Your employees are on the front lines in your bird-fighting efforts. Make sure they’re trained and equipped.
If you keep up with our newsletters and blogs, you’ll see a common theme. Meridian Bird Removal aims to empower our customers to help mitigate bird incursions. We believe everyone, from building owners to part-time workers, plays a part. And far from “cutting into our work,” your participation helps us keep your buildings bird-free. That benefits everyone!
One vital thing every facilities manager can do is train his or her employees on how to help with bird problems. As with all other goals, having a system or process in place is key. Moreover, the system should be simple—easy to remember. We have a saying at Meridian:
“People need to hear something seven times to hear it once.”
In other words, repetition is reinforcement.
Here are some pointers we often share to help managers train employees regarding bird problems:
1. Let employees in on the purpose.
Everyone works better when they know why they’re doing what they do. Make it clear why you’re training them on bird incursions. What is the reason? For example:
Food Safety
If your business stores or processes food, health and safety are paramount. We spend billions to maintain food safety, only to have wayward birds enter and compromise it. Birds carry more than fifty diseases and parasites—all a danger to food, merchandise, and customers.
Saving Money
Damaged merchandise is loss. Whenever a bird removal service like Meridian is called, that’s an expense. These things can increase costs and eat into wages.
Learn more about how to get a bird out of a store, and how our process and expertise can save you money.
Customer Experience
An average shopper will spend over $120,000 in 20 years of patronizing your supermarket. What if that customer decides to shop elsewhere because she was scared off by a bird? What if she tells five friends who also take their business elsewhere? Preventing bird incursions is crucial to keeping customers happy and keeping them coming back.
2. Develop a stepped process that’s easy to remember.
Remember how we said the system should be simple? We recommend a process we call C.H.I.R.P. after the steps:
Close doors
Hold accountable
Inform associates
Remove environmental comforts
Practice prevention
You can read more about C.H.I.R.P. here. See if it’s right for your building. Don’t be bashful about adding or changing steps to best suit your facility.
3. Positively acknowledge bird reports.
When an employee reports a bird problem, reward and recognize them. Yes, bird problems are irritating and mean possible work stoppages and merchandise loss. But employees don’t create the problem—they are working to fix it. So instead of sighing when you get a bird report, try thanking the employee. Better yet, publicly recognize them in a staff meeting.
The bottom line? Employees are your most valuable assets in mitigating your bird problems. Get their awareness and buy-in with transparency, empowerment, and recognition. That will make our job easier—and yours too.
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