Member Blog: The 2022 Cannabis Compensation Survey is here!

by Matt Finkelstein, FutureSense LLC

Gain access to the latest information, trends, and data. DOJ compliant, unbiased, and ready for use.

The Cannabis Compensation Survey is back in action for its third year and is open for respondents thru mid-March of 2022.

Produced by FutureSense LLC & Marijuana Business Daily, the project will continue to be supported by Green Leaf Payroll & Business Services and is endorsed by the National Cannabis Industry Association. This year, the team has also added Western Management Group – a global leader with decades of experience in designing, developing, and executing compensation and benefits surveys – to assist with data management, calculations, and survey development.

Participation in the survey is vital. Individuals and organizations throughout the industry are realizing the value these results provide. Providing data benefits employees, employers, and the industry as a whole. Participation is easy and confidential – this survey follows all DOJ guidelines regarding confidentiality and anonymity to ensure unbiased results.

To comply with DOJ antitrust regulations, we welcome organization-wide submissions only and cannot accept individual submissions from sole employees. HR, payroll, and compensation department employees will have access to this data, as well Executives and Owners. Please contact us if you need help with coordinating participation from your team.

This year, the survey will also be focusing on the most critical and unique positions in the cannabis industry. While we recognize that all data is valuable, there are readily available survey sources for certain non-specified or non-industry-specific positions. We aim to produce the most robust and accurate look at the positions that matter most.

Enrollment is open through March 2022. Data submission kits will be sent out starting mid-February 2022 and due back by mid-March 2022. The final results will be published in May 2022.

For more information, to sign up to participate, and to download the 2021 Final Report, please visit https://content.futuresense.com/2022cannabiscompensationsurvey

Other highlights/news for the 2022 survey:

Improved Data Submission Kit (DSK) – we have redesigned the DSK, making things easier to provide data and match jobs. We will also have job descriptions and leveling schema ready to assist with the job matching process.

Focused benchmark job title list – we are honing in on the most critical and unique jobs in the industry. With other survey data readily available for non-industry-specific jobs, we hope this will make things easier and more efficient for all participants to provide their data. The final report will have clearer and more established benchmark job titles and corresponding descriptions.

The addition of Western Management Group expands capacity to field, aggregate, and analyze data
Brand transition – FutureSense will be dropping its cannabis-forward brand BlueFire Cannabis by FutureSense, simplifying any naming confusions

PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY

FutureSense® is a consulting firm specializing in the areas of organization and people. FutureSense provides holistic people strategies that improve business performance. Our specialties include business strategy, motivation and rewards, executive, employee and sales compensation, organizational and individual assessment, leadership development and coaching, human resources, communications, change, and sustainable transformation. Visit us at www.futuresense.com

Matt Finkelstein is a Consultant with FutureSense LLC and the primary project manager for the Cannabis Compensation Survey. He has a passion for both people and plants – combining years of experience in the organic farming and cannabis communities with his work in people strategies and HR consulting. He believes in the power of cannabis to heal and strengthen individuals and communities alike, and actively works to help cannabis businesses thrive. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/matt-finkelstein-972253179 or email him at matt@futuresense.com.

Member Blog: Are You Practicing Your A, B, R’s? Yes, “R.”

by John Serrantino, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of EzHire Cannabis

Why it is critical to “Always Be Recruiting” in the cannabis industry and how to do it.

The cannabis industry is primed for unprecedented growth in the coming months. Today posting a job can yield thousands of candidates in a matter of hours. In the post we will discuss why this may not be the blessing it appears and how businesses can adapt to handle the influx of talent coming into the cannabis industry.

It seems like everyone wants to work in cannabis these days. With the retail industry experiencing damage that has accelerated its demise, a more diverse candidate set is flocking to cannabis as the industry continues to grow. At EzHire Cannabis, a talent engagement platform, we have identified three distinct buckets of candidates:

Retail Refugees – these are candidates with extensive experience in a retail setting, including middle and upper management. This pool of candidates is short on cannabis experience but seasoned when it comes to creating a retail customer experience.
Silicon Valley meets cannabis – when it comes to the evolving needs of cannabis, technical knowledge is at a premium. IT support is necessary as digital storefronts become vital. Digital marketing & communication, particularly to maintain business-to-business relationships, has become a priority over face-to-face interactions.
Advancing from within – as new markets open the talent from more established markets is proving willing to relocate. Finding this type of talent isn’t easy but it can be critical when starting a cannabis operation in a new market where industry experience is near impossible to source locally.

Cannabis Talent is Building

The legal cannabis market currently employs nearly 300,000 people with exponential growth expected in the coming years. That means there are a lot of prospective candidates with real experience. Unfortunately, there are three core problems that hinder your hiring efforts:

Those experienced professionals aren’t always actively looking for jobs
Experienced candidates aren’t always located in your backyard
Your competitors may be able to lure these candidates to their business before you

In the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross, Blake, an aggressive big city salesman played by Alec Baldwin, introduces a sales team to the “Always Be Closing” mentality to drive business. While this advice hasn’t really aged well for sales, when it comes to staffing your business, it is applicable. Best practice dictates the need to “Always Be Recruiting.” This practice, known more commonly as active recruiting, involves networking with those already in the industry to improve your reach and visibility to those prospective candidates.

Best Practices for Finding Talent

The most common methods of active recruiting involve:

Attending industry networking events – virtual or otherwise these are a great way to get face time with a mix of industry professionals.
Leveraging Technology – as the stigma around working in the industry fades, top talent has migrated to LinkedIn. A smart business owner or hiring manager will build a strong network via the platform.
Monitor industry trends nationwide and share that knowledge – if you’ve built a strong social network, you’ll want to keep them educated. This helps engage the right people for your business.

Balancing Priorities While Getting Results

While it can feel like a lot of work to constantly be recruiting, the benefits far outweigh the time investment in the long run. Take for example the way an experienced hire, be it in retail or lab testing, is able to come in and “get stuff done” with limited onboarding and handholding. Most businesses find those candidates primarily need training on protocols and processes specific to the business rather than a full background in the industry which can be time-consuming and expensive.

Hiring Managers have consistently expressed feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of applicants they receive when they post for a position. They simply do not have time to sort through thousands of resumes to find the diamonds – and resumes often do not tell the full story, requiring a phone screen and in-person interviews to really get to know whether the applicant is a fit.

Fortunately, within the industry, there are a number of ways to streamline these motions. In fact, this post offers insight into some of the ways you can work toward securing top talent. Bringing on a new employee is an investment you are making in your business, taking the steps outlined above serves as a great way to make sure you are getting the highest probability of a return on that investment.

Happy Hiring!

John Serrantino is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of EzHire Cannabis. EzHire Cannabis offers technology forward solutions for business owners and hiring managers to enable their growth. Founded in 2017, originally as Fortuna Business Solutions, EzHire represents the first talent engagement platform for the cannabis industry. Prior to joining EzHire, John was an early-stage employee at multiple successful startups including as Director of Sales for Seattle-based CRM, PipelineDeals and Director of Client Services at Philadelphia-based remindermedia. John and his wife Sarah reside in the Tampa Bay area and are active in the animal rescue community.