When a fast growing emerging market meets challenging human resource requirements, such as staffing, experience, legality and technology - interesting things happen.
Add in the high degree of compliance necessary in the cannabis market, and large companies dropping cannabis clients for no reason - and it becomes clear that complying with marijuana dispensing and consumption restrictions while navigating labor is something of a phenomenon.
We took all of this into consideration as we put together the top 7 reasons why dispensary HR is such a hot topic in the cannabis space in 2022. Here's what we found.
1 - Because HR giants have started ditching their clients.
Cannabis businesses will need to concentrate their human resources efforts on filling their ever-expanding job openings. The cannabis market is increasingly expanding and creating new jobs. But are the HR departments backing off? Yes, it's true. Some cannabis-focused HR firms indeed began calling their clients and ditching them. Why did this happen?
For a company managing over 180 employees to wake up one morning and offer their resignation without cause is a big news story. For employees and cannabis dispensing owners alike, this can be too much to take at once.
You might be wondering if it's typical for human resource management to abandon their clientele in this way. Instead of helping to establish the cannabis industry's developing culture—part of their core industrial responsibility—they ditch clients.
As a result, HR has become a hot topic on many cannabis talk shows and in the minds of every dispensary owner. The cannabis business has always been a cautious one, both for the government and other associates.
The existing situation concerning employer attitudes in the workplace when it comes to marijuana is affecting HR. HR is in a tangle caused by rapidly shifting state marijuana legislation. It's evolving at dizzying speed.
On the other hand, the cannabis industry has not enjoyed a smooth transitional period. Either they're adjusting to a new government-imposed rule of operation, or they're dealing with a legal and financial mess.
Legalization should bring advantages, but inconsistencies in the laws have proved too much for HR. Here's a tip, if you are looking for a reliable HR and payroll solution for your cannabis dispensary, look no further. KayaPush has you covered and promises to never leave a client stranded.
2 - Because of the importance of social equity in the industry and what that means for hiring.
HR is doing everything possible to ensure that some of the challenges in the cannabis industry are arrested. The cannabis industry is facing an intense challenge when it comes to social equity. Even after its legalization, marijuana use is subject to several criticisms. There are issues with ways growers and retailers interrelate.
The continued incarceration of people who use marijuana, even if it is legal for adults in several jurisdictions, is concerning. A particular color has been facing all manner of denials from certain cannabis rights for no reason.
In terms of social fairness in the cannabis sector, now that marijuana is legal, it has become a very high mountain to scale. Also, the need for social equity programs has skyrocketed, as evenness in the cannabis industry has become paramount.
HR leaders are taking on the task of providing the necessary resources and tools to the cannabis industry. There have been focused efforts on programs, engagement, tools and training to improve social equity initiatives and support. This is another reason why HR is a top topic for cannabis dispensary owners.
3 - Because the industry is growing like a weed, and owners can't keep up.
From 2019 through 2021, the cannabis market was predicted to increase at a rate of 21% per year. According to cannabis market growth data, the marijuana sector will generate $23 billion in yearly income in three years.
Each state's economic impact will fluctuate depending on the size, maturity, and type of market. California's marijuana industry, for example, is expected to generate over $20 billion in revenue by 2021 as the country's largest market. Legalization was all that the marijuana market was waiting for to take the world by storm. Although it's unclear how such rapid development is feasible, does this mean that individuals were waiting for government approval?
Marijuana was made legal for both recreational and medical use, which paved the path for its commercialization. There is an increase in the formulation of new dispensaries due to this, on the other hand, resulting in the emergence of new restrictions to control the flow. As cannabis' popularity grows, so does the number of companies studying its market, making it more transparent than other industries.
More alliances, multi-state globalization, new state marijuana licensing, and an explosion of job creation is expected in the cannabis business at the end of 2021. Additionally, there has also been the emergence of monitoring technology such as the Metrc, which is another method of measuring cannabis use.
With all this in place, it has been hard for dispensary owners to hire budtenders, but store managers, to compliance managers at once. And these are sophisticated roles that may not have even existed years ago. Thus, making it a rigorous process.
HR is likely the ones suffering the brunt of these constraints, given that cannabis businesses already confront complicated compliance concerns and labor management challenges in an emerging market. Because the cannabis sector is growing so fast, there may be less time to go through the job process. HR has also made headway in developing tips and techniques or tools to assist cannabis firms in hiring the best people for their teams.
4 - Because how can you hire experienced employees for an industry that is brand new?
It's vital to hire outstanding individuals for your cannabis business if you want to build a strong brand, feel, and atmosphere. Employing this degree of experience in an industry that is just getting started could be difficult.
Cannabis enterprises, no matter how small the facility, require competent staff to run them. Marijuana regulations make it clear that the owners and staff of any cannabis business must be cannabis-trained. This is a requirement for getting a marijuana license and being able to provide cannabis to patients.
Because of the ongoing issues, HR is on the minds of cannabis business experts. They appear to be counting on HR to deliver a long-term answer.
Some HR solutions are explicitly targeting the cannabis business with a system tailored for hourly, dispersed personnel. This technique assures that cannabis business compliance concerns adhere to organizational standards, from onboarding to benefits administration, payroll, and scheduling, among other things.
Some cannabis owners are depending on HR support to run effective and compliant cannabis stores. This is why HR ditching them poses a threat to a cannabis business’s success. Culture refers to the kind of environment that exists within a company. Is it supportive and caring? iIs it a place where people would like to come to work?
One reason why there is high turnover is growth. People want to work in a place where there is a future for them—where there is a pathway for them to learn and grow to become professionals. Another reason for high turnover in the cannabis can be lack of benefits. People like to work in a place where they can be entitled to other allowances.
5 - Because of the alarming rate of budtender turnover.
The turnover rate in the cannabis industry is high. In retail, cultivation, and manufacturing, up to 50% of the staff turns over ina two or three month period. When asked why staff turnover continues to occur in the cannabis businesses, managers and employees have different views.
According to the HRM society, corporations spend more than they would pay a worker to hire and train a new one. What will become of a corporation that has a high turnover rate? When there are continuous turnovers in the cannabis industry, it lowers productivity levels. Some things that could contribute to this are culture, growth, and benefits.
Culture is what kind of environment exists within that company, is it supportive, caring, and is it a place where the people would like to come to work? In some cases, you hear stories like bad managers, hostile work environments in unsafe work conditions.
Another reason why there are many turns is growth. People want to work in a place where there is a future for them. Where they will learn and grow in preparation to become professionals. Lastly, the reason for turnover in the cannabis industry is benefits. People would work in a place where they could be entitled to other allowances.
Furthermore, when talking about turnover, it is important to acknowledge that people are changing jobs. There is going to be voluntary and involuntary turnover.
The truth remains that the cannabis industry will experience bad business times with continuous turnover of employees. Let's look at how this could be avoided using some human capital management tools.
The onboarding process
The onboarding process assists an employer in becoming acquainted with the working environment of a cannabis company. It alters the image of the company and encourages employees to stay longer. Instead of tossing your new employees to the wolves, use a planned onboarding approach to set them up for success right away.
HR may construct a process builder with onboarding processes that preserve workflow and process maps, allowing new workers to work in a relaxed environment.
Employing KPI training
A Key Performance Indicator is a tool that may be used to track a company's objectives and vision. An employee will wish to advance their career with a company that has a goal. Human capital management can aid you in determining the optimal KPI formats for developing a smart practice that keeps a cannabis business on track.
Offer reasonable salary and healthcare
Smart dispensaries cherish their employees and strive to retain them by providing competitive compensation, insurance, and perks.
Create Budtender training opportunities
People want to work to improve and be professionals. So if you find an employee who you believe would be a good fit as a budtender, you must provide them with sufficient cannabis training from the start.
A manager who wants to avoid turnovers will ensure that the employees have the best marijuana training. The employees should have extensive knowledge about CBD and THC. Employees believe that most forward-thinking dispensaries can enroll them in third-party industry courses, seminars, and conferences.
6 - Because it’s hard to manage hourly workers in a regulated industry.
Cannabis is a nascent industry but is fast engaging in the economic system. Its handlers are plant-handling individuals who rely on marijuana experience with enthusiastic employees.
To develop drug-testing policies and procedures, HR specialists comb through the different state laws and court decisions addressing the problematic substance.
Recruiting employees with experience that matches your company culture is no easy task. A common challenge for cannabis businesses is the management of hourly workers. Which will require you to identify their federal and state compliance requirements.
In the cannabis industry, working with hourly employees necessitates confidence and concentration. You must keep correct records, calculate payroll flawlessly, and file taxes on time. Only professionals are capable of doing this task.
One way to ease your time tracking and ensure payroll accuracy is by using an integrated workforce management solution like KayaPush. This solution helps integrate HR with
scheduling and time tracking, therefore systemizing your
people management. Payments of fifty to sixty hourly rate employees take minutes with KayaPush, making it incredibly fast and reliable.
7 - Because staying compliant is important.
One of the most critical parts of any cannabis shop is cannabis compliance. Compliance is more than a form of deterrence;, it is an absolute requirement for a company to succeed. In the tightly controlled cannabis industry, operating a dispensary necessitates rigorous adherence to local rules and procedures.
When it comes to staying on top of compliance rules, using a dispensary employee management system that connects with your compliant POS system could save you a lot of time. A strong compliance program may help legitimate businesses stand out, especially in an industry where compliance with cannabis and hemp rules is often hazy.
How do I choose the best dispensary HR solution for my cannabis retail store?
If you own a cannabis dispensary, there are a few important things to consider when you are searching for the perfect dispensary HR solution.
Dispensary HR software should include the following 12 things:
- An applicant tracking system
- Interview technology
- An integrated solution with HR and payroll
- Integrations with your time tracking and scheduling tools
- Employee digitization of documents
- Employee onboarding, and self serve onboarding
- Employee records that are kept in one place
- Communication within the platform
- Centralizing and conveniently accessing personnel data at your dispensary
- Managing your application pool
- Saving you time with innovative technology, computations, data transfers, and compliance
- Tracking labor budgets against actual spending in real-time
If you are looking for the best dispensary HR and payroll solution for your dispensary, be sure to consider KayaPush as a contender. Book a demo with our team to learn more!
Want to learn more about dispensary HR, recruiting, onboarding, hiring and retaining great dispensary talent? Download our free guide today below!
