PCOs Have Varying Approaches for How Often Employees Must Come into the Office

CLEVELAND – While COVID-19 may have caused PCOs to rethink the need for employees to be in the office five days a week, most PCOs still like to have their employees in the office at least a couple times per week.

Thirty-eight percent of those who responded to a recent PCT poll said their employees come into the office 1-2 days per week, while another 30 percent said they come in every day of the week.

One reason many companies still have their technicians in the office every day is because they keep all service vehicles safe and secure on site (as opposed to having technicians take them home every night). Another reason cited by PCOs was culture.

At Ace Pest Control, North Webster, Ind., all technicians come to the office five days a week. “We feel it’s important to be able to communicate with them and for them to communicate with each another,” said Joe Long, operations manager. “And we want to maintain that family atmosphere.”

Long said the company is flexible and will make exceptions if technicians have personal appointments or family obligations.

On the flip side are companies that only ask their technicians to come in as an on-needed basis (cited by 26 percent of those who responded to the PCT poll). Rob Jackson, president of Jackson Pest Management, Ft. Wayne, Ind., is one such PCO.

“A lot of our guys live far away from the office. They all have take-home trucks, so they only come to the shop to pick up gear and products,” Jackson said. “Our office is run out of our home and we live out in the country, so [employees] don’t live near us, for the most part. I don't need them to drive across town on a regular basis. To me it is pointless.”

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