With all the news about troubles with licensing, shortages, vaping epidemics, the black market, etc., in the cannabis industry, nobody talks about the other elephant in the room.
Dastardly workplace culture.
It’s more than just serious workplace safety concerns that plague the industry. There are also more than a handful of unjust layoffs and firings, harassment, and a serious lack of training and career development.
So given all of that, what’s the key to attaining positive cannabis workplace culture? It’s not all that hard, really.
Proper Guidance and Nurturing
If you’re a business owner and not putting enough effort into guiding and nurturing every single member of your team, you’re systematically destroying your workplace culture.
In other words, you’re kicking yourself in the butt.
And unless you’re into that kind of thing (we’re not judging), there are some things you should address if you want to clean up that culture and see your company thrive.
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Formulate a Strong Hiring Process
How rushed is your vetting process?
Obviously, you don’t want to hire the first person who walks in off the street. But you should have more than a few clearcut vetting steps in place.
Getting a sense of a candidate’s values should be a directive in your decision making. Ideally, you want someone who already lives by the way your company operates.
Have potential candidates talk to current team members and perform different tests to ensure they fit in with the culture. In other words, take your time. You should only hire people about whom you feel truly positive.
You’ll know because they’ll just fit in organically and without effort.
Ensuring that every staff member is content with their job and feeling they’re worthwhile contributors is key to employee retention. And you definitely want them to stick around.
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Integrate New Employees
Nobody likes being the “new person.”
So take the extra time and make the effort required to fully integrate new people into your company’s culture.
Set up one-on-one meetings with the new hire and every – and we do mean EVERY – one of your employees. Acknowledge them in team meetings and every other possible situation.
Also, be prepared to shell out the capital to ensure both your new and your current employees get the training and certifications they need.
Getting your new hires to feel that they’re an intrinsic part of the organization right at the onset goes a long way toward strengthening workplace culture.
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Demonstrate What Success Looks Like
Does every one of your employees understand the impact of his or her role in your company? Or are they just clocking in and out each day?
In the latter scenario, how can you expect your employees to really care about the success or failure of your company?
If your employees aren’t clear on the ways each can best contribute to the company, that’s on you. Outline what both success and failure look like, then clarify what these mean for each of them.
That way, they’ll have an understanding of what’s being asked of them from the start.
Could Your Workplace Culture Use Improvement?
Most of us could probably do better in cultivating a more positive cannabis workplace culture, so it’s certainly not an indictment.
Start by hiring the right people. Then be mindful to not to treat your employees as mere assets, or prioritize growth over culture. Simple as that.
Then as your cannabis business continues to grow and thrive, contact us for your marketing and public relations needs. We’ve been a part of this industry since its inception.
And we know how to play the game… really well.