2020 Talent Trends.
2019 was a crazy year for the industry with cannabis companies going on hiring frenzies only to conduct major layoffs later in the year. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and catch the attraction of professionals from across industries, it’s important for employers to do their homework before signing on the dotted line. A plethora of legislation changes, employment law, unemployment rates and economic trends are bound to impact you, and it’s best you’re prepared.
Legislation changes weekly, if not daily in some cases, and can drastically impact your business in ways you didn’t see coming. Not only are you pitted against the rapidly changing legal cannabis laws, but state and federal employment laws are updating and often make doing business more difficult than intended. Are you paying your employees on a 1099 basis in California? If you are, chances are you’re likely not doing it correctly. Are all of your exempt employees making $54,080 or more? Again, you better hope so.
HR law and legislation aside, we asked a few of our partners what they see 2020 has in store for the recruiting industry for talent trends.
“In 2020 I believe we will continue to see an increase in direct hire placements for hard-to-find professional and niche positions, with an emphasis on drawing in talent from outside the cannabis industry. The competitive nature of the job market and scarcity of quality candidates keeps the job market hot and will force companies to remain competitive and find cost efficient hiring solutions as they grow exponentially. Because of this, I think there will be an increase in strategic RPO solutions. This is something we have seen gaining momentum and developing internally to get ahead and offer innovative solutions to existing and emerging clients. RPO solutions go hand-in-hand with direct hire placements, sourcing valuable candidates at a more cost-effective rate and on a scalable model.”
“The cannabis industry truly presents a new, exciting culture that, in many ways, is much better than other, traditional industries. Even though unemployment rates come in around 3.5-4% in the United States (making top talent incredibly difficult to secure) we’ve noticed that many candidates are specifically keeping an eye out for opportunities within the cannabis industry. When posting a job ad for a cannabis company, we typically receive 40-55% more candidates than a non-cannabis posting. As the cannabis industry becomes more mainstream, these numbers will only increase. One of the main trends that I’ve noticed over the past 5 years is that candidates really want to work within an organization that they feel is making a positive impact in the world. The cannabis industry, in many ways, gives them that opportunity…in addition to tons of upward mobility potential!
In 2020, I believe that many new, exciting roles will be created within the cannabis industry. For example, it’s no secret that many of the State & Federal rules and regulations are difficult to keep up with, so many of our clients are asking for Compliance Specialists and F&A gurus. With the influx in these new roles, it gives candidates the opportunity to use what they’ve previously learned, and take that knowledge and experience to a new, exciting industry that typically offers an incredible company culture.”
James Owsiany – Recruiting Partner
“For 2019, much of the focus was on Social Equity and Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and the importance of having a strong, purpose driven culture as a foundation to differentiate yourself. Because 2020 is an election year, we can expect some turbulent times politically which directly influences the markets and how prudent businesses will focus their resources and hiring needs. Look for a continued emergence of automation in the talent acquisition process, and in particular those tasks that are mundane and repeatable: This creates a more personalized experience for new talent joining their organization. With the demand for talent being so high, company branding is going to be a big differentiator when candidates evaluate options. Knowing how your company is perceived in the marketplace will be a tremendous advantage to progressive companies who will either need to leverage this attribute or fix it!”
