NPMA QualityPro program addresses top industry challenges

Allison Taisey, BCE, manages the National Pest Management Association’s QualityPro certification program.

Allie Taisey
Photo: NPMA

QualityPro, a certification designed specifically for pest management companies in the United States and Canada, is administered by the Foundation for Professional Pest Management. The certification was developed in 2004 by National Pest Management Association (NPMA) to create a higher bar for pest management professionals (PMPs) to reach through standards for good business practices and standards.

“There are business opportunities available exclusively to certified companies,” says Allison Taisey, BCE, who has been QualityPro’s certification program manager since November 2014. “It’s a national credential a small company can earn to prove they’re as professional as the national firms. Procurement professionals are looking for ways to identify the best companies and services, and they are finding that QualityPro certification really is the mark of excellence in pest management.”

Taisey asserts that fewer than 3 percent of pest management companies in the United States are QualityPro certified, but that 81 percent of the revenues generated in the pest management industry can be attributed to certified companies.

“Once a company earns certification, they receive a marketing plan and resources that can be used to promote their certification status to current and prospective clients and employees,” she says, adding that these resources include an endorsement letter to be included with proposals, a workplace poster to foster employee pride, electronic logo files and, perhaps most importantly, the opportunity to create a custom “Featured Company” page on NPMAQualityPro.org.

The benefits of certification extend beyond being a feather of professionalism in a PMP’s cap, Taisey says. For example, QualityPro offers several free online courses on training employees and gives access to sample hiring forms and interview questions.

“Finding, hiring, training and retaining great employees is the No. 1 challenge I hear about from NPMA members,” she concludes. “And the majority of QualityPro standards are directly related to these types of human resources (HR) fundamentals.”

Senior Editor Will Nepper can be reached at wnepper@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3775.