MJBizMag April 2021 - 68

BestPracticesInRetail | Solomon Israel
The Soul of a Store
Y
ou've found the perfect location
and designed your dream
dispensary-now it's time to
recruit the staffers who will bring your
store to life.
Exact strategies will vary based on a
retailer's size and resources, the local
labor pool and available time. But a
few basic tips can help you find the
employees your store needs to succeed.
Finding Your First Employees
Recruitment can be time-consuming
even in the age of online job boards,
said Alison McMahon, CEO and founder
of Cannabis at Work, a Canadian
human-resources and recruitment
company for the marijuana industry.
" Usually, people are reaching out to
us because they have a lot of different
priorities, and something has to give
somewhere, " she said. " They're willing
to assign a piece of their budget to a
recruitment firm to help them get some
of that key talent in the door. "
McMahon said retailers often seek
Cannabis At Work's help for key hires
such as general managers, even if
they're not using the recruitment
agency to fill all their positions.
One-time recruitment agency fees
are typically structured as a percentage
of the hire's annual salary, McMahon
explained. That often includes a
guarantee that the recruiter will replace
the employee if they leave within a
certain period of time.
Expect to spend 10%-20% of the
target position's annual salary for the
recruitment fee, McMahon said-or even
more for management or executive roles.
Kara Bradford, co-founder and CEO
of Seattle-based cannabis recruitment
and human-resources company Viridian
Staffing, said she's seen some other
U.S. recruitment firms charge as much
as 30% for a placement. For smaller
stores, though, she said referrals
and word of mouth are still effective
strategies to get new hires on board.
Local media coverage-such as
inviting a TV news crew to tour your
store-can be another low-cost way
for upcoming retailers to attract
applicants. " In some areas, it's really
big news when a new cannabis store is
opening, " she said.
Bradford also has seen some
marijuana retailers use an age-old
recruitment tactic: poaching workers
directly from competing stores.
Scott Wells, executive vice president
of talent acquisition at multistate
marijuana operator Cresco Labs, said
the Chicago-based company doesn't
make a practice of poaching workers
from competitors, citing " a little bit of
an unspoken agreement that we're not
going to try to raid each other. "
" If we play nice in the communities
that we work in, we think our
competitors will do the same, " he said.
Of course, with a 50-person HR
and recruitment team, Cresco's hiring
process looks different than a momand-pop
retailer's might.
Wells said Cresco relies on a variety
of recruitment methods such as
employee referrals, online postings,
68 Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2021
Recruiting and retaining the right retail staffers can set a new business up for success
Retail staff members
serve customers
at Cresco Labs'
Sunnyside store in
Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
Courtesy Photo
Cannabis stores face many of the
same recruitment challenges as
any other retailer. Finding qualified,
reliable employees in a fast-moving,
competitive job market can be
challenging. Cannabis industry
recruitment experts recommend:
* Using a range of hiring
tactics, including employee
recommendations, word of mouth
and professional recruiters.
* Relying on data from job-listing
platforms and industry recruiters to
set compensation levels.
* Offering employees a clear path
to earn promotions and raises.
Knowing that these incentives are on
the horizon can help top retail talent.
* Treating all applicants-even those
you can't hire-with respect in order
to win and keep loyal customers.
third-party recruitment agencies and job
fairs to staff its stores and facilities.
He sees benefits to hiring a diverse
range of retail workers, including those
with a passion for cannabis, but said
retail experience definitely matters.
" It's not an easy job. It's stressful,
you're dealing with the public, you're
dealing with patients, you're dealing
MJBizMag April 2021

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