Standard operating procedures provide structure for success

How many of you use standard operating procedures (SOPs)?

Go ahead, keep your hands up nice and high. Hmm, there’s not too many of you. How many of you have your SOPs in writing and use them on a daily basis? How many of you know how to create procedures and protocols?

This is a huge problem in our industry. Whenever I first interview a new pest control client about their SOPs strategy, it’s rare that they actually have something in writing. But SOPs are not just some random business jargon; they are essential to running a business.

SOPs can help your employees feel more confident in decision-making, create consistency throughout your company and protect your business from mishaps. SOPs set expectations for your customers and keep your techs organized at each job.

They’re more than just for explaining how to perform a carpenter ant job — they can guide your employees on pricing, safety training, answering phones properly, commercial sales processes, hosting training meetings, ladder safety, customer service responses and more. They also can be the place to keep the most current company organizational chart, so everyone knows who each employee reports to and what the chain of command should be.

No easy task

Like many pest management professionals (PMPs), though, Daniel Nabors admits SOPs are his least-favorite part of the job.

“Sitting down and writing them is tough, even though I see the benefit,” says Nabors, president of Quality Pest Control in Lufkin, Texas. He adds that his frustration with creating SOPs is that every job can be different; not every situation is the same. “We get hyper-focused on what we are going to do without taking into consideration the variables at each home,” he says.

For a long time, these variables prevented him from formalizing his rules for each job. In February, however, I started pushing Nabors to at least create procedures for job safety, ladder maintenance and various pest jobs.

After several months of my preaching SOPs to him, Nabors is now cranking out methods and best practices for all sorts of tasks at Quality Pest Control. He says today his team is diving headfirst into SOPS. “I wish we had done it five years ago because my life would be a lot simpler.”

Continuing the climb

Founded in 2009, Quality Pest Control is a rural company situated two hours north of Houston and an hour west of the Louisiana border. Nabors and his team hit $933,153 last year and are on track to clip $1.2 million this year. He currently has eight employees, including five full-time technicians. They are growing at a rate now where they consistently approach $100,000 each month, including June ($108,000), April ($96,000) and March ($109,000).

A pastor’s kid from Louisiana, Nabors got into pest control after finding a “help wanted” ad in the classifieds in 2003. He started working for Terminix as an outside sales representative, selling more than $20,000 per month. He also married his sweetheart, Brandy, that year, which he believes might have been his best sales pitch.

Nabors enjoyed the work and even showed up to the jobs he sold to lend a hand. This education proved valuable, as he learned many facets of the industry.

When Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005, the massive storm surge caused widespread flooding, nearly 1,400 deaths and billions of dollars in damage. The compassionate part of Nabors saw the need to help out. The businessman in him saw an opportunity to make a lot of money.

Nabors did hurricane cleanup work for a few months before changing gears again and becoming a postman in 2007. In 2009, he decided to return to pest control as a side gig to his postal duties. In 2013, he was able to purchase a small competitor and decided to focus on Quality Pest Control full-time.

Working with Nabors this year has been great. In addition to creating SOPs, we’ve also worked on developing more effective meetings for his team, which includes adhering to written agendas, using training modules and placing more emphasis on core values.

“We have a lot more communication now,” he reports. “People are more open and honest in our meetings, too, which is helping our culture.”

If I order a burrito in Denver, Colo., from Chipotle, it had better be the same as what I would get in Orlando, Fla. SOPs are what can keep you and your employees consistent, keep your customers informed and will help ensure everyone rows the boat in the same direction. Without protocols, there is too much risk of chaos, anger, frustration, canceled clients and unhappy workers.

Schopen is founder of Schopen Pest Solutions and RV There Yet Pest Consulting, Bartlesville, Okla. You can email him at rvthereyetpest@gmail.com.