2012 PCOC LEG DAY...MONTH...YEAR

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Every year most trade associations in Sacramento have a "legislative day" where members converge on the Capitol and visit legislators' offices. This rite of spring (it actually does occur at this time of year because of the legislative calendar) is often taken for granted. This year it is even more important than usual: a new administration and more than 40 new legislators. This function of YOUR trade association is vitally important for the ongoing protection of our industry. In fact you could argue that affecting the legislative process is THE most important thing we do! The power of the pest control industry is in the VOICE of individuals working together. This activity rises up from the local level and from the district level that state senators and assemblypersons represent.

That is why the act of making appointments with your local legislators and inviting them to our legislative reception is so essential. The more members we have coming to Leg Day, the more effective PCOC can be. It is of great concern to me that, over the last couple of years, the number of attendees has slowly been dropping. This, at a time when the number of legislative threats against the pest control industry is starting to increase.

It is true that our grassroots lobbying on our elected officials should not be confined to just one day. In fact, we are in the process of developing an "adopt-a-legislator" program where legislators can spend a day with a Pest Control Professional in their district and learn why the public needs to hire a professional. Legislators will, in this way, learn about our responsible, professional and regulated industry.

That being said, I have observed over the years the importance that legislators place on seeing the commitment of their constituents when they take the time to come to Sacramento. Please consider making the extra effort this year to attend our PCOC Leg Day on April 25th. Your participation will help educate all the new legislators who have arrived in Sacramento!

WELCOME JOSH ADAMS

PCOC'S NEW DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP & TECHNICAL SERVICES

We have a new Director of Membership and Technical Services: Joshua L. Adams. Josh was selected after an extensive search process and after a series of interviews involving members of the Executive Committee. Josh has been a pest and termite technician for Clark Pest Control since September 2005. His position also included sales experience. Before that he was a customer care representative for a construction company. He also had a Contractors' License while he put himself through college. Josh has a BA from Sacramento State University.

Josh is hugely enthusiastic about working for PCOC...second only to the fact that he is getting married on May 19! Please welcome Josh when you see him at our March Board of Directors meeting.

Often I hear from business owners the following: "I don't have any promotable people." "I have no one interested in moving into supervision or sales or management." "All my route people want to stay where they are."

This is usually one of the reasons that their company remains dormant or is regressing.

The problem is that you are hiring ONLY route people. You are not hiring for the FUTURE.

In all of the offices I ran or owned, we hired people who wanted to evolve into sales, supervision and management and expected them to learn the business for one to two years on the route.

Then, it becomes management's responsibility to train and help the employees progress into new positions that pay more. Everyone grows and profits that way.

Simple to say – not easy to accomplish.

However, it is my belief that people want to grow and profit along with the company. When you hire people who want to grow and profit WITH YOU, half of the battle is already won.

At the convention coming up in June, I plan to discuss this a little more in detail (so now you HAVE to attend).

I recall interviewing several employees in a company a few years ago and one of the route men was a guy named Darren. He was a very good tech and had worked for the company for four years. He was married, had two children and really liked the job. He asked me, "Where can I go in this company?" I asked him where he wanted to go. He explained that Robbie was the supervisor and had been there a few years and wasn't planning to go anywhere and Shawn owned the company and wasn't going anywhere. Since they had no sales department, where was his future? Good question.

You see, Darren was a very good employee who was thinking about his growth and his future income and career and if he didn't see any changes, he would have to leave, even though he didn't want to.

It worked out for Darren, as he was promoted to Service Manager and the Service Manager moved to managing the office for the owner. However, if you don't have a growth path for good employees, you will lose them. We will talk more about this on June 22nd.

Pest Control Operators of California
www.pcoc.org

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