ANNUAL REPORT | PPC102 MARCH 2021
2020 saw the end of one strategic period and the beginning of a new one. Before we start reporting on developments in the new strategy, we thought it only fair to assess how successful the old one was.
All strategy is iterative, and many of our objectives could last a lifetime. Some projects have exceeded expectations; others are earlier in their journey than we’d have liked.
Here’s how each of our journeys went...
LEAD
Lead the professional pest management sector by promoting professional practice.
| What we've done so far |
What we have left to do |
| All BPCA members audited to the BS EN 16636 Standard for Pest Management. |
Many companies deliver an auditing service like field biologist inspections, verification audits and surveys. A working group is proposing standards for these types of audits. |
| A working group looking at our qualification framework was established. |
The working group will release a proposed framework for qualifications that includes an induction programme and a graduate scheme. |
| All BPCA Codes of Best Practice have been reviewed, reformed and deemed fit for purpose. |
Member-only guidance documents are going through the same process. |
| BPCA worked with all four devolved nations to develop a Code of Best Practice and Guidance Document for Waste Management. The environmental agencies in all countries have endorsed both documents. |
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| BPCA has established a Primary Authority Relationship with Nottinghamshire County Council (who partner with Rushcliffe Borough Council to provide the environmental health support). |
Initially, we’d hoped that our primary authority would help us assure the BPCA Code of Conduct, Codes of Best Practice and Guidance Documents. This has been a slow process, and Covid-19 has stopped much progress. |
| BPCA has established working relationships with the universities that deliver the CIEH environmental health degrees, so new EHOs can better understand a pest professional’s role. |
More lectures will continue in the future, and slowly you’ll start encountering EHOs that have a much better understanding of your role in protecting public health. |
| Over the last two years, BPCA has set up special interest groups BirdWise, BeeWise, WildWise and GuideWise. With these groups (plus the trusty Fumigation And Controlled Environments group) BPCA can lead the discussion in these specialist technical areas. |
Expect to see more guidance, documentation and support from all these groups in the future. |
| PPC online, a repository of technical articles and thought pieces, launched on its own website and is free to access for every pest professional. |
The BPCA member area is being reworked to make sure member-exclusive technical support is available at your fingertips. |
| BPCA Registered was launched in January 2019 to provide a better way for members to record valuable CPD. Those on the scheme can log their own CPD, meaning in-the-field learning and individual study can all be recorded as CPD. BPCA Registered cards include your qualifications so that you can evidence them to your clients. We now have 2,431 people on the scheme. |
Improvements to the BPCA Registered system are being made regularly to include more flexible reporting and control for member companies. One day, BPCA Registered might be available to non-members, meaning anyone who commits to CPD can join the scheme. |
| Bird Specialist, Fumigation Specialist, Technical Inspector, Biologist, and Master Technician categories of BPCA Registered were launched to better represent the sector. |
Expect more targeted CPD activities for these specialist categories of pest management. |
| BPCA developed Toolbox talks, CPD Assignments, a list of third party resources, an extensive video library to improve the quality and variety of CPD available to members on BPCA Registered. |
We wanted to deliver more practical hands-on training programmes for the sector, however Covid-19 put an end to much of this work. How BPCA offers training is up for review in the new strategy. |
EDUCATE
Educate the full supply chain about the value of what BPCA and its members provide.
| What we've done so far |
What we have left to do |
BPCA launched PestAware; a blog for anyone with public health pest control problems or concerns.
PestAware is packed with professional advice from leading experts in the pest control industry and is designed to help tackle domestic or commercial pest problems. |
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BPCA has been out and about speaking to key stakeholders about the importance of pest management and choosing a BPCA member. We’ve spoken at the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers, the Public Health Group,
the National Construction Expo, the British Soft Drinks Association Conference, the Food, Drink and Tourism Hospitality Summit, CHEMUK and more! |
Covid-19 certainly put an end to some of our targets for getting out and about speaking to people. We’ll be picking up plans when it’s safe to do so. Expect more talks and maybe even some case studies in critical sectors about why they think pest management is essential. |
| BPCA’s A-Z of pests was enhanced for crucial species to help show the risks of inadequate control and the importance of choosing a BPCA member. The A-Z of pests now sees over 2.2M visitors a year (up 40%). A series of educational press releases helped BPCA’s advice reach the masses. Releases were picked up by hundreds of news agencies with a total circulation of 158M (+24%) |
More A-Z pages have been earmarked for improvement to help educate the nation on our role in protecting public health. |
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We’re a data-poor sector, meaning it’s hard to evidence our worth in terms of hard facts and figures. We’ll be looking to commission research projects that help us evidence how we protect public health to generate more interest in what we do. |
| BPCA campaigned for key worker status and drew a lot of attention to our role in society. We appeared in nearly 200 publications with a combined circulation of over 41M. BPCA got shoutouts on national radio stations regarding pest professionals’ crucial role (Radio 2 and LBC). ‘Pest controller’ was even included in the Top Trumps deck of key workers. |
While the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland governments would eventually acknowledge pest management is essential, it highlighted to us that we need to do a lot more to get on the political agenda. BPCA’s public affairs work is only just beginning! |
| BPCA has produced a tender support package for people looking for a pest management company. This package includes all of the documents required to go out to tender successfully. |
The pack will be released this year, along with enhanced support to your potential clients. Of course – being a BPCA member is a requirement for all the tenders we’ll support. |
| BPCA has been building relationships with all significant specifiers and including BRC, AIB and Salsa. |
These relationships will continue to grow with time. BPCA is committed to being the helpful friend for anyone interested in employing a professional pest management company. |
| We’ve been working with the National Association of Drainage Contractors, National Landlords Association, British Carpet Cleaning Association and Roofers Association to spread the word that pest management should be reserved for trained, competent technicians, such as the ones employed by BPCA members. |
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Enhance
Enhance engagement with all (current and potential) members and supporters.
| What we've done so far |
What we have left to do |
| BPCA conducted a Member Benefit Satisfaction Survey revealing where members see the value in their membership coming from. While satisfaction was overall very high, it pointed us towards numerous areas for development. |
BPCA aimed to have conducted a complete review of the membership structure and our value proposition by the end of this strategic period. The sheer scale of the task, staff changes and a Covid-19 pandemic meant the project has never gathered the momentum it should have. This project has been carried over into 2021-25 strategy and has been set to top priority! |
Forums were a key place for members and non-members to engage with the Association.
We revamped our regional events to make them more polished, practical and engaging for attendees. Attendance and satisfaction increased because of the changes. |
Forums in the new format will continue post-pandemic. Because only a few of the revamped events took place, it’s hard to tell what the impact on attendance and satisfaction will be UK-wide. |
| Visitor attendance and satisfaction at PestEx and PPC Live continued to grow over this strategic period. Incremental upgrades such as demonstration areas, CPD trials and discussion groups were implemented to help with engagement. |
PestEx and PPC magazine are always cited as one of the member’s favourite things we do for the sector. We’ll continue to try new things, so you feel more involved in our events and publications. |
| After the success of the 'Be Protected. Professionally.' campaign, BPCA launched the #WeAreBPCA toolkit. They were packed with resources for promoting your company with your membership. |
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| PPC magazine has been progressively upgraded over the years. The inclusion of more member voices in the magazine is one of the ways we’ve increased engagement. The magazine is now sent to over 4,000 people in print and 10,000 digitally, meaning our reach in the professional sector has never been larger. |
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| We set ourselves the task of speaking with every member company at least once a year. We assigned our staff team with a list of member companies and tasked them with checking in with every member company’s primary contact. |
2020 was busy for the staff team and our members. While we did manage to speak to a lot of members, we didn’t successfully call everyone. We’re still refining our systems for these member check-in calls. But remember, we’re only ever at the end of the phone! |
EXPLORE
Explore a viable licensing structure for the professional pest management sector.
| What we've done so far |
What we still have to do |
| We explored the setting up of a new professional body for pest professionals. It was decided that the sector was not ready for this mainly because the industry already has two trade associations, and the existing qualification requirements are too low for a professional body. |
BPCA will continue to develop BPCA Registered, and a training framework fit for the future. As the sector professionalises, we may look again at the viability of an Institute of Pest Professionals. |
| Internally, we looked at how BPCA would have to change to deliver licensing to the sector. The Professional Standards Committee was launched partly to help improve training in the industry. The Outreach and Communications Committee was established partly to help deliver our public affairs agenda. |
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Summary
The road to excellence in pest management is a long one. Many of the objectives on the road map have been transferred to our new strategic plan.
This might be the end for lead, explore, enhance and educate – however, the things we’ve learned and places we’ve been will inform represent, support and assure.
Want to know more?
If you’re interested in getting more detail about any of the projects listed here, get in touch today. This is your Association, and by taking a keen interest in what we do, you can help drive excellence in pest management.
hello@bpca.org.uk
Source: PPC102