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July 2019
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Chief Executive Officer's Notes
Upcoming Events
September Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, September 12: Golf Tournament (Information to follow) _______________________________________________________________________________________
Pest Ed Series October 24, 2019 - Hyatt Regency Long Beach November 12, 2019 - Crowne Plaza Concord Walnut Creek January 14, 2020 - Citrus Heights Community Center
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December Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, December 12: Golf Tournament (Information to follow) 
Affiliate Corner
Chaz Estrada, with Univar Solutions, is a 29 year old family man from Rancho Cucamonga, CA. His wife of 5 years, Jade, and 2 ½ year old daughter, Charlee, drive him towards success on a daily basis.
Chaz Estrada
PCOC Monthly Insurance/Safety Tip
Your workers’ compensation policy might include a provision that allows your insurer to conduct a workers’ compensation premium audit. The results of the audit will affect your premiums, so it benefits you to be prepared! Your workers’ compensation premiums depend on two factors: your payroll and your classifications. Insurers assign a classification code to the employer based on industry. Your employees will also have occupational codes. These codes reflect the relative risks of the industry and the job. For example, in a relatively high-hazard industry like heavy construction, most employees will have high-hazard jobs; their occupational code would reflect that risk. But the bookkeeper and other office staff would have a lower risk of injury, so they would have different job codes. Unless you’re a smaller employer with a “minimum premium” policy, your workers’ compensation policy likely includes a provision that allows your insurer to conduct a workers’ compensation audit. That’s because your premiums are based on an estimate of your payroll and employees’ job classifications. At the end of the policy period, an audit will determine the insurer’s actual risk exposure based on exact payroll and classifications. This “audited exposure” determines whether you owe additional premium or whether the insurer owes you a refund. Insurers may conduct an audit shortly after a policy starts to ensure the accuracy of their premium estimate. More commonly, they will conduct an audit at the end of the policy term. You might get audited annually or less frequently. If your policy has a three-year “lookback,” for example, the insurer reserves the right to audit premiums for the past three years. When it does, it can collect premiums owed for that time, but it will also refund you any overpayments you might have made. Audits have another important function. The information on your organization’s payroll, classifications and loss experience will be pooled with data from other employers. These statistics help insurers more accurately predict their risk and rate their policies. What Does an Insurer Look for in an Audit? The insurer will look for three types of information:
You might also need information on subcontractors’ employees, including occupational class and payroll. In some industries, particularly construction, a sub’s employees might not have adequate coverage, leaving the employer liable for claims. To avoid this, obtain certificates of insurance from your subcontractors, showing that they had workers’ compensation coverage on their employees during the time they worked for you. To perform the audit, the insurer might simply send you a form to complete. If you get a paper-based (or web-based) audit request, respond as quickly and completely as possible. Sometimes an insurer will want to do a physical audit, in which the auditor visits the employer’s location. If there are questions on your audit, or if you think the insurer has misclassified some of your employees, you might request a physical audit. We can hep you prepare for a workers' compensation audit. For more information, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program professionals of EPIC at (877) 860-7378 or, email us @ ProPest@epicbrokers.com. Also, check out our website: www.pcocinsurance.com. Paul Lindsay
District News
JulySAN GABRIEL DISTRICT SANTA CLARA VALLEY DISTRICT – July 17 @ 6:30 p.m. VENTURA DISTRICT – July 17 @ 7:00 p.m. CENTRAL COAST DISTRICT – July 18 @ 6:30 p.m. LA/SOUTHBAY DISTRICT – July 20 @ 6:30 p.m. DIABLO VALLEY DISTRICT – July 23 @ 6:30 p.m. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY DISTRICT
AugustVINTAGE COASTAL DISTRICT SAN BERNARDINO/RIVERSIDE DISTRICT CENTRAL VALLEY DISTRICT – August 8 @ 4:30 p.m. SOUTHERN VALLEY DISTRICT - August 8 @ 6:30 p.m. SHASTA DISTRICT - August 13 @ 12:00 p.m. SAN DIEGO DISTRICT - August 13 @ 5:30 p.m. BIG VALLEY DISTRICT - August 21 @ 7:00 a.m. New Members
Frequently Requested Information
Frequently Asked-For WebsitesDepartment of Fish & Game Department of Food & Agriculture California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) DPR on Facebook DPR on YouTube (see "playlists" for videos pertaining to new surface water regulations) DPR on Twitter DPR LinkedIn Healthy Schools Act Structural Pest Control Board Find Your Legislator NPMA's QualityPro Accrediation Application One Thing in Web Marketing
While someone may have spent hundreds of dollars on pesticides and traps, that doesn’t make them a pest care professional. The same can be said for businesses on a larger scale. Having premium tools means nothing if you aren’t using the tools effectively. This is often the case with how pest control companies choose to use their Social Media. Social Media is an indispensable marketing tool that happens to touch on most aspects of our daily lives. Some people wake up and make Social Media the first thing they look at. Others use Social Media to find local pest management businesses around them that can provide them with a quote or service. In order to stand out, you can’t just create a couple of pages and hope for the best – you have to craft a Social Media strategy that works for your business. First off, we’ll do a quick crash course on some Social Media basics.
In order to make the most out of your Social Media presence, it’s important to answer a few questions first. “What is the function of my Social Media?“ A pest control company won’t be using Facebook the same way a pet care facility will. This is why it’s important to never take a one-size-fits-all approach to Social Media. A pest control company will likely use Facebook to field service requests in messages and respond to reviews from customers. A pet care business will probably use Facebook to keep customers engaged with photos of the staff and even cute pictures of animal guests. Both strategies are valid in their own way, as they demonstrate a knowledge of each business’s audience and needs. Answering the above question will guide you to the next one. “What will my audience want to see?” Another way to make sure you use your Social Media effectively is by considering your audience. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what they would want to see. Pest control companies often choose to share seasonal promotions and deals, which can drive calls and visitors to your Website. They can also share informational articles about bug bites, how to prevent pests from entering your home, and weather announcements that may predict a certain swarm of pests. The answer to this question may help you filter out Social Media pages that you likely don’t need to spend as much time on. Your pest management company probably doesn’t need to maintain an Instagram page if you don’t expect your audience to tune into photos of your technicians’ work. An exception is if you focus on sharing photos around the office, your technicians’ trucks, or other media that helps customers get to know your company on a more personal level. It’s best to place your focus on a select amount of profiles that make sense to you, rather than opening up as many profiles as possible and hoping for the best. “What is my end goal with Social Media?” Some people use social to find new customers, while others use it to retain them. Think about what it is you really want, and whether or not a Facebook or Twitter page will do that for you. Spending company time on Social Media is a more worthy cause when you have set goals and expectations to track. These goals will also help to shape what you’re posting and how you present your company online. Social Media is infamous for taking up way too much of people’s time. Don’t let the same be said of your business. Make sure you’re spending quality time on your company’s Social Media and carefully considering its potential. Done right, Social Media can get you new, high-quality clients that will stick around. Alain Parcan, Director of Marketing for Market Hardware, Inc., contributed this article. Alain brings nearly 10 years of experience in educating businesses so they can market themselves more effectively. Market Hardware helps small businesses compete on the Web and offers special discounts for PCOC members. You can Reach Alain’s team at 888-381-6925. |
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