WorkWave User Conference Showcases Technology for Business Growth, Employee and Customer Retention

DALLAS — Members of the pest control, lawn and landscape and other service industries saddled up for the three-day WorkWave 2025 Beyond Service User Conference, Feb. 3-5, in Dallas, Texas.

Sessions highlighted key metrics for business growth in specific areas; addressing the gender gap in relatively male-dominated industries; family generational transitions; how to set price increases and customer retention; streamlining merger and acquisition processes; and more.

The conference was a chance for PestPac users to learn more about WorkWave's suite of software tools including its latest introduction, Wavelytics. The event included hands-on demonstrations, networking across industries and learning about the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven technology.

WorkWave CEO Kevin Kemmerer said during Monday morning’s keynote that the company continues to invest heavily in its four core markets: pest control, lawn and landscaping, commercial cleaning and security management.

“We’re on the next wave of massive disruption with technology data and AI, and we’re in a great place to bring in that next generation and apply technology to solve business problems,” Kemmerer said.

Kemmerer shared WorkWave’s four key initiatives:

• Enterprise grade software: Having a platform that is high quality and performs well
• Faster onboarding: Building a quick and comprehensive onboarding experience
• Empowering customers with Fintech: Providing financial solutions and loans to employees to improve retention
• Driving value through data and AI: Rebuilding data platforms to better understand user’s business

The company announced its latest development, Wavelytics, offering near real-time business insights and analytics so that customers can better access and utilize their own data to optimize business growth.

Wavelytics taps into years' worth of deep industry data to deliver performance tools and unique insights that some field and mobile service companies currently lack, the company said.

David Libesman is the senior vice president and general manager of AI and data analytics at WorkWave. Libesman told PCT that data is just raw ingredients, and the “WorkWave chefs have been busy in the kitchen” to create a data warehouse across all of its industries.

“A large piece of the puzzle for our customers is labor control and workforce management, so they need to be able to understand in real-time what’s really happening, like are they over or under budget, and how do they adjust it,” Libesman said. “Everyone is trying these new AI tools, and the problem with things like ChatGPT is they are not industry specific, so [WorkWave] is creating industry-specific models where you ask the question, and it’s going to give you the answer relative to your market.”

Libesman said businesses lack access to data in real-time to get the results that help them understand where their problem area is and why it’s a problem in the first place. “We are developing the solutions to help them with that,” he said. “We see [the data] that no one else sees.”

Users can expect a change in the way they run business operations when using Wavelytics, according to Libesman. “It can help them double down to make more money and keep more money in the bank. You won’t be spending as much as you need to make,” he said.

Dave Bradford, CEO, Certus Pest, sat on a customer panel to talk about how Certus is currently using AI in everyday business operations. Bradford compared the concept of AI to bright headlights on the other side of the road. Many companies see the opportunity of AI but might not know how to integrate it into business operations.

“You have to put yourself on the other side of the road with a flashlight,” Bradford said. “AI can eliminate one-third of jobs that employees don’t want to do. It helps automate tasks that are mundane and will free up employees to do other things.”

Tuesday’s keynote speaker, Jason Dorsey, generational research expert, engaged the crowd with his high energy personality and kept the audience entertained while taking a deep dive into the four generations — Gen Z (ages 13-29), Millennials (ages 30-48), Gen X (ages 49-60) and Baby Boomers (ages 61-79).

Dorsey said what nobody talks about in service industries is the way generational trends affect the workforce. Dorsey said Gen Z is the fastest growing generation in the workforce and for the first time, the youngest generation is driving technology adoption up to the oldest generation.

“What Gen Z employees most want is stability, yet we never talk about it,” he said. “All they want to hear is we are a stable employer, pay on time, have health care benefits and have your back.”

An awards ceremony was held to highlight top performers and spotlight WorkWave users. Arrow Exterminators, Atlanta, Ga., won the Trailblazer of the Year Award; Colonial Pest Control, Worcester, Mass., was the recipient of the Outperform Award; and Petti Pest Control, Shepherdstown, W.Va., was the recipient of the CoalMarch Outperform Award.