Want to Keep Your Best Service Techs Long-Term? Create a Killer First Impression!
Keeping top talent starts with how you hire, train, and welcome new team members. Build loyalty from day one—and watch retention soar.
KickStart: Good people stay where they feel they belong. Make your new employees belong.
Let’s not sugarcoat it—hiring’s a pain.
You spend time and money posting the job, screening resumes, doing interviews, running background checks, onboarding, training… the list goes on. 🤯 And after all that, there’s still no guarantee they’ll stick around.
So here’s the deal:
If you’re putting in all that effort, why not go the extra mile to make sure your best candidates actually stay long term?
Here’s what I learned running my residential services company: the employees that stuck with me the longest? They didn’t just like the job—they “bought in emotionally” quickly.
My most loyal workers felt like they were part of something that mattered. And just like your best customers, that kind of loyalty starts with how YOU treat them.
The magic moment? Right at the start.
For illustration purposes let’s assume you’re running a residential pest control service. 🐜
How you introduce someone into your pest control company sets the tone for everything. So, let’s walk through how to turn your new hire’s first days (and weeks) into a loyalty-building experience that quickly converts them into “family”.
1. Start with YOU: Would you want to work for your company?
Here’s a gut check.
Before you worry about hiring anyone, ask yourself:
Would I want to work for me?
Would I want to stay long-term?
If your honest answers above are a resounding “NO WAY”… ask yourself “WHY”?
Be honest with yourself. If your company’s disorganized, your culture is negative, or your systems are a mess—fix that first! No good tech wants to walk into a “toxic circus”!
This honest self-examination gut-check can be painful, but it’s powerful. 🗝️ Real growth starts when you get out of your own way!
Done beating yourself up? Then ask...
2. Does my company look like a place where top talent wants to work?
Perception matters.
Top-tier people want to work for a company that looks sharp and feels professional.
Are your pest control trucks clean and wrapped?
Do your techs wear neat, consistent uniforms?
Is your pest control equipment top-notch, in good repair and with each tech furnished working PPE?
What does your website say about you?
What will a potential tech find if they Google your company?
If your online presence looks like it was made in 2007 (by a semi-literate 3rd grader), you’ve got a 2.8-star Google rating, your trucks are an embarrassment and your office looks like a tornado hit it, these things send a message. And it’s not a good one.
🗝️ Make sure your company looks AND feels like a place worth sticking with!
3. Treat hiring like marketing—it’s always on.
Think about how you treat bringing in job leads. You’re always promoting, networking, asking for referrals, right?
Recruiting and hiring is no different.
STOP waiting until someone quits to start scrambling for a replacement. Build a bench of talent. Keep an eye out. Always be asking, “Would this person be a good fit here?”
🗝️ Don’t be afraid to poach a little bit. (Actually “poaching” is such an ugly word- I prefer the term “active recruiting”!) Remember, you’re looking for the very best, not whoever’s desperate for a job!
4. Never engage in “desperation hiring.”
You’ve been there—someone quits, and now you’re down a tech and bleeding jobs. (Or you’re pulling double shifts on the truck!) So, you hire the first warm body that walks in with a valid driver's license.
Bad move.
Every career candidate should go through a routine process. You’re not just screening them—they’re screening you, too. What does this 2-way relationship mean?
🗝️ Right from the git-go, treat every candidate with respect, even if they’re obviously not the person for the job. You never know when this person may send a friend in to apply that turns out to be a super star!
Bonus: Candidates you don’t hire might still become customers or refer a neighbor that needs your services —if you treated them right.
5. Test drive before you hand over the keys.
Want to avoid painful “wrong hires”? Do a "working interview” . Here’s how it works...
Before someone quits their current job (but after they’ve aced the earlier steps in your “hiring funnel”) have them ride along for a day or two. Or bring them on part-time or work on-call to start. Either way, your goal is the same...
Once again, it is a 2-way process. 1) Let them see how you run things and 2) you get to observe them as a potential employee.
What is your career candidate’s work ethic? How do they treat fellow employees and your customers? Are they on time? Coachable? Positive? You get the idea.
🗝️ This "Trial Hire” isn’t just for your sake—it gives your candidate a chance to see what it’s like working with your team. A “test drive” (before they quit their current job) beats regret any day.
Bonus: Remember that being a pest control tech is hardly viewed as a “high prestige” job by most people. (Including the classmates of your new tech’s kids!) So, any way you can increase your tech’s self-esteem is a great strategy!)
6. Get the family on your side.
Once you’ve made the hire official (it isn’t legal to bring up personal relationships before hiring) ask about their family:
“Got kids? A partner? Pets? Hobbies?”
If they do have a family, invite them all out to lunch. Let the spouse and kids meet your team, see the shop, and understand what Dad (or Mom) will be doing all day.
🗝️ You’re not just winning over the employee—you’re building a trusting relationship with their "their team”, their family!
Remember, when work gets tough (and it always does), this early family buy-in may be the thing that keeps them from quitting under the pressure.
7. Make Day One feel like a big deal.
You only get one “first day”. Don’t blow it.
When your new hire shows up, there should be:
A BIG “Welcome Aboard” sign hanging in the crew area.
Donuts and coffee for all the employees.
A round of team introductions and warm, hearty handshakes all around.
Warm chit-chat from people who are actually excited to see them.
This “Welcome Aboard” party doesn’t need to take more than 15 minutes. But it sets the tone. It shows your team cares—and that this isn’t just a revolving door gig. Instead, your new tech is being adopted into a caring family.
8. Pair them with a mentor. Then give them a clear path forward.
Here’s where most companies drop the ball: training and mentoring.
Don’t just throw your new hire in a truck with a grumpy, sour crew chief and hope for the best. Assign them a mentor—someone solid who knows the ropes, has a good attitude, and wants to help your new hire. Then give them a daily Fast Track Training Plan:
What they’ll learn
When they’ll learn it
How you’ll know they’re ready to solo
🗝️ When people feel like they’re set up to succeed, they perform better, faster—and stick around longer.
Bottom Line:
If you want top-performing techs who stay, you’ve got to make them feel like they matter—not just as workers, but as people. That starts with the way you bring them in.
Hiring isn’t just filling a seat. It’s building a team. Do it right, and you’ll create loyal employees who show up, work hard, and rep your brand like it’s their own.
Need help building your Fast Track Training system or dialing in your hiring process? Look into our many Home Front Success training resources!
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