By Anne Nagro

Ask 10 people in the pest management industry to define “workplace diversity” and you’ll get 10 different answers.

Race and gender are the most commonly cited, but pest management professionals said diversity encompasses much more, including age, life experiences, skills, (dis)abilities, religion, sexual orientation, where you live, how you learn, political views and even whether you have tattoos, piercings or purple hair.

It also can be a touchy subject. Some PMPs bristle at the idea of hiring diverse employees to appear politically correct. Others say a diverse workforce better reflects the customer base and generates more and better ideas to grow the business. All PMPs interviewed for this series of articles said their ultimate goal is hiring and retaining the best qualified person for the job, regardless of who that person is.

So how diverse is the pest management industry? And how does this compare to our hiring and retention practices? What is the impact of workplace diversity on the bottom line? A first-of-its-kind survey conducted for PCT and the National Pest Management Association found out.