It cannot be stressed enough that highly trained, knowledgeable technicians are vital to the successful running of a pest control company. They are our foot soldiers – the experts in the field, the ones that lay the traps and fill the holes to stop the pests returning. A pest control company is only as good as the talent it can put into the field.

But it is also only as good as the administration staff that keep the business running!

A good company operates as a team. I’ve written elsewhere about why teambuilding matters, but it is important to remember that each cog within the machinery of a business is vital for it to operate successfully.

Why admin teams matter

In pest control, one area that often gets overlooked is administration. This has always seemed to me to be rather silly. They are our gatekeepers – our first, and sometimes last, point of contact with a client. They are our organisers, our co-ordinators, our backbone. Without an efficient admin staff, we wouldn’t know where to go, who to see, and we wouldn’t necessarily know if we’d been paid.

For any business to grow, there must be someone doing the paperwork. Keeping on top of this is just as important as ensuring the pests are stopped. Admin and frontline staff need to create a symbiotic relationship to build a successful company.

Enter Linda Katamba and Dele Ogunyemi. They have been with us since the day we started LNPS. During that time, we’ve undergone many changes, not least a 100% increase in turnover in five years. Because they work so brilliantly, we’ve been able double our turnover and nearly double our field staff without doubling our admin team.

They have always shown themselves to be team players, able to adapt to the requirements of the business. This was clearly demonstrated when we took the strategic decision to close our central office. Instead of taking advantage of the reduction in travel time, they both voluntarily increased their working hours to help the business.

Their dedication comes through in their work. More often than not, customers will use the word ‘professional’ when commenting to technicians about the admin staff. In fact, it has been remarked on more than one occasion that customers are surprised there are only two of them.

Professionalism matters because Linda and Dele are people who answer the phone. A client will talk to them before anyone else. If they are slow, or rude, the client will get a negative impression of the company. That then means the client is half expecting poor service when the technician arrives, making their job potentially more difficult.

The client wants to feel they are dealing with professionals from the start. We have therefore sent both Linda and Dele on a pest awareness course run by the British Pest Control Association (BPCA). This, combined with the knowledge gained over years of working with technicians, means they are very knowledgeable about the subject. This helps to give a good impression to clients, and it helps to improve efficiencies in the company. Clients speak to Linda and Dele and they know we have understood the problem, making them confident that we will be able resolve their pest issues.

Recognition

Why am I writing about this? Well, it’s because we’ve recently heard that Linda and Dele are shortlisted in the Spotlight category at this year’s BPCA Members Awards.

We entered them because I truly believe admin is often an overlooked aspect of the industry. If you think of a pest control as a human body, the managing director is the head and the field staff the limbs, but admin is very clearly the heart and soul. Linda and Dele have been our heart and soul for five years and I would like to see that recognised by the industry.

The award winners are going to be announced at the BPCA’s AGM on 8^th April 2022. At LNPS, we’ve all got our fingers crossed that for once the background staff won’t be kept in the background and can emerge into the spotlight.

LNPS provides high-quality, efficient and affordable pest control services to private and commercial customers in London, Essex, Kent and the South-east of England. If you have a pest problem, call 020 84304133 today and speak to Linda or Dele to find out how we can help you.