Streamlining CEU Management in Pest Control Companies

Editor’s note: The following article was submitted by Anne Lackey, co-founder of HireSmart Virtual Employees, a full-service HR firm helping others recruit, hire & train top global talent. She can be reached at anne@hiresmartvirtualemployees.com. Lackey provides PMPs with a place they can put in place to alleviate some of the stress associated with getting their team certified.

Ask pest control managers and owners what frustrates them, and you'll frequently get a sigh, then: "Certifications!"

Pest control businesses must comply with each state's continuing education credits. Getting technicians and operators to the appropriate classes and events can be a hassle, but even that's not enough. You must then make sure events and classes are appropriately credited to the correct agency.

Few things cause more headaches, panic attacks, and last-minute stress than continuing education credits that haven't been appropriately attributed or acknowledged by a state. A company can't afford to bleed money into getting technicians to retake tests they've passed but haven't been properly documented. If your certified operator's license expires, then an entire business can be placed in direct jeopardy. 

Not only that, requirements across states can be radically different, and not all states have a reciprocal relationship with other states. A reciprocal relationship means that if you are certified and recertified in state A, then state B will honor that certification or recertification. This scattershot certification environment creates complexity for companies that work in multiple states. For instance, consider that Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and North Carolina all have different requirements. 

What should managers and owners do? Below is a simple plan to execute and alleviate your continuing education units (CEU) stress. When it comes to recertification, it's all about being proactive, not reactive.

Prioritize Training. One common pitfall for owners and managers is underestimating the importance of training in comparison to delivering pesticide treatments. However, it's crucial to remember that well-planned and organized training sessions can prevent issues, such as technicians having to retake tests or certified operators losing their licenses. Your company's financial stability relies on these certifications, which means successful training must be a top priority.

Set Up a Designated Training Officer. Don't muddy the waters by having too many hands in the pot. Find one reliable, dependable, and organized person to coordinate and oversee training for your technicians and operators. Allow them the space to create a system that will work for your company culture while meeting the all-important goal of maintaining certifications.

This person isn't just going to monitor what courses have been taken and credited by the state. They will also coordinate your training, find speakers, and set up engagements to keep everyone certified.

Get a Good Understanding of Where You Stand. Set this designated training officer to work on evaluating all technicians and operators to see where they are in the process. Make it clear to the training officer that their goal is a list of all technicians having met their CEU requirements in advance of their training deadline. The way to achieve that goal is to set out a detailed plan for each technician to achieve recertification.

Determine What Fits Your Company Culture. Do you prefer your technicians to be focused on training weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly? Or would you rather have all your technicians attend and obtain all required credits at one event and get it over with? Once you know how you would like to divide your technicians' time, your central person can begin to craft and organize a system that will work for your company culture and time frame.

Plan in Advance. Most training is advertised in advance by associations for the industry, so have the designated training officer make and maintain a list of events that will be utilized to ensure compliance with CEU requirements.

This means that each technician and operator must have an individualized training schedule created by the training officer. Once finalized, this should be given to the technician.

This schedule will have dates, times, and CEU credits earned at each stage of the plan. This way, the technician has a clear path to certification success. They know where they must be and when to achieve recertification. 

Consider Outsourcing Your Designated Training Officer. You may designate someone already on staff for this duty, or you might hire someone locally for the role. However, instead of bogging down an already frazzled office worker or taking on the expense of a new local hire, you could utilize a remote designated training officer whose only job is to maintain the recertification of the company's technicians and operators.

The Web is a great equalizer in the labor market, giving small and mid-sized businesses access to quality employees at a fraction of the cost of a local hire. And there are many capable employees in markets where the dollar goes much further who can oversee certification scheduling, documentation, and coordination with regulatory agencies.

Maintain Relationships with Groups that Offer Continuing Education. Sometimes, it isn't the knowledge that is the problem. Sometimes, having friends in strategic places will save a world of hassle. Your designated training officer needs to develop and maintain a cordial relationship with the person responsible for planning recertification classes at each agency. These relationships are a safety net, helping ensure your technicians get what they need.

Whatever route you take, make sure it's consistent and eliminates all "sneak up-on-you" problems. 

By taking these steps, you can ensure that compliance in continued education recertification never keeps you up at night.