In any company, it might be difficult to find temporary employees, but for many cannabis firms, it is absolutely necessary.

In addition to filling necessary seasonal jobs like processing outdoor harvests, trimming, extraction, and even serving as budtenders or brand ambassadors during the holidays, temporary workers also assist in bridging inevitable gaps in professional responsibilities.

Employing a Cannabis Staffing Agency company can assist recruiting managers and corporate executives with navigating changing market demands, labor regulations, and compliance, especially given the current legal environment's stark state-by-state differences.

The Top Three Cannabis Temp Staffing Models

Three basic methods exist for cannabis firms to hire temporary workers:

  • In the conventional temporary staffing model, an employer hires a staffing firm to handle some hiring duties.
  • More recently, staffing companies have also provided a "no-touch" approach, which lessens the employer's accountability for both the recruiting and management of temporary workers.
  • Employers can communicate with staffing companies that offer specialized consultation for human resources services, risk assessment, operational compliance, and other services through the "HR solutions" model in addition to hiring support.

Each model has advantages and disadvantages but taken collectively, they provide businesses with more options than ever for selecting temporary staff in accordance with their management capacity, spending capacity, and enterprise scale.

 Here is a brief overview to assist you in choosing the best strategy for your company:

Employer of Record and conventional staffing services

With the classic staffing model, an employer hires a staffing firm to help with temporary employee hiring, recruiting, and some HR-related tasks. It is the employer's responsibility to interview and choose a temporary worker from the pool of candidates the agency provides after screening them for a specific position. The staffing company can also assist in organizing the job offer and communicating pay scales and start dates to temp candidates.

The staffing agency remains involved as the temporary employee's legitimate employer once the hire has been made. This is referred to as the staffing company acting as the "employer of record" on behalf of the business where the temporary employee is employed. In terms of scheduling, time off, sick days, or any other issues relating to attendance, the staffing company is the point of contact for temporary employees.

The staffing company, as the legal employer of record, is liable for all hiring expenses related to finding, employing, and onboarding the temporary worker, as well as for setting up benefits. The Cannabis Staffing Agency using the temporary employee pays the staffing company a markup, which is a portion of the employee's hourly wage, in addition to the employee's income, to cover these expenses.

The Non-Touch Method

The technology-based staffing model, often known as the no-touch staffing model, is simply a shortened version of the conventional temp employment process. The term "no touch" describes how a Cannabis Staffing Agency business might communicate with the staffing agency via a website or app.

In this arrangement, the staffing company still finds, evaluates, and chooses individuals for temporary positions and bargains compensation rates. The Cannabis Staffing Agencies then pick a candidate from the available options on the recruiting agency's app. The same software platform then serves as a portal for temporary employees to validate information like their start date, work schedule, and open shift signups.

Similar to the conventional model, the staffing solutions company serves as the employee's legal employer of record and is in charge of all documentation related to their employment, regulatory compliance, and payroll services. As the temporary employee's main point of contact, the staffing company is in charge of daily communications regarding attendance and assumes financial responsibility for onboarding expenses, benefits, and other things. The employee's pay rate still includes a markup to cover these expenses.

The Model for HR Solutions and Complete Support

Beyond the control of temporary workers, the HR solutions approach provides Cannabis Staffing Agencies businesses with a higher level of support. 

According to this strategy,

the staffing company offers a comprehensive array of HR services, including compliance oversight and support, risk mitigation, infrastructure development, operations consulting, employee relations management, and training on state-mandated courses. The company typically pays a monthly consultation fee rather than a variable markup rate.

The HR solutions model not only brings peace of mind to Cannabis Staffing Agencies entrepreneurs establishing a presence in expanding markets or those entering new states as an MSO but also offers the value of screening temporary personnel (Multi-State Operator). Cannabis Staffing Agency assist executive teams in focusing on developing the business without exposing themselves to unnecessary regulatory risk by providing both compliance and HR skills.

Specialized knowledge

These auxiliary business services are becoming more prevalent in the Cannabis Staffing Agencies industry precisely because it can be so difficult to fill important roles in developing regions, under varied legal regimes, and at various phases of organizational growth.

Business owners can save time and money by working with a cannabis-specific staffing agency that has extensive experience in hiring, managing, and recruiting employees as well as understanding industry rules that have an impact on team-building decisions.

Contracting a staffing firm for temporary employment or HR and operational advice, similar to outsourcing accounting, insurance broking, or legal assistance, keeps Cannabis Staffing Agency lean and nimble to react to seasonal and market swings, decrease liabilities, and preserve the bottom line.