Why Cannabis Firms Can't Attract Quality Talent?
This week I wrote about a recent wave of high-profile CEO exits from large MSOs. I suggested that in many cases (not these CEOs) the wrong person is often hired into a poorly defined role.
That point elicited a flurry of DMs and calls, with many asking why that happens.
The ramifications of ‘poor fit’ are significant, negatively impacting culture, the quality of decision making and employee productivity not to mention driving up expenses like recruiting fees, severance and legal costs.
If people drive business results you can’t afford to recruit duds.
So, what going on?
For starters, this issue goes beyond the C Suite to include lower levels of management across all functions. And like many things in cannabis, the answer is multi-factorial.
In this post, I want to focus on an important but rarely discussed gap: the missing People Strategy
Sarah Seale, founder of Sarah Seale Inc., is an organizational specialist with a front row seat to LP hiring practices:
"The crux of the ‘talent’ problem goes to the core of how a company functions. Many cannabis firms do not take the time to create a people strategy. If they have a strategy, they rarely align it with their business strategy and plans.
What does this mean? Businesses in the cannabis industry tend to be incredibly reactionary and constantly in fire fighter mode, trying to solve problems without taking the time to really think through the people dimension.
What is the easiest way that people tend to solve problems? They throw people at it and hope it goes away.”
It doesn’t.
Worse, the People Strategy gap is usually accompanied by poor talent acquisition practices.
The process - if it exists - is often flawed.
The result? bad hires, premature exits, cultural turmoil and alienating strong candidates.
An ineffective process can be broken down into 3 buckets:
1. Weak tools & practices
Unfocused and poorly articulated job descriptions; slow and unprofessional recruitment practices; weak HR competencies.
2. Poor grading methods
Talent evaluators are not qualified to judge; selection criteria and graders have inherent bias; limited input is sought from the wider organization.
3. Misaligned expectations between the parties
Companies seek top talent but don’t fully disclose their situation or set the candidate up for success (e.g., onboarding support); there is little thinking around what personality traits are needed for the particular business situation; uncompetitive compensation packages incentivize new and old hires to start looking elsewhere.
Unlike many things in cannabis, fixing this problem is not rocket science. For the sake of your staff and corporate performance, you can do better.
Call me. I can help.
#recruiting #talentmanagement #HR