MJBizMag April 2021 - 40

The Compensation Spectrum
Robust Yet
Realistic
T
he cannabis industry continues to
pay competitively, with statistics
from recruiters showing yearover-year
compensation increases for
most top, mid- and lower-level positions.
There is less evidence of the " insane
lack of discipline on pay " that some
marijuana companies exhibited three
or four years ago, said Dan Walter, a
compensation specialist and managing
consultant for San Rafael, Californiabased
BlueFire Cannabis by FutureSense,
the national compensation strategies firm
that provided cannabis business payroll
data for this report.
" We're seeing more people being paid
relative to their position in the company
as opposed to just being paid for a title or
for a relationship, " he said.
What are the consequences of this
compensation evolution and upheaval?
Executive and lower-level positions
continue to enjoy solid compensation
increases, while midlevel positions
have seen more modest increases in
compensation-and even some declines.
Compensation increased the most in
parts of the cannabis supply chain that
experienced sales increases-most notably
in cultivation and retail. Meanwhile,
roles related to manufactured cannabis
products experienced more tepid growth.
Mature and growing marijuana
companies require higher-level team
members who have experience scaling
businesses.
That talent pool remains relatively
small for cannabis companies, but it has
been growing-especially over the past
year, when layoffs released a flood of
experienced individuals into the
job market.
Competitive Comp
" Cannabis is becoming more and more
of a competitive space. All the MSOs
(multistate operators) that are expanding
are hiring from a similar talent pool. So,
salaries are definitely increasing, " said
Liesl Bernard, CEO of CannabizTeam, a
national marijuana-focused recruitment
firm headquartered in San Diego.
Walter concurred, adding that smaller
cannabis companies should also be
prepared to pay executives competitively
and offer better-than-average wages to
lower-level employees.
" You should know that if you want to
hire a C-suite officer at your cannabis
company, and your cannabis company
has more than 50 people, you're probably
going to pay them somewhere between
$150,000 and $200,000 a year, " Walter
said. " As a startup, you need to know that
if you're going to hire people working in
your stores, you're probably going to pay
them $15 an hour or regardless of what
minimum wages are (in your market) or
what you think somebody at Taco Bell
makes down the street. "
" Putting together a competitive
compensation package " is critical for
40 Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2021
Between pandemic layoffs and the
rapidly declining stigma around
marijuana, there has seldom been
so much talent available to cannabis
industry executives looking to hire.
Nevertheless, it's as important
as ever to recruit wisely, vet
candidates and compensate them
appropriately. Here are things to
consider when evaluating business
staffing needs:
* Thanks to newly legal marijuana
markets launching and more
companies starting or expanding,
job growth has increased
dramatically during the past three
years. The number of workers
required by the industry will
continue to increase-at least for
the short term.
* Cannabis industry salaries continue
to be competitive, and payroll data
shows the cultivation and retail
sectors are enjoying solid growth in
compensation.
* While cannabis companies continue
to recruit heavily from mainstream
businesses to fill certain executive
and specialized positions, an
increasing pool of candidates has
both mainstream and cannabis
industry experience.
* Tech personnel are also in high
demand, driven by the need
for online order and delivery
frameworks.
* States seeing especially strong job
growth include California, Colorado,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan
and Oklahoma.
* While workers come to the
marijuana sector with a variety
of experience, highly regulated
industries such as alcohol and food
have proved to be especially good
sources of talent for marijuana
companies.
companies to win the recruitment
battles shaping up in the industry,
Bernard said. " More and more, we're
seeing companies recruit people with
compensation packages that have higher
base salaries, have some sort of equity
and a bonus component to it, in order
to attract the right talent. "
MJBizMag April 2021

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