Marijuana Business Magazine July 2018

EMPLOYMENT TIPS C annabis companies are typically slow to hire human resources professionals. Most marijuana business owners are more concerned about growth and revenue in the early stages of their compa- nies, and HR employees represent a nonrevenue-generating expense. “It just takes companies a lit- tle while to even wrap their heads around the fact that they need someone in HR,” said Joe Hodas, chief operating officer of General Cannabis, a Denver holding company that acquires businesses across multiple sectors in the industry. But business executives wait to their own detriment to fill this position. An HR professional can execute a number of important duties, including helping your company with: • Recruiting and reviewing employees. • Setting vacation policy. By Bart Schaneman • Developing an employee handbook. • Creating processes for discipli- nary actions. • Onboarding employees. • Monitoring payroll. • Negotiating health-care benefits. • Setting up retirement plans. “There are a lot of different moving parts within the HR area,” said Leah Heise, chief experience officer of Mission Partners, a multistate chain of medical marijuana dispensaries owned by the Phoenix-based MJ investment and management com- pany 4Front Holdings. WHAT TO LOOK FOR When hiring for this position, Heise wants someone who is detail-oriented. “The ability to look at the big picture in an organization and distill things down to smaller, itemized tasks” is crucial, she said. The person should also be very good with people. The HR office is often also the complaint department, dealing with disciplinary matters or dissatisfied employees. Hire LEARN¬NG How to Hire and Train an HR Professional for Your Cannabis Business ( ) 106 • Marijuana Business Magazine • July 2018