Shared Goals Make the World Go ’Round

The American business landscape and its workforce have had good times and bad times. This is a fraught relationship in periods of great innovation. Workers want what’s best for them and their families; businesses, too, want what’s best for the market and for their bottom line. These desires do not always square.

Then again, with the right mindset, even in difficult times, they do.

By now, you and your teams have surely heard about the Great Resignation. More than 4.3 million U.S. employees quit their jobs in December 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, continuing a months-long trend that turned chronic labor shortages into a major headline throughout the past year.

Cannabis is not exactly immune to this supply-side snafu in America, but the industry’s skyrocketing growth rate and its more socially conscious tendencies have somewhat insulated the space from the low-wage roles and top-down corporate structures that have seen employees walk away en masse. The hiring process is not necessarily a walk in the park, but at the very least, cannabis has a way of attracting people.

But attracting employees is one thing. Retaining them is another.

This skill set is one of the great assets for any business owner who can put together a supportive environment for all employees. Keep your staff committed to a shared goal and not only will your business achieve aspirational goals in the market, but your individual employees will flourish. This is a mark of a great company.

So, how does one go about this idea of working toward a shared goal?

First, your team must identify the goal. Then, set clear parameters or put standard operating procedures in place that will allow employees to develop habits to work toward that goal. Finally, along the way, while repeatedly achieving those goals, you and your team must recognize the talent that got you where you are today.

For three years, our team has showcased the Best Cannabis Companies To Work For, both on the cultivation and dispensary sides of the industry. This year, we’re pleased to recognize 11 top-notch retail businesses, each of which offers a suite of benefits and a wide-ranging spectrum of employee-focused perks that make the company feel more like an actual team. (Check out the Best Cannabis Companies to Work For – Cultivation, too.)

In this year’s research, we found that 88% of ranking dispensaries’ employees said they plan to continue to work for their current company for at least two more years, compared with just 74% of employees working for non-ranking companies. As we all know, time moves pretty fast in this industry. Keeping happy employees on your team for at least the next few years is a tremendous benefit to everyone involved. Continuity is a powerful force.

Better yet: 93% of employees at these ranking dispensaries reported that they are “willing to give extra effort to help this organization succeed,” compared to 85% of employees at non-ranking companies. (Read more about these benchmarks here.) Each person might define “extra effort” differently, but it’s that intangible will to strive for something more that sets the Best Companies apart from the rest. That does not occur in a vacuum. At the dispensaries you’ll read about in this special supplement, a culture of pride transcends the sort of labor statistics you read about in the news. At these businesses, success is a shared goal.