Pest Management Professional, January 2011
Training and Expectations Another area of concern is training For many pest management companies there is no formal training schedule Theres not even a checklist to make sure an employee has learned all of the responsibilities required of his or her position Now thats scary Add to this an overwhelming lack of a job description Wouldnt it be nice if you had a job description that lists all of the items for which this new person is responsible A job description not only informs that individual it informs other employees tasks for which they are responsible You eliminate the I didnt know excuse It can even double as your training checklist Thats easy enough but take the next more difficult step of developing an employee job handbook one that explains how to do all of those things listed in the job descriptions You might be surprised about how few companies have handbooks But think about the uniformity you get Everyone knows what they are responsible for and knows the proper method for getting it done This helps cut back on training as well as turnover costs Lower Turnover Better Morale When I visit a company to evaluate the situation one of the first things I do is interview as many employees as I can during the first day or two Too many new employees offer me a variation on one of these themes They dont know what theyre doing here I get told by one person to do it this way and another person tells me to do it another way If this continues I will probably be gone Can you blame them for being confused and disgruntled As a result talented intelligent workers seek employment with a company that offers more stability and support and those who dont really care about you or your company simply put in their hours To them its just a job and a paycheck We lose the ones looking for a career Yes the cost of bringing in a new employee is expensive but if we dont do our share of preparation that cost will never come down pmp You can reach Smigel a 35 year industry veteran at terrycare@ att net mypmp net Pest Management Professional January 2011 43
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