Web Extra: Mentors are important, Anderson says

Photo: Glynnis Anderson

As profiled in our December issue, Glynnis Anderson’s knowledge and hard work has made a huge impact on Home Pest Control, which offers general pest, mosquito, bed bug and termite management, as well as repair work.

Anderson is an advocate for the technology that makes her company more efficient, productive and profitable. She led the way when vehicle tracking, routing software and handheld devices became available, and is responsible for maintaining all of the company’s laptops, tablets, scanners and servers. She also favors a paperless office, and has had all customer files scanned and put on a cloud server to better provide customers with detailed reporting and faster response time.

“We have come a long way from schedule books, customer index cards and handwritten chemical records,” Anderson says. “Now this information is available to us in real-time.”

Anderson notes that she was fortunate to find a mentor early in her career. Amy Chapman, a senior sales representative with Dow AgroSciences, is another woman in the pest management industry who Anderson believes understands the challenges and rewards of the job.

“She inspires and motivates me,” Anderson says. “I try to pass that enthusiasm on to my staff in return.”

Anderson’s advice to other women (and men) considering a career is to “learn as much as they can about every aspect of the industry.  The best part about the pest industry is that we are working hard to keep families and communities safe from the health impacts insects can have on our life — asthma, Zika, property damage from termites — the list goes on and on.  From customer service to field work, education is key to help give you a career that is both rewarding and meaningful. Many times, the stereotypes of ‘ewww bugs’ makes very qualified candidates not even consider a career in our industry.

“Women also relate well to other women, and a role in sales is a natural fit,” she adds. “We understand how important it is to keep our home, children and pets safe and can explain those options very well.  Women are also more comfortable allowing another woman in to their homes.”

Anderson notes that it’s “amazing” to see the increase of women in the industry each year.

“Just look at the top of the industry,” she adds. “We have former  NPMA female presidents, as well as women running large pest management firms in the U.S. Emily Thomas Kendrick of Arrow Exterminators has busted the glass ceiling for all of us.  Go in to many organizations, and you’ll see many women in roles outside of the traditional office professional role; they are managers, leaders, salespeople and trainers. You also see more and more women in active roles in the state associations, such as Dana McDuffie of the North Carolina Pest Management Association. The sky’s the limit.”