Want a fun, fast-paced job in a growing industry? For many job seekers, a retail position in a cannabis business seems to be a perfect fit. They see it as an opportunity for an easy work environment, surrounded by weed and talking about what they love.
Then reality sets in, and they discover it’s a whole lot more.
These positions often come with low pay – retail jobs hover around minimum wage. Forget the ease – it can bring high workloads as you deal with changing requirements, both with regulators and consumers.
With little funding to hire specialized help, employers often call on these employees to fulfill many different tasks. That can be quite a shock for someone expecting an easy job.
About 55 percent of all new hires will quit within their first 12 months in both the US and Canadian markets.
Every time another employee quits, it costs you money. It also puts you at risk. What’s a cannabis business owner to do?
This isn’t a typical retail job; traditional performance plans won’t work. Instead, a combination of modern management techniques can help employees engage and feel fulfilled as the daily needs of the job change from day to day. To increase the performance management process, you can also:
Create your mission
One of the key components of traditional business planning includes crafting a mission statement. It helps everyone on your team align with your goals. Why are you in business? What does success look like? Before your employees can see it, you have to define it.
Be sure to create goals that allow employees to stretch and grow. Be clear and concise with your expectations, providing SMART goals whenever possible. Create a performance system that gives consistent feedback, alerting employees where they can flex and grow.
Make the process easy
Small businesses are notorious for hiring with generic job descriptions, and leading with minimalist performance systems. Where do you begin when you really don’t know what you’ll have an employee do? This is where many employees lose interest because their expectations, coupled with your lack of clarity, are distinctly different. Luckily, there are already many tools and resources out there that can help along your journey. Use HR resources that have already created dynamic plans for cannabis businesses. Hire additional help as needed.
And be flexible. Create two-way conversations with your employees to gain a better perspective of what’s working, and what’s not. It can help you hand-pick employees who are ready to take more responsibility. It can allow you to develop richer programs to encourage them to stay on.
Create effective communication lines
An effective communication system is one of the easiest ways to keep employees happy. Smaller business owners often run into the trap of trying to create friendships with the handful of people on board. This can put working relationships in jeopardy. Good communication means having the proper performance system to review goals and accomplishments. Nothing should ever come as a shock.
Communication should also be both verbal and written. The clearer the systems are, the more support you’ll have every step of the way. From setting expectations to documenting performance, employees are more likely to fall in line if they have access to data. And there will be less confusion overall.
Want to stop high employee turnover? Want to reduce your risk of unhappy employees looking for a way to lash out? It starts with a plan.
What’s yours?
For IT Strategy, Security and Compliance, or Help Desk Services, reach out to us at Cannabis Technology Partners 360-450-4759.
