdom about leadership and communication as motivational tools for employees. He begins by helping employees set reasonable goals, which he describes as “the framework for success in any organization.”

He stresses that employees should be part of the goal-setting and planning process. “At Waltham, we start with the technicians and ask what they think they can do better,” Keenan said. Likewise, salespeople, service managers and branch managers consider and define their individual goals.

Recruiting is a major part of the company’s success, he said. “It’s all about good people. If you build your teams with success in mind and know what you are looking for, you don’t have to spend all your time managing everything because the employees can take care of things themselves.”

In terms of leading a company, Keenan emphasized that integrity is key. “Employees are watching,” he said. Behaving in a predictable way helps leaders establish the integrity needed to command respect among their staff.

Another sign the company values its people is in its commitment to continuing employee education. “The goal here is to grow collectively,” Keenan said. “We’re not looking for one or two superstars. We want the entire workforce to improve. That creates the opportunity to develop and builds a motivational environment for employees.”

Keenan noted that listening is as important as talking and encouraged managers to invest in training courses to become better listeners. In addition, coaching employees through times of transition makes for a strong leader and one that develops a loyal workforce. Although pest control may seem like a traditionally “macho” field, Keenan urged his audience to openly discuss feelings with employees.

WELCOME HONORED GUESTS. Eric Eicher, head of Steritech’s Alternative Growth Strategies Group, Charlotte, N.C., said his company’s respect for new employees includes “preparing for new hires as if we’re about to entertain an important guest. Another way to look at it is that we treat new employees like someone treats their first child: We nurture them and pay a lot of attention to them.”

Eicher’s company calls its process “on-boarding,” which consists of three main components — meticulous planning, communication and execution of the plan. All preliminary employment tests and checks are completed before the official start date in order to ensure that the new employee is set to begin.

The Steritech human resources department then provides the employee with a packet that contains everything he or she needs to know about the company, its procedures and benefits. A welcome letter from the regional vice president accompanies the packet. “We take time at the beginning to welcome the new person and personally introduce him to everyone at the office,” Eicher said.
Electronic learning modules further help the employee understand the company’s history, familiarizes him with senior management, and walks him through the first month of employment’s activities and expectations. A peer support contact (PSC) is available to answer questions and assist as the new employee learns the ropes. After 90 days with the company, Steritech workers are assessed. “We observe them closely and look for reasons to praise them,” Eicher said.

If the employee is not meeting expectations, management provides an employee improvement plan that outlines exactly what the employee must do in order to succeed.

“It’s not a negative thing,” Eicher said. “In fact, it shows our commitment to our organizational values and provides the employee with a clear list of things to work on.”

SUCCESS THROUGH EDUCATION. Raleigh Jenkins, ABC Pest, Pool & Lawn Services, Houston, agreed that career growth is an important motivator for individual employees and said that continuing education to achieve that growth is an important corporate value. He says that every entry-level employee must understand how he or she can work toward individual growth and career promotion. “Our people come in as apprentices and learn increasingly complex skills,” he said. “As they do, they earn more.” ABC supports these efforts by encouraging employees to take university-level correspondence classes. Passing grades warrant increased commissions.

Jenkins added that ABC is “big on benchmarks,” looking for employees to meet specific targets as performance indicators. Based on monthly benchmark reports that outline the performance of all employees, workers also compare themselves to one another, noting areas where they may need to improve. Benchmarks include re-service percentages, gas and chemical usage, absences and cancellations.

Management also reviews customer comment cards to help pinpoint performance issues. “It’s like giving our employees monthly report cards,” Jenkins said. “A lot of people want to know what they can do to improve.”
From the data gathered, ABC defines best practices, which focus on efficiency and procedural details. For instance, technicians use a best practices handbook to guide their service protocol from the moment they pull into a driveway. The handbook instructs them to secure their vehicle, make sure they have all the proper equipment for the visit, introduce themselves, etc.

“Every service should be the same regardless of the technician performing it,” Jenkins said. “Our processes are so detailed that even a new technician should be able to perform as well as a veteran.” In fact, the technicians provide needed updates to the procedural guidelines so that they are maintained based on new innovations and practices.

Regardless of the specific tools and techniques used by a company, it is clear that successful pest control firms share the philosophy that employees are valuable and have immense potential. Finding ways to help them achieve that potential motivates workers to do their best, which means better end results for the bottom line.

The author is president of Compelling Communications, St. Louis.