Pest Control Leaders Share Insights on Hiring, Retaining Women Employees

AUSTIN, Texas - Another women-led panel took place last Tuesday at the Women's Forum in Austin, Texas, centered around hiring and retaining women employees with Marci LaRouech, Seay Management Consultants; Dawn Hammond, chief human resource officer, Certus Pest; Karen Murphy, VP of global sales, Ecolab; and Alex Taylor, director of team member engagement, Rottler Pest Solutions.

Hammond said her company tries to break the public’s stigma on women working in the pest control industry, the company showcases their female talent not only on internal communications, but to Certus’ customers as well.

“We’ve found the most success was advertising to the public and using photos of our women being successful in other areas of their life like doing a strong women’s challenge or running a marathon,” Hammond said.

The company also has a team member referral program that has drawn in a significant number of women team members. Twenty-six percent of the company’s Washington market are females, she said.

Taylor said Rottler Pest Solutions’ biggest barrier in hiring women is just “reaching them in general.” To combat this, the company has used more specific keywords and identifying metrics on job postings to reach more women.

“Pest control isn’t sexy, but throw being a female into the mix, then people really believe it’s a men’s job,” she said. “You have to be descriptive with the keywords in job descriptions on platforms like Indeed, where women might be looking for a job that could translate well into pest control.

LaRouech said it's important to have safety protocols in place in your organization some women employees feel safe, whether it's working in an office setting or out in the field.

“We need to have zero tolerance for harassment in the workplace," she said. "You can have your best employee and if they treat someone inappropriately or harass a women, then it’s not good."

PCT will be providing more coverage from the Women’s Forum, including tips on improving attention management throughout the week