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.

---

 

2012 PCOC FUMIGATION BANNER BONANZA 

Contest runs from March 1-May 31, 2012.

Click here for the banner contest rules.

---

 

IN MEMORIAM

Robert Dustin of Dustin Pest Control passed away on Dec. 29, 2011.

 

The 2011-2012 legislative session has begun. To view PCOC's legislative agenda, click HERE.

 

2012

May 2-4

Bed Bug Forum
Crown Plaza Resort
Anaheim, CA
Exhibitor Registration

Attendee Registration

 

May 9

Big Valley Golf Tournament

Woodcreek Golf Club 
Roseville, CA
Flyer  Registration

 

June 1-2

 

District on the Move is a new feature designed to recognize districts for positive action(s) within PCOC. This new feature will also allow districts to share best practices and accomplishments moving forward. The Membership Committee will elect one district at each Board of Directors meeting and we will feature the elected district as the District on the Move.

It is my pleasure to announce San Diego District as the first District on the Move.

San Diego District has become one of our largest districts over the past few years. The district's success derives from multiple sources. San Diego has implemented several areas of recognition for their membership and business partners. They frequently make adjustments to their meeting format in an attempt to keep meetings fresh. The adjustments are minor, such as when the members eat and providing special raffles, yet have a substantial effect on the overall meeting and attendance. S.D. has instituted a person who greets all attendees, provides meeting direction and makes them aware of their food accommodations. Directors are asked to sit at separate tables in order to make contact with all attendees. As the meeting begins, special recognition of new members or attendees will take place. As new members join, the district will recognize their membership in the new business portion of their meeting with a SDPCOC certificate. Additionally, the S.D. District has also developed a website (SDPCOC.com) and recognizes a new member by posting his/her photo on their site under "membership directory." Another facet to S.D's success is obtaining and promoting great speakers. It is crucial to think outside of the box when it comes to speakers. Recently S.D. had a speaker that discussed identity theft and how to prevent it. The subject was relevant and something that everyone can relate to which yielded great attendance.

SDPCOC has developed several events outside of their regular meetings. As the economy declined this district moved away from golf tournaments and began fundraising via Padre tailgates and bowling nights. In addition, the SDPCOC will donate any extra tickets to these events to The Polinsky Center or military persons. Every Christmas SDPCOC has a gift drive for The Polinsky Center.

I would like to commend Rick Arendt and the San Diego District for their contributions to our industry and organization. Congratulations to San Diego for being the first District on the Move.

Mike McKenzie

Membership Committee Chair

 

 

Claims adjusting is getting more complicated. Although workplace fatalities are becoming rarer, cumulative or repeated injuries are becoming more common. These types of claims take expertise to adjust.

As an example, consider a 55-year-old auto mechanic who has had knee problems for 20 years. He's had several surgeries on his right knee, but none of them cured his problem. Over the years, he over-compensated for his bad knee, causing injury to his good knee. He may need more surgery, or he may need a disability settlement, including an open medical treatment plan. Those factors alone require the skills of an experienced claims adjuster.

Now, consider that the man worked for several different employers over the last 20 years, each with a different workers' comp carrier. The current adjuster needs to work back through the files to identify each carrier and then begin an involved process that leads to apportionment of the claim, however it is settled.

For the auto mechanic, one of the key factors in this claim is his age. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees over 55 years old are significantly less likely to be injured than employees 20 to 24 years old. However, once injured, older workers are more likely to have poor surgical outcomes and need more time to recover. A good claims adjuster recognizes the complications surrounding age and factors them into the overall plan.

A complex claim needs a top-notch adjuster with a broad set of skills:

PLANNING: An adjuster needs to develop an action plan that includes investigation and research, return-to-work options, monitoring of medical and pharmacy utilization and settlement options. The investigation should explore the possibility of pre-existing conditions and verify the injury occurred in the workplace.

UTILIZATION: With medical costs skyrocketing, it is crucial for an adjuster to be part of the team that analyses utilization of medical treatments and drugs. The adjuster needs to understand the interlocking relationship among treatments, drugs and early-return-to-work to find the best balance of effectiveness and cost, while addressing the employee's desire to get well.

APPORTIONMENT: A good adjuster recognizes opportunities for recovery of claims paid and for apportionment of current claims filed with other workers' comp carriers.

COMMUNICATIONS: An adjuster needs to maintain excellent communications among the injured worker, the employer and the treating physician. An adjuster should have only a reasonable number of files to handle so that he or she can return phone calls and emails promptly and encourage everyone to work proactively on the treatment plan.

LOSS CONTROL: A skilled adjuster can help employers recognize claim trends and recommend loss control measures.

What Employers Need to Ask

Continuity is extremely important. When an adjuster moves to another company or assignment mid-claim, your claim could fall through the cracks, resulting in delayed treatment, a disgruntled employee and increased costs. When an adjuster is assigned to one of your cases, it is appropriate to ask about the adjuster's:

· Length of time with the company

· Number of years as a workers' comp adjuster

· Number of new claims assigned to him/her each month

· Number of open claims files

· Types of claims

· Use of electronic versus paper files.

For more information, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program department at Jenkins Insurance Services at (877) 860-7378.

 

NAME COMPANY DISRICT	MEMBER TYPE	REFERRED BY
Mr. Andrej Branc	A	pest ed 2012
AB Bait Co.
XOS
Colleen Yee	A
Bird Barrier/Pest Barrier
LA/SOBAY
Mr. Edgar Conchas	R
Lonestar Termite & Pest Control
ORANGE
Mr. Sal Guerra	Z
Networkfleet
ORANGE
Mr. Brian T. Tompkins	R	Don Wilkes/Cross Fire LA
360 Degree Solutions Integrated Pest Mgmt
LA/SOBAY

 

TEMPORARY NPMA LOGIN FOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP

LOGIN: 313501

PASSWORD: PCOC

---

PCOC website password for 2011-2012 effective July 1, 2011:"npma"

---

Department of Fish & Game
www.dfg.ca.gov

Department of Food & Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov

Department of Pesticide Regulation
www.cdpr.ca.gov

Find Your Legislator
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Healthy Schools Act
www.schoolipm.info

Structural Pest Control Board
www.pestboard.ca.gov

 

For an additional charge, you may access a 24-hour hotline providing consultation by qualified medical doctors on pesticide-related medical emergencies. This service is provided free of charge to Peacock Group insureds.

---