GorillaNotes: Delta

CSR – TAMMY DAOUST

1. Cost of Living: Will Orkin review and increase the wages to reflect the current cost of living per area? The cost-of-living question has come up many times over the years. Our increases are based on merit/performance, and we will continue to operate under this format. HR routinely benchmarks positions to ensure we remain competitive and in compliance with Ministry standards. Compensation is in accordance with market standards that are reviewed every two years. This data is gathered from an organization that specializes in salary data.

2. Due to the cost increase of Gas, will there be an increase per KM in 2024? The current mileage payout is $0.68 per kilometer which was raised in January 2023– previous amount was $0.62 per kilometer. This is in line with Revenue Canada

3. Email protocol - Do we have an email protocol? If yes, a reminder should be sent out as a reminder to be mindful of others. Recently, good morning email messages were sent and everyone across Canada was replying to everyone. It was asked politely to remove the names, and then continued to reply. We will send out a reminder to the company on proper email protocols to avoid situations such as “reply all”. When announcements are sent to the mass, we need to utilize the BCC function so that this does not happen.

4. Training: Need training on how to deal/speak with each other internally. We are mystery shopped to ensure our customers are getting the BEST experience possible. We need to ensure that our internal experience should be the same. We serve our customers, but we also serve each other. Just noticing that there are a few Orkin family members that could benefit from this type of screening than training. Yes, we must remember that everyone we deal with internally is a customer and treat them as we would if they were our external customers. In order to continually improve ourselves, training has been provided to the Home Office on proper customer etiquette, teamwork, breaking down silos and will continue. This training will be rolled out in 2024 to the CSR/CSA/ISS employee base.

5. Increases to compensate for the Added duties to the CSR/CSA role. Each year (or month it feels like) we have new tasks added to our roles. When I first began, it was phones, customers, helping our Team in the field, payments sometimes. Now we are preforming accountant tasks, researching AR, collection calls, invoicing portals on top of the previous. While I have more so transitioned to solely look over AR and invoicing for my branches- I still do not believe the new asset of skills I have had to learn out of necessity has been reflected accurately in the pay. Our goal is to segregate specific duties and roles going forward to ensure success both for our employees and the company. The GTA Call Centre is a great example of segregating duties being successful as they have employees that focus solely on Sales, A/R and admin.

6. AR Related: CSR’s get a lot of pressure to get AR’s down and keep them below 4%. Answering phones, responding to emails, scheduling appointments (and a multitude of other tasks)

Our priority is to ensure customers are getting good service. Often this is not possible, especially during the busy season or if we are short-staffed at month end.

I understand reducing our AR’s helps the company’s profits, but would it not make more sense to hire dedicated people to do this daily.

As a company we are looking to segregate and hire employees for specific duties to ensure proper focus on specific tasks/roles such as A/R or the Internal Sales role. Our goal is to get proper structure in place so that A/R isn’t a roller coaster it is today.

7. Request/Suggestion a) Birthday’s off paid after being with the company a set time, suggested 2 years. This was trialed in a pilot project previously that was unsuccessful. The Government is also looking at potentially allotting more statutory holidays that will provide additional days off for our employees. b) Extra bonus if met the AR goals for the full year. Rob will review this idea for 2024. We need to design a model that benefits everyone.

c) Letting CSR attend the special events with the management teams – i.e.. Habitat for Humanity Absolutely! All of our employees should have the opportunity to attend volunteer or other functions. Branch Managers should offer opportunities to all branch employees. Please bring ideas to your manager if you know of a charity near to you or a fun activity for the team.

d) Christmas events per area vs per branch: getting to know the branches and teams. Managers can look to other local branches to coordinate events to allow employees to interact with others they typically only speak to on the phone. This can also happen throughout the year and not just at Christmas. Events such as summer BBQs would allow everyone to meet and be cost effective as well. We encourage those branches that share buildings to get to know each other!

e) CSR meeting per regional areas: learn and share from each other and create Team Building environment. Regional CSR Leads can organize events and training sessions to improve processes, share knowledge and enhance the team culture with the CSR/CSA group. Please reach out to your Regional CSR with this request.

f) CSR functions/conferences (similar to the Management meetings) as we also contribute to Branch Success.

Please see the above comment.

g) Mystery Shopper: as some areas are not reaching the goals and due to staffing are not reaching the goals. Suggestion to send the “scores to branches vs all of Canada”. The Myster Shopper initiative is not meant to center anyone out, but is used to look for opportunities for improvement, we would never hold a CSR accountable for a low score due to a branch not properly staffed. Instead, we would look to see how we could assist the branch in finding people.

h) COP/Double Payment – would it not be easier to have the COP refunded to the customer vs applying to the eldest invoices causing more confusion/frustration. Also helping reduce the company’s overall AR. Refunding the money should not be an option if the customer has an outstanding account balance. If COP is sitting on the account, we should be calling the customer to apply the funds against the outstanding account balance. BOSS related question – should be sent to who? Boss related questions should be directed to the Help Desk.

8. Why can’t technicians see their schedule for the following month?

is a functionality in Boss programming. You can schedule into the next month for follow ups or calling the office, but you cannot see the schedule for the next month.

9. Why do CSR’s have to manually confirm product sales for the techs to get commission?

This is a procedure required to satisfy SOX compliance. The CSR is confirming that the correct price was charged, and the correct tech is getting the production for commission.

10. Why can’t techs do a split commission on tickets? Once again, CSR’s must manually confirm the tickets.

Boss is unable to do a production split from the handheld so in order to ensure commissions are paid correctly the splits need to be completed at the branch office.

11. When can we remove old zones without calling the office? This is not capable of the handheld, but you can edit the zone. If you move the traps from the old zone, you will not see the zone on the handheld, only on the computer. The office can archive the old zone. Archiving the old zone saves the past history of the traps in that zone. Marie-Pierre Lafleur – Quebec Region

1. Since the migration to Outlook, email hyperlinks continue to open the ¨mail¨ application instead of opening the outlook application. Is it possible for email hyperlinks to open the email application we all use? IT will be testing a possible solution in January 2024 and will communicate the outcome and hopefully a solution!

2. In Boss Mobil, to take off a device from the index or to skip it, in the French version, we're left with the only option ¨boite d`appât eliminé¨, ¨boite d`appât deplacé¨ or ¨changement de portée¨. The problem is that we have to choose one of those, even in some account where it`s not allowed to use bait station. the word should be ¨device¨or ¨dispositif¨in French. That way it could be use with any kind of device (tincat, spiralz, bait station etc) and this way our report should be way more accurate. Thank you for pointing out these translation omissions and errors. They have been addressed and updates will be reflected in January 2024.

3. In the French version of Boss Mobile, we still have a lot of sentence in English. For example: due to customer restriction, to be service later this month, already service this month and some more have not been translate. is it possible to complete the translation so the French technician could have their boss in the right language?

Thank you for pointing out these translation omissions and errors. They have been addressed and updates will be reflected in January 2024.

4. As we cumulate one sick day by month, and it reset in January, what happens with the one we get for December if we don`t use it?

The sick day not used in December can in most cases be used in January. We are flexible with this but there are some cases where this will not apply. Please speak to your Branch Manager if you have an unpaid sick day in January that you think you should have been paid for.

5. In a conference, Mr. Francois Legault, our Quebec prime minister announced that he wants every company to improve salary to 25$/hour. Is it something that Orkin Canada will try to reach, and if so, is it something that could affect our commission? If yes, in what way?

We are currently paying more than what is being proposed by Mr. Francois Legault. The $25.00 per hour salary would have to encompass everything, including commission, uniforms etc. Our current average salary is $32.00 per hour. We are currently paying more than what is being proposed by Mr. Francois Legault.

6. In Quebec, we don’t have access to the technician`s handbook. I heard that it`s on Orkin share, but we didn`t have access to it in Quebec. Is it possible to have access to Orkin share or at least, get the physical version (in French and in English) of the technician’s handbook? The technician’s handbook can be found on OrkinShare. It is currently being updated as the version posted is slightly outdated. We will ask IT to provide instructions to access the handbook from your phones for easy reference on the document when required.

Laura Surkan – QA Compliance

1. Vehicle selection: is there/will there be a choice in the vehicle type we are assigned? a. For example, a smaller SUV may not accommodate an individual’s entire immediate family members, precluding it from being able to be used for family road trips. The opportunity to select a larger SUV option that other QA team members have would allow for the individual to get more use out of the vehicle for personal use. Since we pay the same amount of money each month for the option to have personal use, it would be nice to be able to use it for all aspects of personal use.

The vehicles selected for each position will remain as is. While we do the best we can to provide the best options to our employees, we also have to remain fiscally responsible when making vehicle selections decisions. We also have to remember the vehicles are to be used for work first and foremost.

2. Benefit plan: will there be options to include a health spending account, or options to choose different tiers of coverage that will impact the premiums we pay? For example, if we wanted to select a program that offered higher limits of coverage for extended medical categories, vision, dental, etc.

HR has gone to market and is currently in meetings to find the best plan/options for our employees overall. While health care spending accounts are requested there is low usage of this option. Given that, we would prefer to put our money where it is needed. HR will be delivering a summary in January 2024 outlining our benefit plan and advising if we are staying with Manulife.

Benefit costs per employee will likely increase with a new plan. Our costs have not been raised in over 20 years. Even with an increase Orkin is still well below what other companies are charging for benefits.

3. Communication on Company-Wide Staffing Changes: Is there a way to communicate company staffing changes in branches across Canada to the rest of the company? Often times it seems it is only communicated within the specific branch or region. For example, branch manager, area manager, service manager changes. There are some QA roles that this affects, and the Orkin Canada Contact List is not kept up to date, and sometimes the organization feature in MS Teams is also not updated. This can make it difficult to contact appropriate people when needed. Sometimes, I even find out via LinkedIn instead of through company notifications. a. Suggestion: company-wide announcements, similar to job postings notifications.

Going forward our contact list will be posted on Orkin Share monthly that will reflect any changes at the branch level e.g. mangers, CSRs etc.

4. Orkin Pro compensation plan: will there be any consideration into developing a bonus structure into the compensation plan for Orkin Pros that also includes service quality, and could be tied to the branch compliance audit field service quality score? This could help provide extrinsic motivation to improve service quality and drive a team mentality, such as helping to fix field service quality issues when covering another Orkin Pro’s account, instead of just leaving it as is. In 2024, President Clubs and LEADs winners will qualify with metrics that include passing their compliance audits. If an Orkin Pro qualifies from their sales and production but fails in a compliance or Health Check they will not attend Presidents Club, the next tech in line for that Region would then qualify. We have looked ay many different ways to try and measure quality with compensation, we have struggled to come up with something that would be fair and consistent. That being said we are open to ideas as typically the best ideas come from the field.

Adam Giesbrecht – Pacific Region

1. Wages - I think that I have a concern about the wages at this time of inflation. Food, rent, gas, but wages still the same, my question to them will be if are thinking to update our wages to living wages here in B.C.

Please see answer to Question 1, page 1.

2. Travelling tech Living Allowance - I’ll have to summarize as this was very long. The question is can the need for receipts for the $60 daily allowance for travelling techs be removed? According to the tech it’s below the daily limit for CRA needing to see receipts.

The requirement for receipts is not mandated by the CRA but by Orkin. For our internal auditing purposes, we require receipts to be submitted for all meals individually. This will ensure that all expenditures submitted are valid.

	The meal allowance has been raised to the following which is consistent with the CRA:

Breakfast: $12.00 Lunch: $22.50 Dinner: $34.50

3. OT Pay - Can OT pay be raised? Many techs OT pay is roughly $30+/hour, yet regular 9-5 pay averages at higher than that. Poor incentive to work overtime if production is not also available. Either increase OT pay or make OT + production the norm.

As an Orkin Pro you have the option to choose Production as overtime as for many this realizes more income.

Overtime pay is dictated by the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and not by Orkin. We have been audited in the past and fined for improper overtime payments.

We do overtime at 40 hours and not 44 hours as many other companies do.

4. BOSS - When are we going to be able to delete customer names?

This is a feature request and has been sent to Atlanta for review. In the interim, please contact your Regional CSR to assist you with this function.

5. When can we remove old zones without calling the office?

This is not capable of the handheld, but you can edit the zone. If you move the traps from the old zone, you will not see the zone on the handheld, only on the computer. The office can archive the old zone. Archiving the old zone saves the past history of the traps in that zone.

6. Why can’t we create our own WO on boss without calling office? We can write up our own service receipt.

You are able create call backs and follow ups from the handheld but odd jobs have to be created from the office.

7. When closing a fly light ticket, you can’t go back if you hit the wrong button instead of scanned on main ticket.

Thank you for letting us know. IT will be looking at this and will submit a fix request to Atlanta. 8. Truck decals and labels peeling, can we address company that does labeling?

Ken has investigated this situation, and it has been decided that the decal on the hood will no longer be installed going forward. This decal is not easily seen and is more than likely to peel as it is directly affected by the sunlight/engine heat/rain/snow. As per our decal supplier, other minor decal issues should be fixed now that they have been using the new material since last year. Ken will continue to monitor this. Please let Ken know directly if you have issues with your decals peeling.

Robert Figsby – ON Region

1. A few years ago, our production commission percentage for techs was reduced 5% to 20% with the 5% being added to our sales commission. This change resulted in techs making less for the production they did. Sales being more difficult to get with the economy, it was not beneficial for techs but costly. We would like to see the production commission percentage reversed back to the 25% which we received when we got hired.

The production change from 25% to 20% was done back in 2015, at that time we were seeing Orkin Pro sales decreasing and the focus shifting to production causing service issues and lack of growth. The decision was made back then to move that compensation over to the sales side for the Orkin Pro as the prior sales commission package was tiered and very confusing. We will continue with the same production %.

2. The salary cap is too low for Techs to provide for their families in today’s economy and insulting in respect to the licenses and certifications they have. This requires more consideration and dialog to improve morale and retention of “PRO’S” as we are now known by the company.

HR looks at the salary cap on a yearly basis and adjustments have and will be made if deemed necessary. Some of our Orkin Pros hit their salary cap each year. If you think your salary needs to be adjusted, we ask that you speak to your Branch Manager for review. Our Pros are also paid an additional $500 with each additional license they acquire.

Our retention rate is at 78% with our goal being 80%. The 80% ratio allows for employees that may not fit our culture or standards to drop off and find other careers.

We have 111 more Orkin Pros this year over last year. To maintain our growth rate our Branch Managers should be recruiting on a regular basis.

3. The time to get from base salary to cap is to long with some Techs never seeing the end of the tunnel. A tech should be able to reach “CAP” within a reasonable time. Within 5 to 10 years with the company, the yearly percentage increase does not make reaching it in a reasonable time without a solidified 5 or 10 years with the company to reach set out.

HR reviews our salary ranges and salary caps on a yearly basis. HR utilizes the Economic Research Institute to provide the data necessary to complete the salary analysis. We are currently in range for industry with regard to our salaries. There have been instances where we have had to make some adjustments, for example this was done in the Quebec region in 2022.

4. In our commission statement when there is a credit note and monies are deducted, why can’t there be an explanation of what it was for.

There should be full transparency when it comes to commission paid or recovered, this would reduce the requirement to have the branch manager look into why it was done.

This is a great question. Finance is going to investigate the possibility of a function in utilities to produce a BMSR per employee and have it emailed directly to them each month.

5. When a tech does online learning, they should be compensated for their time and use of home internet and computer. Doing the online training in the branch is not always available to all techs, some work and live a distance from their home branch. The availability to a computer at a branch is not easy and not being disturbed can be an issue to complete the modules. Training can be completed during the workday if you arrange your schedule accordingly e.g. a Pro can put time into their schedule to complete their training when required. Training can also be completed on our phones, removing the need to be in the office to complete the training.

Jason Aquino – Head Office

1. What is the status of the Social Committee? Why haven’t there been any events in a while?

In 2024 the Social Committee will increase the number of functions/events for the Home Office. We also ask that if you have any ideas for an event that you, please bring your ideas to us. Our new office location will also provide us additional space to host events.

2. Can we get an update on employee benefits as there was talk of eventually having a wellness spend account for those who would like their benefit dollars allocated elsewhere?

3. Regarding Home Office Relocation, will there be an incentive for employees from head office, especially for those whose commute is now further. Will the opportunity to Work from Home be given back or a shuttle option for employees?

When looking for a new office location we took into consideration the location of all our Home Office employees. Our new office is still within Mississauga and within an easy commute for all.

Our current location does not offer us a chance for growth, and we are currently bursting at the seams. In addition, our Airport Road office provides an improved workplace for our employees with larger, more modern workstations and natural sunlight throughout the office and a kitchen area large enough to accommodate everyone for Home Office social events and is more in keeping with our image.

All employees will be required to work from the office full-time as of January 2024. This is imperative for mental wellness and social interaction with our colleagues which results in improved performance both personally and professionally.

There will not be a shuttle option, if you think about it where would the shuttle pick people up?

4. Why are there still employees who can work from home while some departments/teams are being told to come in five days a week?

5. Can we get once consistent email signature across the company, some email signatures do not look professional and affect brand image as a result of this?

We agree. A consistent email signature is currently being worked on. IT and Marketing is testing a template which will help our employees create a standard signature. We have trialed it with our Senior staff to work through the kinks of getting it in place. All office staff will be given direction in the new year how to apply it.

6. Why are some employees allowed to bypass the dress code policy and wear jeans, hoodies, sport pants and sneakers throughout the week while others have to follow the policy?

The dress code must be adhered to in the office, including our branches at all times. Although we may not all be client facing, we must present a professional look. The dress code was sent out to the Home Office in September 2023. We ask that the department heads ensure that their teams follow this policy.

7. Why are some departments allowed to leave earlier than other departments when there is inclement weather?

During inclement weather the office will close at the same time for all departments. Should the office need to close for any reason we will communicate to everyone the necessary details. Department heads should not allow their teams to depart from the office at varying times.

Jamie Park – Eastern Region

1. Can Techs with 20+ yrs of service have a choice to be on call or not on call.?

No, this is not an option.

2. Can we get more mental health training for the CFT's?

Mental wellbeing of all our employees is something we take very seriously. Additional mental health training will be available to our Managers and CFTs in 2024.

3. Why are Techs getting commission reports so late? Sometimes getting them 1-2 days before payroll.

Commission reports are available by the 3rd working day of the following month. All branch managers have access to the statements and can provide them at that time. Please ask your branch manager for your statement.

4. On our commission statements, can we get odd jobs/specials listed out the same way as product sales and new accounts are? This way we know we are getting paid for everything we did.

This is a great question. Finance is going to investigate the possibility of a function in utilities to produce a BMSR per employee and have it emailed directly to them each month.

5. Why are CSR's pricing HPP's before a tech looks at a job? Lots of times they are underpricing.

CSRs provide a quote to the customer and always quote minimums based on information the customer supplies. The customer never “hears” minimum and always asks for the price quoted. The Orkin Pros once on site are to provide the final pricing to the customer.

Gordon Grainger - BAMs

1. Are there any sales meetings planned? The last conference for sales was pre-Covid. Getting multiple BAMs together to discuss common issues and ideas with sales would be a great benefit, especially with so many new people. When Regional or Branch meetings are held Sales will be included. This will allow for our BAMs and Operations, Orkin Pros etc. to team build within their region. We have found this structure to be very beneficial in building camaraderie within the regions. We will not be hosting a Sales only conference, but Sales will have separate breakout sessions when attending regional meetings. 2. In light of the recent changes in cellular data costs could we have our phones open to make life easier? Too many restrictions on BAM phones leading us to use personal phones for company business. Unfortunately, we do not have unlimited data costs available to us in Canada, so we need to restrict some of the access on the phones to be fiscally responsible. If there is a website that you think should be whitelisted for access, please review with your Branch Manager and IT and if it makes sense we will provide access.

3. Has any further consideration been given to providing iPads for on-site proposal generation and BOSS sales module integration? They could also be used to create contracts and get customers to sign directly.

Rob will speak with Rina about this option. Should we move away from Boss the need for an iPad wouldn’t be necessary. We can investigate laptops that have tablet functionality which would be more cost effective.

4. Can we get a phone app or Excel form to assist with quoting Gold Medal/audited accounts? Something that gives a checklist of questions to answer then generates possible pricing based on the answers? Rina is currently working on building a pricing tool which is almost completed, this tool will also help with pricing Gold medal accounts. The pricing tool is slated for release in February 2024 The pricing app on the phones will follow but the date is still to be determined.

5. Is marketing working on any more standard proposals? Maybe something more easily modified or customized would be nice. Right now, the appearance of proposals are limited by BAM’s design talents, and there’s not a lot of consistency across the country. The short answer is yes. We are working with an outside agency where this is included in the scope of work. We are close to delivering Orkin Canada’s Brand Ethos to everyone, the new proposals will take this into consideration. With this said, as individuals we need to ensure we are not using old formats. 6. Contests rewards should be smaller and more achievable. The Sea Sun and Sand contest was a really great contest, but we are already looking at opportunities for improvement for 2024 which will include possibly making some of the criteria more achievable. It is important to note that while we want the contests to be attainable by all, it also has to be a challenge which helps to drive friendly competition, but also rewards over achievement.

7. The increase in sales quotas means BAMs selling the same dollar amount as last year will be losing up to almost $6000 in annual income. Shouldn’t the maximums on specials, initials, and other sales also be increased or removed altogether? It had been six years since the quotas were adjusted while our rate card has increased 40% over that time and it was time for us to right-size to meet our updated growth and business objectives. Other changes implemented that benefited the BAMs income include increased salaries caps as well being paid a commission fee on tender renewals rather than only getting paid on the net new. We agree that the maximum payout on specials should be raised and the 2024 compensation plan will reflect that.

8. Weekly salaries in other industries are not capped for salespeople. Why do we still have a cap limiting our incomes? Within the pest control industry there is a cap on salaries. Our current cap is very high and generous as compared to other companies within our industry. Cameron Wing – GTA Region

1. What about salary tied to working area? For example, a starting salary of $800/week goes a lot further in Saskatoon than it does in Toronto. Are we able to have an adjustment? There are adjustments made for certain areas of the country. 2. Can we have an increase in benefits for mental health? HR did go to market and is currently in meetings to find the best plan/options for our employees overall which will include a focus on mental health options.

HR will be delivering a summary in January 2024 outlining our benefit plan and advising if we are staying with Manulife.

3. Can wage increase be gained?

4. When you say our salaries are in line with comparison to other companies within the industry, are you able to make that data available for us to see? HR receives this data but is not able to share the information due to privacy reasons. Our four latest acquisitions have provided data showing us that we do pay our employees more than other companies within the industry. Our Orkin Pros also have to look at total compensation which includes bonus, vehicles, cost of benefits and uniforms.