In the midst of a labor shortage, pest control hiring can seem challenging but it’s still possible to find the best local techs using the right expert strategies.
Using this total pest control hiring guide, you’ll learn how to:
Wondering if it’s the right time to step up your pest control hiring efforts?
Ask yourself these questions:
Additionally, you’ll need to be prepared to:
When it comes to pest control hiring, finding the right tech can be the biggest obstacle.
However, in any service industry, you have to market your business to new employees by:
While you can use organic social media posts to find new hires, you’re more likely to reach the right candidates using paid ads (e.g. Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.).
The quickest results will likely come from Facebook, and the latest estimates show there are nearly 3 billion active monthly users.
Facebook's extensive reach is what makes this platform so lucrative for ads. Plus, you can directly target who you want to reach.
In addition, you have the option to pay on a CPC basis (i.e. Cost Per Click).
In other words, even if your ads are reaching 10,000 people, you’ll only pay for the ones that actually click on your ad.
Here’s an example of a great Facebook Ad for Pest Control:
“Looking for a rewarding career to serve your community? We offer bonuses, paid vacations, and more at XYZ Pest Control.
Whether you are an experienced technician or just getting started, we’d love to get to know you! Fill out our contact form to learn more.”
When it comes to online ads, you have several different options. Depending on your budget, you can place ads in newspapers, general websites, and/or job recruiter sites.
Here are a few platforms to check out for job postings and ad placements:
These job postings and ads are great because you’re reaching those who are actively job-seeking.
Due to a lower reach of people, the main negative is that online ads might potentially take a little longer.
However, you're more likely to reach more qualified candidates.
After making some job postings and ads, you’ve seen some applications trickle in.
This means you’re ready to begin interviewing candidates!
Here’s how to filter out the most ideal candidates for the position:
Start by doing a pre-screening phone interview before you schedule an in-person interview.
Here are a few questions you can ask on the call:
When you call, pay attention to your gut.
If your gut tells you something is off, it’s usually right.
If they pass the pre-screening, then schedule an onsite interview at your office.
The in-person interview is where you can ask some more in-depth questions, like:
Also, pay attention to the candidate’s behavior:
In addition, look out for red flags when doing pest control hiring:
Don’t get caught in the trap of hiring cheap labor, which only results in a lesser quality of work.
If you adequately compensate techs, they’re more likely to stay satisfied in your pest control business and you’ll have happier clients.
Ultimately that means you can charge premium prices for your services.
Here's how to pay your technicians what they're worth:
Every time you lose one of your star technicians to a competitor, you’re not just losing a prized employee, you’re also losing:
Here’s how to get your best techs to stick around:
In most cases, non-compete clauses don’t work, and they’re incredibly difficult to enforce.
Plus, non-compete clauses have been proven to decrease employee performance because they’re unhappy and feel trapped.
Instead, have your new hires sign non-disclosure agreements.
This agreement will protect your business’s intellectual property (e.g. processes, client lists, routes, etc.).
Hiring an office assistant can feel risky because they’ll never produce billable work.
However, it’s absolutely necessary to hire one if you want to grow your pest control business.
For example, if you’re doing all the office work, you could be paying someone else to do the work for $15 an hour (hypothetical number).
Whereas, your time could be better spent on higher-value tasks with higher ROI (i.e. return on investment) like sales, marketing, and operational efficiencies.
An office assistant would free up your time to:
Since your time in your business is likely worth more than $15 an hour, it’s important to delegate these lower-value tasks to someone else and they can help with:
These are the qualities you need to look for:
Also, get in the habit of having quick daily chats to ask them questions like:
Having a mutual understanding between you and your office assistant ensures your daily office operations are smooth sailing.
Think about your WORST technician.
These are the techs who:
These types of techs are costing your pest control business money, and that’s a consequence your business can’t afford.
No matter the reason, when an employee does any of the following things, it’s time to let them go:
If your bad employee continues to trend from bad to worse, then it's time to take a few steps in handling this challenging situation:
Always make sure you track the employee’s performance—before, during, and after your initial meeting.
Remember, you’ll need detailed records as proof if you choose to terminate the employee.
Write down notes about conversations you have and keep a record of any customer complaints.
Finally, if you’ve tried to improve the situation and the employee’s actions just aren’t getting better, then it’s time to let them go.
As you fire them, be respectful but firm.
Always remember, even though firing someone is difficult, it’s often what’s best for your business and everyone in it in the long run.
You’ve been there. Done that. Tried it all. Nothing works. Even worse, it feels as though ALL of your employees are bad.
In this scenario, the previous steps won't work because firing all of your employees at once is going to cost your business too much money.
Additionally, if ALL of your employees are underperforming, then it’s likely something systematically wrong with your business itself.
In this instance, you’ll want to re-evaluate two systematic elements in your business:
Instant invoicing
Better scheduling
Manage your clients and employees all in one system
While hiring pest control techs can be tough, it doesn’t have to be.
When you start taking advantage of the top strategies in this ultimate pest control hiring guide, you can start finding the perfect employees… FAST.
In addition, as you become more skilled with interviewing and hiring, you’ll gradually get the hang of the pest control hiring process.
At last, you have everything you need to be a pro at pest control hiring.
Use these top expert pest control hiring strategies to beat the competition and hire the leading top talent in your area now!
Related: 5 Emerging Pest Control Industry Trends in 2024
Originally published Sept 6, 2019, updated Aug 31, 2021 9:41 AM updated on Dec 13, 2023 at 2:02 PM
Tags: Business Operation
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