Agserv: Article 25
Finding Great Staff For Your Pest Control Business
Strong growth and a big customer base is often the goal of many pest control businesses. But what if you can’t find reliable and qualified pest control employees to join your team?
Current Staffing Problems
In the pest control industry, some of the most common problems we’ve observed in relation to staffing include:
- Market saturation with pest control vacancies, but not enough qualified candidates – we’ve had about 20 calls in the past week asking if we know anyone looking for work!
- Newbies on the scene asking for too much money, but without the right experience
- Qualified pest control operators who also want more money, but who aren’t necessarily very good at their work
Finding Good Staff
If you’re keen to expand your pest control business, there are plenty of ways to “think outside the square” and develop the right recruitment strategies to bring in the staff you need:
Invest in a Junior or Apprentice
- Juniors and apprentices (of any age) can make excellent team members, particularly since they are usually enthusiastic and eager to learn
- One of the best benefits about hiring a junior (other than the lower cost) is that you can train them up on your company’s specific pest processes and techniques and “groom” themto be the type of employee you want
- As they grow and learn, juniors and apprentices can become excellent advocates for your company and can develop the knowledge and skills to transition easily into management positions later on
Advertise Widely
- If you’re asking around about staff but wondering why great candidates aren’t showing up on your doorstep, perhaps you need to advertise more widely
- Online job sites, local newspapers, relevant publications, trade shows and even conferences can be great places to start; the wider you cast your net, the more you’ll increase your chances of finding someone suitable
- If you’re looking for juniors, placing a job ad on TAFE noticeboards or similar places (whether online or offline) may also be a good idea
- Recruitment agencies can also be beneficial if you’re stuck for staff. Agents can handle much of the advertising and interviewing legwork and can send you candidates for consideration, making the recruitment process much easier and faster
- While fees will obviously be involved, the costs you’ll pay can end up being significantly less than the time and money (and frustration!) it costs you to carry out the recruitment yourself
- If you’ve got a recruitment agent handling your staffing needs, it also means you can focus solely on running your business and keeping your customers happy
Training & Development
- One of the best ways you can get around your staffing issue is to provide potential candidates and/or current employees with opportunities for training and development
- If you’ve found someone who could be a good fit but who simply doesn’t have the right qualifications, consider training them up to the level that you need
- While not all companies will be able to offer this, it can be a beneficial, long-term option if you’re not coming across many qualified or super-experienced applicants in the marketplace
Newbie Wages
- It’s not uncommon for new candidates on the scene to expect more money than what they are worth, but there can be ways around this
- If you find a great candidate who simply wants more cash, consider offering them a ‘tiered’ package. This means they’ll start on a lower wage and after they’ve proved their worth (e.g. after 6 months’ probation), they can move up to a higher wage, and so on
- This can be a great way to attract new talent, ensure you can afford to hire the them now and provide them with the incentive to perform well on the job and grow with the company
At Agserv, we’re committed to helping you run the best pest control business possible. For more advice on pest operations or our competitive product range, visit: www.agserv.com.au
