MJBizMag May-June 2022 - 8

FROM THE EDITOR Kate Lavin
Staffing for Success
Labor shortage drives home the importance of solid hiring
and compensation practices
A
game of musical chairs
caused by the Great
Resignation-a term
coined in late 2021, when the
percentage of employees leaving
their jobs reached a historic rate-
make hiring and retention in the
cannabis industry more important
in 2022 than ever before.
According to a CEO survey
released by Fortune and Deloitte
early this year, labor shortage is
the top concern for executives in
2022, with 71% saying they expect
a scarcity of labor and skills to
disrupt business strategy.
And with new markets such
as New Jersey and New Mexico
recently opening their doors to
adult-use marijuana consumers,
the demand for skilled workers
in the cannabis industry will only
continue to grow.
Emphasis on Diversity
Businesses inside and outside the
cannabis sector are increasing
efforts to diversify staff-both
to create authentic connections
with a wider variety of consumers
and to make good on social equity
promises stemming from the war
on drugs.
To assist cannabis executives
seeking to grow their own teams,
MJBizMagazine dedicated this
year's compensation issue to
increasing workplace diversity and
achieving pay equity.
As a jumping-off point for
companies looking to build
diversity on staff, author and
labor consultant Natasha Bowman
8 May-June 2022 | MJBizMagazine
recommends that hiring managers
analyze the applications for
posted jobs to determine whether
their company is attracting a
diverse group of jobseekers. If not,
the business needs to identify
why diverse applicants might be
turned off even before submitting
a resume.
Potential reasons can include a
website that shows there are no
people of color on the team or
executives who all attended the
same type of school, fostering the
appearance of an establishment
where inclusivity is not valued.
Pay-Equity Promise
Before new staff members are
hired, managers need to set the
compensation range for incoming
positions. In states that have
adopted pay transparency laws,
which require companies to
include anticipated pay in their
employment ads, jobseekers know
before applying whether the
salary is sufficient, which draws
more resumes from qualified
candidates.
" A company that believes in fairness
and equity will attract people
... because they stand for that
purpose, " said Jim Finkelstein, CEO
of California-based compensation
advisory firm FutureSense. The
company worked with Green Leaf
Payroll & Business Solutions and
Western Management Group to
gather data points and create the
median compensation figures seen
in our cover package, starting on
page 34.
Cannabis businesses looking
for more detail on pay for specific
positions can visit the 2022 Cannabis
Compensation Survey Report at
content.futuresense.com/2022ccs
and register to participate next year.
Staffing Opportunities
Elsewhere in this issue, we look
at how to hire staffers with prior
criminal convictions. As Kika
Keith, founder of California-based
Gorilla Rx Wellness, said, veterans
of the illicit market are a natural
fit for success in the regulated
marijuana industry.
" All we had to do was teach the
compliance and the regulations,
teach the policy side, " she told
MJBizMagazine. " You're talking
about diamonds in the rough,
folks who have relationships, have
knowledge of the plant, knowledge
of how buying works. "
Labor shortages don't appear
to be ending any time soon, but
we hope the content in this issue
provides a springboard to achieve
your hiring and compensation
goals, creating a more stable
workforce and profitable business
in 2022 and beyond.
Kate Lavin is the editor
of MJBizMagazine. Reach
her at kate.lavin@
mjbizdaily.com.
http://content.futuresense.com/2022ccs
MJBizMag May-June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag May-June 2022
