Every successful organization must make investments in employee training, but it is all the more important in the cannabis sector. There are challenges to accomplishing the task effectively and quickly, whether the workers are brand-new hires or current employees who must learn a new skill. For example, time and money are significant obstacles.
Having a strategy is the most effective way of minimizing the time and expense involved with training. Consider combining multiple methods to meet your specific cannabis employee training requirements. A current employee may not require what is required for a brand-new hire. differentiate and train accordingly.
In this blog, we will be understanding cannabis employee training basics for cannabis businesses:
Importance of Training
Training is essential for an organization to grow and succeed. Employers and employees of an organization both benefit from it. Quality training can help an employee increase their productivity and efficiency.
Four types of training:
New Hire Training – Newly employed candidates receive training from the organisation they join. Through this training, they become familiar with the organization’s mission, vision, laws and regulations, and working conditions.
Existing Employee Training – Existing employees need the training to refresh and hone their knowledge.
New Product/Tech Training – In case of any technical upgrades or modifications, training is provided to deal with those changes. For instance, investing in new equipment, altering inventory management, or integrating new software. The employees receive training on how to use modern equipment and working methods.
Role Change Training – Training is provided so that workers are ready to share the responsibilities of the higher level job.
Cannabis Employee Training – Things To Remember
Compliance To Cannabis Rules
It’s crucial that you communicate to your team how important it is to comply with state cannabis compliance laws while training them. Especially, employees of cannabis dispensaries need to be made aware of the need of adhering to cannabis compliance regulations. Ensuring accuracy in reporting, inventory processes, labeling, SOP, and other areas is vital.
Your dispensary’s license could be revoked if you don’t follow the local cannabis regulations. Additionally, keep in mind that these regulations may differ from one state to another, so make sure to check with the state authorities where you reside.
Product Knowledge
Secondly, thorough instruction about cannabis as a whole must be given to dispensary workers throughout training. A cursory understanding of cannabis is insufficient for the job, therefore they also need to become aware of each product in the store and be aware of the potential effects on customers. However, the training can begin with a brief introduction to cannabis and gradually proceed to the uses and advantages customers stand to gain from the various products available in the store.
By streamlining the training in this way, you’ll improve employee understanding and position your dispensary for success in the long run.
Security Training For Employees
Everyone on your team should be aware that the cannabis industry attracts criminal groups. Not everyone is able to recognize security threats or knows what to do in the event of a robbery. The safety of the workers and the security of the dispensary depend on security training and robbery awareness that is provided to the staff. Recognizing a threat and handling it successfully must be an integral part of the security training for dispensary employees.
Methods Of Training Employees In The Cannabis Sector
On-The-Job Training
On-the-job training methods are those that are imparted to employees while they are engaged in regular business operations. It is an easy and affordable training technique. By employing such a training strategy, the less skilled, as well as the semi-skilled personnel can receive effective guidance. The workers receive training in actual working conditions. Such training is imparted to employees for job rotation, coaching, temporary role undertaking, and many others.
Off-The-Job Training
Methods of training that take place away from the actual workplace are referred to as off-the-job training. It is usually given to new hires. Workshops, seminars, conferences, and other events are examples of off-the-job training techniques.
This method is expensive and only works if a large number of people need to be trained quickly.
Standard Operating Procedures
SOPs, or standard operating procedures, are manuals for carrying out specific tasks. SOPs, are detailed written instructions for carrying out particular duties. They serve as a resource for work at all levels of an organization and can augment other learning strategies, such as on-the-job training, to provide excellent support. SOPs can be used as a great tool for training new hires or existing employees.
Training Cannabis Employees Using SOPs
It is well-established that SOPs tend to minimize the need for employees to attend formal training sessions. Employees can learn at their own pace and comfort level with the help of comprehensive, well-written SOPs that can serve as a self-paced learning tool. This means that the only knowledge source needed by the staff to master their work processes would be the SOP manuals. This might free up a lot of time and money that would otherwise be used for face-to-face training.
Additionally, employees gain confidence in their ability to retain knowledge and develop their skill sets without the need for a superior or supervisor to help them perform better on the job.
Advantages of SOP-Led Employee Training
Improves Job Performance
Every individual has a different capability to perform a job. But with the right training, this performance gap can be minimized. With the help of SOP-led training, a “poor performer” can become an asset for the company. The person becomes more efficient and productive when given detailed information and specific measurements pertaining to their role.
Transparency With Job Expectations
Every company that uses SOPs for training purposes benefits from being able to communicate expectations very clearly. It can be challenging to communicate the expectations related to the job process in the absence of a document like the SOP. And occasionally, when it is vague, it places both the employee and the manager in a precarious situation.
Moreover, every organization that uses SOPs for training has the particular advantage of being able to communicate the requirements very clearly. It can be challenging to communicate the expectations related to the job process in the absence of a document like the SOP. And occasionally, when it is vague, it places both the employee and the manager in a precarious situation.
Supports Continuous Improvement
A key component of continuous improvement can be involving experienced employees who have an in-depth understanding of the work process while developing an SOP. These employees are able to obtain important knowledge about increasing efficiency through ongoing exposure to the working conditions.
By working closely with the staff members during the SOP creation process, quality information can be easily documented through knowledge transfer. By doing this, you can make sure that a new employee’s “learning” phase lasts for a considerably shorter period. Hence SOP will become the go-to document for all employees who go through a period of struggle for learning a new job process.
Bottom Line
When creating an ideal cannabis employee training plan for your cannabis business, don’t be reluctant to try out various approaches. The right approach can help your business save time and money while training your staff for success.
