Building a Lean, Green Service Technician Team

As so many business leaders look toward the coming years with a stronger emphasis on natural products and protocols, fostering a culture of environmental stewardship will be key to success. About half (49 percent) of the PMPs who responded to the 2026 State of the Naturals Market Study said their employees have expressed interest in using green products; the other half (50 percent) said they have not. Younger generations — millennials and Gen Z — tend to have higher interest levels than older employees do, but companies striving to advance on the green front need a more unified perspective.

Croach’s Michele Cruzat says that education and training fuel interest. “Service technicians may lean toward choosing a conventional product over a green product because they think green products don’t work. Education can turn those perceptions around. We have weekly meetings where we talk about safety, following labels, using the proper pesticides in any situation and avoiding the overuse of pesticides. We instill the reality that what we do today can affect us, and our children and grandchildren, years down the road.”

At these training meetings, the Croach management team shares videos and articles highlighting environmental concerns — pets or birds of prey getting into unsecured rodenticides, for example — and invites ACEs, manufacturer reps, the Washington State Department of Agriculture experts and other speakers to share their firsthand experiences and knowledge. They also emphasize the importance of earning Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits.

“We have found a huge difference in the knowledge and capabilities of technicians who simply retest each year versus those who participate in continuing education,” Cruzat explained. “Croach commits to investing in employees by paying for those CEU courses so our technicians continue to learn and grow.”

Entomologist Camille Landry of FullScope Pest Control relies on the power of training as well. “I’m very passionate about the industry, and I know that sharing that passion includes sharing the science. We’ve been called ‘excessive trainers,’ but I don’t think you can ever train too much,” she said.

Landry’s training includes weekly sessions that may focus on pest lifecycles, product applications, new products or newsworthy issues. In every case, she’s sharing the science to ensure the FullScope team understands and can communicate the facts around green products and applications, as well as conventional products and broader IPM practices.

“Our commitment to training is reflected in how we’ve improved customer satisfaction,” Landry said. “Our customers have come to expect that the technician who services their account will be forthcoming and knowledgeable. Every member of our team is educated enough to tell you what actives are in the product they’re applying and why they’re using it the way they are.”