PMP Growth Summit sparks ideas

PHOTO: LOU FERRARO, PARK SOUTH PHOTOGRAPHY

At the third annual Pest Management Professional (PMP) Growth Summit in March, I once again witnessed pest management professionals (PMPs) and leading industry suppliers interact one-on-one, gleaning new solutions, ideas and methods to incorporate in their businesses as soon as they returned from the three-day event.

For example, Kyle Varona, general manager of Fahey Pest & Lawn Solutions in Sarasota, Fla., casually mentioned during one of the employee retention roundtables that, fed up with getting online job website “hits” from users just applying to every listing without bothering to see whether they were qualified, put in five required questions before applicants could fire off resumes: They must have a clean driving record, a clean background check, and write statements as to why they want to work at Fahey and what customer service means to them, and then list what they think are their three best traits. This has led to many more quality applicants, he said, while his colleagues said in unison: “I’m stealing that idea for my company!”

We will share additional great pest control trends and tips from pros and PMP Growth Summit partners in a new editorial department we’ll debut in our May issue. In the meantime, check out all our 2019 PMP Growth Summit coverage, and apply to be a 2020 attendee through our online form at PMPGrowthSummit.net.