The relationship between a pest management services provider and their client is a critical one. Both parties need to be active contributors and engaged in the process for desired results to be delivered.
Pest Management Professional’s Role:
The pest management professional’s role is typically quite clear – prevent and/or eliminate pests from entering a property and threatening the products and people within. They are also there to help the facility maintain an audit ready status, deliver training and provide the facility with expert consultation on all pest related matters.
The Client:
The client – typically a QA, facility or property manager – has a diverse role. They need to ensure every aspect related to quality meet with the necessary requirements (legal, customer/resident, internal/external audit standards). They are also charged with continuous maintenance and improvement of quality, record keeping, reporting, problem hunting and solving, and, ultimately, making sure a safe, high quality product or living or workspace is created. That’s a full plate.
QA and facility/property managers must also be an advocate for the pest management professional with the facility’s upper management, procurement and production staff. It’s their job to rally the troops in support of what the pest professional is doing and make sure the resources – both financial and human – are available and doing their part.
The Balancing Act of Pest Management Services:
Today, pest management services are purchased more frequently by a company’s corporate procurement department. Someone that may not be physically in the building and could be responsible for sourcing services for multiple locations from corporate HQ.
It’s vital that the client contact explain exactly what their property needs and what standards must be met when it comes to pest management. If procurement doesn’t take the time to identify the specific pest management needs of the property, is overly prescriptive with requirements or requests services that don’t contribute to the overall success of your pest management program, your property will be the one to suffer.
Pest management services in commercial properties are not an “off the shelf” purchase – there isn’t a one size fits all. Every property presents its own unique set of unique challenges and requirements. As a result, every pest management program needs to be customized to the account’s needs and the information to make that happen comes from the client.
Taking Full Advantage of Your Pest Management Services Offered:
Pest management professionals can be an additional set of eyes and ears in a commercial property. They are available to review sanitation, maintenance and production protocols to identify weak links that could lead to pest conducive conditions. They can review audit practices to see where improvement is needed to stay compliant. And they can perform risk assessments to tell you where you are most vulnerable to pests and other hazards that could compromise the safety of your employees, vendors, products, residents and customers.
Taking advantage of all that your pest management partner can bring to the table is also the responsibility of the client. A pest professional needs to demonstrate added value to QA and facility/property managers – it is not just about paying someone to check rodent and insect monitoring devices and providing a follow up report.
Technology in the form of electronic monitoring devices for rodents and insects, spatial mapping and software applications are valuable tools pest management professionals bring to the table.
Today, pest professionals digitally gather and disseminate pest trend data to explain why the pest problem exists and what solutions will take care of the problem. QA and facility/property managers need to demand their pest services partner deploy the latest technology on their behalf.
Establishing a relationship with your service technicians and knowing exactly what they do and what your program covers is also important for QA and facility/property managers. Many times, expectations are not met on both sides because no one is sure what a program does and does not cover. Knowing this will prevent the hassle and wasted time of going over something that should have been done in the first place.
Don’t be hesitant to educate your pest management partner about your business. What is important to you and how it fits into the bigger picture. The more they know about your operation the better they will serve your business’ objectives.
If your business is looking for a pest management partner that goes the extra mile to design and deliver comprehensive IPM-based pest management programs, call Rottler Pest Solutions at 636-249-1601 for a free quote, consultation or training for your staff.
