Staff is Staying, For Now

Great news: Employees plan to stick around…for a short while, anyway. According to the 2019 PCT/NPMA Workplace Survey, 75 percent of pest management employees said they were likely to stay at their current jobs for another three years.

Still, they’re keeping close tabs on company culture, which largely influences whether they stay at or leave an organization.

A former regional manager who worked for a pest control company for seven years summed it up on the job review website Glassdoor: “Start taking care of your people or they will continues (sic) to leave and your culture will continue to be terrible.”

Many employees liked working for companies with a family ethos, said people interviewed for this report. Also important: Managers who can relate to the challenges of working in the field.

Terminix Service promotes from within for this reason. Even top management started in technician roles. “I think that goes a long way for employees to see the possibility for some advancement and also understanding that when we make decisions we do have a reference point for what they’re going through,” said Rion Cobb.

To build relationships between management and employees, company leaders at Rose Pest Solutions in Northfield, Ill., attend monthly branch meetings and ride along with field employees every six months.

“If you put yourself in an ivory tower then you’re never going to get to know your coworkers and we don’t want to do that,” said Angie Persinger, who heads human resources at Rose and previously worked as a technician.

Some companies survey employees and the feedback helps them to improve the work environment. “It’s really given our employees a voice to give us some ideas of what their challenges are,” said Persinger.

Feeling respected, rewarded and heard made for satisfied employees. “(I’m) definitely loyal to this company because I think our company is the best around,” said a pest control technician in Stillwater, Okla.