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Finding the right people to represent your business is crucial to your company's success. A mishire can cost you thousands of dollars and affect anything from sales, to morale and even your business reputation. Recently defined by research firm Gartner as Human Capital Management, finding the right person for the job not only encompaces hiring best practices, but also plays a large part in employee retention and overall performance.
This guide aims to help you discover, interview, hire, onboard and retain the best candidates for your business. With everything from step-by-step action plans to checklist, we’ll make sure you’re equipped to build an all-star team.
Recruiting talented team members is arguably one of the most important steps in the process and plays a key part of your company's success.
However, with so many options, platforms and opportunities to share your job posting it’s hard to know where to start. There are a lot of great websites out there for recruiting great hires like Indeed.com or Ziprecruiter.com, and those should not be ignored, but in this guide we wanted to share some outside of the box options that you might not have considered.
You don’t just run any type of business, you run a cannabusiness, which is a unique niche that involves a specialty product. Cannabusiness’ speak to a specific demographic, so during recruiting it makes sense to ponder where they hang out and consider listing job placements based on that information. A quick search of the web uncovers some job websites like weednextdoor.com that are specific to cannabusiness job posting. You could also post in a facebook group for Cannabis aficionados or on a trusted forum.
Social media is a powerful tool and a great way to communicate and connect with your audience. It is not uncommon for businesses to use a social media channel exclusively for hiring and sharing their company culture in a visual and communicative way. Depending on your preferred channel, consider posting your position on social media and encouraging your followers to share with their friends.
Speaking of sharing with friends, there is no better way to find ‘A’ players than through the praises of other ‘A’ players. It’s true, birds of a feather flock together, so entice your top hires to expand your team with an employee referral program. Offer rewards for every recommended hire you bring on board. An added bonus to this method is that your current employees get to work with their friends, and that is great for employee morale.
The Cannabis space is well adopted by Millenials and of-age Gen Z, for this reason it might be worth considering campus recruiting.
Campuses full of young talent looking to start their careers and Cannabis is an exciting industry to jump into. Consider reaching out to your local College or University Campus to see if they will allow you to run an ad in the campus paper, involve yourself in a job fair, or offer an internship opportunity so someone studying in a related field.
There are so many things to remember when searching for the ideal candidate but one of the key parts of attracting the right person for the job is presenting the job in a way that will accomplish that goal. Below are 7 things we recommend you consider when posting your job online.
Does your company have awesome core values? Do your budtenders get company discounts or perks? Be sure to share these exciting things with candidates so they get a feel for your company, and get excited about.
If your applicants are going to be working from a retail location be sure to specify where that retail location is in the job posting. If your posting is for a retail chain be sure to clarify what location the applicant will be required to work from, and when. Other logistics to include could be store hours; working hours, and even accessibility information.
If you want to make it easy for the best hires to reach out to you; be sure to make it easy for them. Different job portals have different processes and next steps. If it is in any way unclear, be sure to outline the next steps to your potential hire in the posting.
Be sure to include a salary range you are open and willing to discuss with the applicant. The Salary range is defined based on skill set, experience or hours, however it is important that you are up front with your hires about the range. The reason for this is so the hire can apply to the job knowing they are happy with the range being offered; instead of wasting their time and yours.
It makes a difference what you spend your day doing, and for many employees having an idea of the required duties will make them more or less likely to apply to this position. This also ensures that the applicants who apply for your position are aware of what the work will entail, and are applying based on the information given.
If you are hiring for a position that requires a specific certificate or license, or are looking exclusively for someone with a specific type of experience - be sure to list this in your job application. Also be sure to make a note to cross check your applicants resume with these specifics before inviting them in for an interview. It is also a great idea to include some nice to haves in your listing as well, this way you can make a note of applicants who have both without missing the opportunity for a great new hire who is happy to learn new skills.
Great culture is built by hiring like minded people who fit in with your values and vibe. Don’t be afraid to share some personality in your job description. The goal is to attract people who would be a great fit, and speaking to them authentically is a great way to draw them in.
A comprehensive human capital management strategy that incorporates careful interview and hiring practices is vital to the success of any business, big or small. This is especially true in the service and retail industries, where the people you hire interact directly with customers all day, every day.
Conducting strategic, careful job interviews is an essential skill to master. Along with asking some specific questions related to the cannabis industry, we also advise that you approach the interview process from an angle that allows you to really understand the candidate in depth. Here are some suggestions we recommend.
Starting with past experience helps you understand where the candidate is coming from and what makes them tic. We recommend exploring as far back as high school to really help understand your candidate on both personal and professional levels. Ask the candidate about some influential moments in their early life, and what their career planning looked like at that time, revealing insights about what motivates them or has shaped their values.
• Who were the most influential people in high school?
• What were some of the highlights and low points at school/college?
• What were your career goals or ideas after leaving school/college and what did you do next?
A candidates’ resume doesn’t say it all; there are many other dynamics that play a part and are equally as important in the hiring process. When asking the candidate questions about their past work experience, be sure to inquire about past supervisors, their relationships with management, and other team members. You may also want to ask about any notable accomplishments, which will help you understand how they work with others, and their work habits. Consider asking the following questions:
• What are some of your career successes and how were these achieved?
• We all make mistakes - what would you say were some of your mistakes or failures in this position?
• Who did you report to and what was their position?
• What was it like working for them? What is/was it like working for them and what were his/her strengths and shortcomings as a supervisor, from your point of view?
• What is your best guess as to what your supervisor honestly felt were your strengths, weak points, and overall performance?
Hiring people whose long-term goals align with yours is mutually beneficial to you and your employees is a key part of building a great team. Ask questions that will help you understand their career goals and how you might play a part. Consider asking the following questions:
• What are you hoping to accomplish in taking this job?
• What are you looking for in terms of this job?
• What are some of your long term career goals, and how do you see this position helping you accomplish them?
Being reflective and willing to learn is an important trait when it comes to any hire. A great hire will be self aware of their weaknesses and strengths and be open to working on them without claiming a damaged ego. Ask them what they feel their strengths and weaknesses are and how they imagine their previous manager would grade them on these areas. Consider asking the following questions:
• What would you consider your greatest strength?
• What is something you are the best at?
• What is something you need to work on?
When looking for a budtender, you are going to need someone with some specialized knowledge in the field. Asking some industry specific questions is a key part in finding someone who has the skills, qualifications and interest in this role. Consider asking the following questions:
• What do you think makes a good budtender?
• Tell me about a strain you personally love.
• What industry regulations are you aware of?
• Can you explain to me the differences between cannabinoids and terpenes?
• In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a great dispensary?
• How do you advise a customer if they’ve previously had a bad experience with cannabis?
Congratulations, you found a great hire and now you are ready to make them a part of the team! This is where onboarding comes in.
What is onboarding anyway? Onboarding is the art of integrating a new employee into the company and making sure they have all the tools and information they need to become a productive team member. An important factor in onboarding is understanding the employee experience and anticipating their needs. Here are some key things we recommend when onboarding your new hire.
Listening to employees needs and making them feel safe will encourage them to feel comfortable to connect about their experience and communi-cate any concerns. Your new employees should feel heard, seen and appreciated from day one; anticipating their needs will help them see you care about their workplace wellbeing and make them feel empowered to speak up if they need your support.
Share the company’s culture and help them un-derstand the important company values.
Consider a welcome package as part of on-boarding and remember that the first few days with onboarding can make all the difference in employee engagement and ultimately retention with your company.
Whomever you choose to conduct onboarding and orientation should be someone who thoroughly knows the company rules, policies, and culture. It should also be a positive member of your team. Sharing rules and systems up front with the employee will make them feel comfortable and aware of how to do the right thing.
From log-ins to uniforms, make sure your employee is set up for success on their first day and doesn’t have to ask you for anything. Your new team member should feel like you are excited for them to join the team, and have anticipated their every need. This leads to feeling valued and appreciated, another key to retention.
For the first couple of weeks be sure to check in regularly to see how they are doing, consider setting up a weekly meeting and let them know you are there to help.
As the manager or business owner you are ultimately responsible for the success of your employees. Be sure to communicate to them what is expected and share any tools or systems to help them achieve their goals. If they aren’t achieving their goals, be sure to evaluate your systems and make sure they have everything they need before assuming they aren’t doing a good job.
A solid HR management strategy starts with who and how you hire. Your employees are your human capital. How you acquire, manage, and optimize your greatest resource — your people — impacts every aspect of your operations.
Using technology to help with the onboarding process will not only help with first impressions, but it will also help create an efficient system for onboarding. Human Resource software helps make it easy to transition new hires onto the team. Web-based onboarding and software frees up valuable time for the fun stuff, like the hands-on training and diving into the heart of the team culture.
Utilizing tools like HR software can help you simplify, streamline, and centralize your hiring and management processes and measure the effectiveness of specific policies and practices. Easily access and stay on top of things like payroll, scheduling, and time-tracking, and actively monitor and manage labor costs and other data through regular reports in one location.
HR software should meet some of the following requirements, helping you save time, stay labor compliant and ensure safe record keeping:
Check out KayaPush Operations for a software service that can help you with the entire lifecycle of your cannabis retail store; all while integrating with your POS System and saving you time and money on all your operational tasks.
Ultimately, it is important to remember not to skimp on the onboarding process. After all, first impressions do matter. Making an employee’s onboarding process flow easily and flawlessly will help build that necessary trust in your organization.
Congratulations, you have hired, interviewed, referenced, onboarded and integrated your newest team member - and with any luck if you followed these steps they are going to be doing a great job - but the battle isn’t over yet. The next thing managers and business owners need to consider is how to keep great talent. With opportunities all around, it’s important to go the extra mile to make your people happy. Here are 5 Ways to make them want to stay.
Bad management—in any industry—drives away good employees. People don’t like working for someone they don’t respect. The Gordon Ramsay “scream-louder-to-motivate-people” management approach is for entertainment, not retention.
The fix? Hiring managers who can handle conflict (rather than spark it themselves) is important to help increase employee retention. Empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of another, is an important quality when looking for successful managers.
A simple truth: happy workers stay. Building friendships helps build happiness. In fact, 67% of workers say that friendship makes work fun, and 55% say it makes work more fulfilling.
The solution? Encourage team building, and incorporate activities and games into training or everyday practices. An example is starting a little friendly competition among the morning and afternoon shifts (after all, nothing sparks teamwork like sharing a common enemy).
People need to feel seen. They need their hard work to be noticed. As a manager, it’s easy to only speak up when something goes wrong. It’s the “why fix it if it ain’t broke” troupe a lot of managers fall into. But complimenting your workers is like oiling the machine: it keeps them working better and for longer. 28% of the employees said their most memorable feedback came from a manager. Managers’ voices matter. What’s needed here? A simple “thank you”. With two words and eight letters, you can easily increase an employee’s commitment to their job, especially when they’re faced with a tough challenge. Building in weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly one-on-one meetings with team members and managers for them to discuss performance can help build employee loyalty and show that you see their hard work.
The retail industry is fueled by minimum wages and unpredictable hours. The solution isn’t to grossly overpay employees, but to show employees that you value them by fairly increasing their pay. Meet or surpass the minimum wage and benefit requirements to create a steady environment for your employees. Make it a routine to revisit the staff scheduling staff numbers to ensure you aren’t under or overstaffing.
Employees want opportunities; the millennial workforce crave it. If you aren’t offering, they’ll look elsewhere. Additionally, when the economy is climbing (and there are more job options on the market), employee retention sees significant falls.
To hold onto millennials, develop training programs to help them learn cooking, communication, leadership, and other growth-based skills for the industry. Also, be transparent in your promotional practices and create an environment where people feel comfortable expressing a lack of challenge in their work. Invest in your staff and they’ll invest in you.
The goal of this guide was to help you learn to recruit, interview, hire, onboard, and retain great dispensary employees.
Running or hiring for a business can be an arduous task, that is why we hope that this guide was helpful in alleviating some of that stress. The goal of this guide was to provide you with tools and tips of how to locate, hire and keep ‘A’ players so you can love what you do and do what you love.
We created a software that helps cannabis business owners who manage hourly employees through the entire life cycle from HR to scheduling to payroll reporting and more.
If you need any more help along the way; or are looking to integrate more systems into your business to save time and money - start your free trial with one of our team members today.
“KayaPush has it all in one platform where you can kind of build what you need. Especially as a start-up, that’s important to us to be cost-friendly. You have the best price for what you’re offering. ”
-Marry Ann from Riverside Wellness-
The scheduling app is awesome. It takes away a lot of communication that needed to happen manually with my team. It streamlines a lot of things that were not streamlined in previous businesses that I worked with.
KayaPush made creating the schedule and applying different tags to the scheduling a lot of fun and easy. The goal was to spend less time on data processing and employee management to keep the dispensary compliant.
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