Marijuana Business Magazine April 2019

How does Cura determine what it pays? We recently implemented a $14 minimum wage for our entry-level employees. For other positions, we look at what’s the market for that position and the incumbent salaries for that position. We compare ourselves to consumer product companies, not cannabis companies. So, we look at consumer product companies with similar revenue streams of $100 million to $500 million per year when we look at hiring posts like accountant, IT, finance, HR. It could be food manufacturers, makeup manufacturers. More and more, we’re comparing ourselves outside the cannabis industry because the professionals and talent that we need come from these more established industries. What would you tell critics who’d say a $14 minimum wage is too costly? We looked at our profitability and margins before we made that decision. Every company has to do that calculation. We felt we had wide enough margins that we could afford to do that. We are getting better productivity and much less turnover— and turnover can be very expensive. When someone leaves the company and you have to refill that post and retrain someone, there is a cost. Having a more stable workforce is important. Better to invest in retention than retraining new employees. Retention is a key point for us. What role do benefits play at Cura? As far as we know, we were the first cannabis company in Oregon to provide health insurance. We pay 90% of the health-care costs for employees: medical, dental, vision. We offer an employee assistance program, where we offer free resources to employees for financial and legal advice. Paid time off starts at two weeks and goes up to four weeks. We are also looking at things like family-leave policy, paid time off, those types of benefits. We want to be competitive not just in cannabis but in the areas from where we’re trying to attract talent. Has Cura ever had to poach talent? There’s a need sometimes to find passive candidates if you’ve got a need for a specific skill set. We have not had to do a lot of that because when we post a position, we get a pretty healthy response. But just like any industry like high tech, finance, business consulting, there are some positions where you need to look at passive candidates because there’s a smaller pool of talent. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity. GREG FREDERICK Title: Vice president for human resources Company: Cura Cannabis Solutions, Portland, Oregon Sector: Extraction and oil production Inside Cura Cannabis Solutions' Portland headquarters. Courtesy Photo Salary Survey 52 Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2019