Labour Woes

Abimbola Fagbamiye recently lost a good employee. Lured by better pay, his service technician of two years left Abell Pest Control to work as a semi-experienced cabinet builder earning a whopping $40 to $50 an hour.

Losing workers is tough, especially since hiring new employees has become harder than ever.

“Last year, we were able to hire people. We had an abundance of candidates. This year, it has become that much more difficult to find people. It’s not for lack of trying,” says Fagbamiye, who is director of regional operations for Abell Pest Control in British Columbia.

He’s not alone. In fact, a recent Bank of Canada survey found 42 per cent of Canadian businesses reported labour shortages in the second quarter of 2022. And nearly half of firms surveyed expected these shortages to be just as intense in 2023.

Fagbamiye says it now takes about 10 candidates to fill a single open job position. Three of the 10 candidates typically “ghost” his team and don’t show up for the interview. Another five show up more interested in whether you’ll beat their existing offer of employment than in the job itself. That leaves one or two serious interviewees. 

“If you’re lucky, you can hire one of those people,” says Fagbamiye.

He and other pest management professionals are working to overcome these challenges.

COMPETE, WITHIN REASON. Employers in just about every industry are scrambling to find workers. In the first quarter of 2022, the number of job vacancies in Canada climbed to 957,000, the highest quarterly number on record, according to Statistics Canada.

“It becomes a competition. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to get the best people we can possibly get,” says Greg Flynn, district manager for Rentokil in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Job candidates are demanding higher pay, and companies are acquiescing. The Bank of Canada survey found businesses expect to raise wages by an average of 5.8 per cent over the next year to keep and attract employees.

“Companies are getting desperate in the measures they are taking to attract candidates,” says Fagbamiye. “The trend we’re seeing now is companies are putting out offers that are unrealistic and not sustainable long term,” especially if a recession hits, he adds.

Even if pest control companies can’t compete with higher hourly pay or salaries, they can refigure compensation plans and incentive programs to make it easier for employees to realize their earnings. Abell Pest Control changed how its service technicians, called route managers, are paid; the new approach is “more attractive” to employees, explains Fagbamiye.

Labour shortages at customer locations disrupt pest control operations, as well. Clients don’t have staff to perform physical maintenance to prevent pest infestations or even to let technicians into a building to perform service. “The restaurant industry in particular has really taken it on the chin,” says Flynn.

According to Statistics Canada, the shortage of labour was expected to remain a leading obstacle for 64 per cent of businesses in the food service and accommodation industries.

EMPHASIZE THE VALUE OF BENEFITS. Compensation is more than salary or dollars earned per hour. It also may include medical insurance, paid time off and holidays, financial incentives, use of a vehicle, retirement plans and more. Still, many job candidates (and current employees) forget the value of the benefits package and only look at wages when considering whether to take a job or stay in one.

“A lot of companies throw money up front, but when you dig into the meat-and-potatoes of the benefit packages, there’s really not much in there,” says Fagbamiye. For instance, employees who move to a different company may have to pay more for medical or dental coverage or get fewer vacation days.

As such, some pest control companies are taking steps to educate job candidates and remind current employees about the value of their benefits. Companies may want to discuss benefits more than once a year with employees. Some send home statements detailing the value of each benefit, from uniforms and service vehicle use to company-paid medical coverage and retirement savings contributions.

“What you have is sometimes taken for granted,” reminds Fagbamiye.

PROMOTE THE INDUSTRY’S RESILIENCY. Compared to other industries, pest management is resilient. During the pandemic and past recessions, it has fared better and even grew while other industries shed workers and closed doors.

Abell Pest Control points this out to job candidates. “During the pandemic, Abell as a company did not terminate one person based on lack of work. We didn’t lay anybody off. We were hiring people,” says Fagbamiye.

“We try to educate folks that you have to look beyond the dollars and cents you’re offered this minute. You have to look at the longevity of the industry and the sustainability of that industry you’re going into,” he adds.

Abell hired people who worked in food service and hospitality before the pandemic. Even when these industries opened back up, they stayed on. Not only are the hours and pay better, but according to employee surveys, most say they feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day, which they didn’t necessarily have in their previous position. 

This resonates with new hires. “Most people stay not just for the financial rewards but for the emotional payback they get from doing great things every single day,” says Fagbamiye.

SOLICIT EMPLOYEE REFERRALS. One of the most successful ways to find new hires is through employee referrals, say PMPs. 

Network recruiting is “our most effective tool” to attract new candidates, says Matteo Stradiotto, equity partner at the Hamilton, Ontario branch of Insight Pest Solutions.

“I think the secret to that is that we have a great corporate culture,” he says. “People love to work here; they enjoy coming to work. We treat our people really well, and in turn, they’re happy to recommend friends of theirs, people they know, even spouses. We have a few Insight couples where both husband and wife work for us in different capacities. They’re an Insight family.”

Employees earn a cash bonus for referring candidates who work past a certain number of months. Candidates are usually quality people, since employees aren’t likely to refer someone who reflects poorly on themselves.

“We need to have people not only out there in the trucks, but we need to have good people,” says Stradiotto.

Rentokil has a multi-stage process for interviewing candidates. “We’re very thorough in our hiring practices,” says Flynn. This includes bringing prospects on a ride-along so they can experience the job close-up. 

“We want people to know exactly what the job is so that there’s no surprises,” says Flynn. “That’s been pretty successful for us.”

CELEBRATE AND SUPPORT EXISTING EMPLOYEES. The last few years have been stressful on essential workers. Rewarding and supporting them not only shows your appreciation and but can help prevent them from jumping ship.

“Sometimes a pat on the back is worth more than money in the pocket,” reminds Flynn. The goal is to keep people engaged and happy. As such, Rentokil optimizes routes to reduce drive time and brings in summer help to take pressure off technicians during the busy season.

“We don’t want the guys maxed out. We don’t want them stressed out,” explains Flynn.

Rentokil encourages employees to use the employee assistance program offered as a benefit. “We make that very clear. Everybody needs a hand now and again, and if you need to talk to somebody, it’s available. It’s a resource that is of no cost to you that you can use,” says Flynn.

Insight Pest Solutions learned how growing pains affect employees. The nascent company aims to be a national pest management company for residential service in Canada. It has grown rapidly but didn’t always have enough employees to get all the work done.

This came to a head early last fall when summer help left. “It was an all-hands-on-deck scenario where all the branch managers were out there servicing full-time in trucks,” recalls Stradiotto. While doing site work, managers were coaching new hires via Apple watch to help prepare them for applicator exams. In the evenings, they were conducting interviews with candidates from home.

The frantic pace lasted several months. Employees were on the verge of burnout, and customers weren’t always getting timely service.

To recognize everyone’s efforts at year-end, the company shortened the workday and held get-togethers involving games of pool and ping pong. “We were able to look back on the year and say, ‘Okay, we learned our lesson. We’re not going to do that again, and thank you all for sticking with us,’” says Stradiotto.

As well, Insight Pest Solutions now is “more overstaffed” to handle customer demand. The extra capacity also provides cover when technicians take vacation or are out sick.

“One of our main goals here is to scale and scale quickly, but in a way that our customers aren’t slipping through the cracks and our people, our technicians and staff, aren’t being worked to the bone,” said Stradiotto.