There are many jobs that require certain skills in cannabis. It has been difficult to find the right people to fill more specialized job positions. Because of this, it was very popular to hire a cannabis consultant. Nowadays, cannabis is more popular than ever.
The right solution for operators is finding the right consultant, as cannabis companies are quickly growing. There are many third-party consultants who specialize in cannabis.
But the argument that cannabis skills are hard to find is no longer true, given the industry’s rapid evolution. There are now more cannabis professionals than ever. For highly specialized roles, you can hire a full-time, strong employee.
The opportunity to employ highly skilled people with specialized skills is now available. So when is the right moment to hire a full-time employee and not a consultant to cannabis?
It doesn’t matter if you are in sales accounting or cultivation. Here are the top reasons to hire full-time cannabis professionals and when it’s the right time.
Reasons to Hire Full-Time Versus a Consultant in Cannabis
These are the top reasons and list indicators that can help you to decide whether a full-time employee is better than a contractor for the cannabis industry. We explore the causes and indicators of cultivation and manufacturing, legal, compliance, accounting, and finance, as well as marketing.
Cultivation and Manufacturing
When a company builds and designs its first cannabis grow, they turn to professionals for assistance. Most cannabis companies will hire a consultant who is experienced in building and designing growth.
It was not easy to find experienced full-time employees a few years ago. Nowadays, full-time cultivation talent is readily available. Many cannabis production facilities are found in non-urban and rural areas. As such, experienced cultivation and manufacturing professionals are more comfortable moving to these areas.
There is plenty of talent for full-time cultivation, but it is important that you know when it is right to hire full-time. When is the best time to hire full-time cultivation talent?
- There isn’t one person running the facility daily with the right background.
- Consultants cannot be reached part-time.
- The facility isn’t meeting its yield objectives.
- The company wants the best vendors for its business. Consultants are often incentivized into using vendors who offer kickbacks.
- The cultivation manager has no computer or data management skills.
- While the cultivator is technically skilled, it can’t manage or meet the budget.
- The company is currently hiring people without any industry experience. However, there is no full-time training program.
- Consultants are people who train new employees.
- The second or third facility is under construction.
- You get the impression that you are “over-hired.”
Marketing
Marketing is often the last department that a cannabis company hires. You should hire a full-time cannabis marketer if the company is growing.
- More mission-critical data is required to drive retail and/or product strategy decisions.
- Needs to generate more retail revenue, improve customer service, better understand customers, or have a more efficient marketing strategy
- Is there a way to tie marketing to revenues?
- A person with little to no marketing skills can manage more than one marketing contractor at the same time.
- Is not able to provide data trends on monthly customer acquisition for organized product development strategies.
- You need to learn more about what customers buy and at what price points.
- Can dispensaries have dispensaries? Wants to harness the data on patients’ and customers’ buying habits
