Staffing a Michigan cannabis facility: trim, cultivation and packaging crews

Cannabis work may look easy from the outside. Anyone who's operated a trim room knows different: the pace is steady for hours, standards exact, rooms controlled and every gram needs to be accounted for. Enter the old "send me some general labor" mindset and you're asking for trouble.

Who regulates what in Michigan

Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) oversees the state's adult-use establishment licensees and medical facility licensees under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, and their respective administrative rules. The CRA issues advisory bulletins and technical bulletins for licensees. Through its license lookup, the public can confirm an adult-use establishment license or medical marijuana facility license.

Tracking is where it hits closest to home with every employee. According to the CRA, Metrc is Michigan's statewide seed-to-sale tracking system: serialized tags are placed on every plant, and labels on wholesale packages to track inventory through each growth stage, through drying and curing, and all the way to retail sale. On the floor, that means product and tag stay together, all the time, on every table.

What this means for staffing: The policies are the licensee's responsibility. Your license, your standard operating procedures and the state's regulations determine who can be in what room, what gets recorded and how product flows. Communicate what affects employees to your agency before anyone is matched, and cover it during orientation before anyone begins work.

The roles in a grow and a processing facility

• Trimming

  Hand or machine trim to your standard, at a steady pace, for hours.

• Cultivation support

  Watering, transplanting, moving plants and keeping humidity-controlled grow rooms clean.

• Post-harvest

  Supporting cutting, hanging, drying and curing, with each batch retaining its tag.

• Packaging

  Weighing, filling, labeling and sealing, with each label matching up with the correct product.

• Sorting and quality

  Sorting by grade and pulling anything that doesn't meet the standard.

• Sanitation

  Cleaning rooms, equipment and surfaces at the frequency specified in your procedures.

For every position, the most important attributes are dependability and thoroughness. While experience is certainly beneficial, the person who slows down to pay attention to the details and follows procedure will last longer than the quick one who cuts corners. Plus, in a trim room, that careful employee will often end up faster than the speedy one by week two.

Plan crews around the harvest calendar

With outdoor grows you have one large fall harvest. Indoor grows staggered on a rotating schedule harvest one room at a time, all year. Regardless, you know the trim crew surge weeks in advance, so schedule it weeks in advance, and have personnel come in a few days early to train before harvest comes.

What training does a crew need before the first shift?

1. 1

   Facility rules and access

   Opening doors to, and entering, only those rooms permitted by your license and procedures, and knowing what's allowed inside.

2. 2

   Sanitation and gowning

   Washing hands and wearing gloves, hairnets and any gowning. Show them how in person. Don't just describe it.

3. 3

   Handling and tracking

   Batch flow. Why does the tag stay with the product? What do you do if there is a discrepancy?

4. 4

   The quality standard

   Good trim side by side with bad trim. What to do with anything in between.

5. 5

   Working comfortably

   Chair and table height, tool grip, breaks and task rotation for long trim shifts.

6. 6

   Who to ask

   A named lead on every shift.

It's that fifth step that counts. Performing the same task or similar tasks repetitively and working in awkward positions are two factors OSHA identifies as increasing risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Ergonomics, or fitting the job to the person, reduces muscle fatigue, increases productivity and reduces the incidence and severity of musculoskeletal disorders. Trim room work is about as repetitive as it gets.

How do you keep a good crew between harvests?

Your ideal trim crew is the one you used previously. Maintain a list of individuals who met your expectations. Inform your agency of the individuals you want back and give as much notice as possible. Returning employees know your rules, your rooms and your expectations. There will be less training and fewer errors during that first week.

Between crops, some of your top trimmers might qualify for packaging, sorting or sanitation if they are cross-trained. That way you keep quality people close and occupied. Also it creates a bench for your leads to pull from when your next room comes down. The ones who stick around during the slow times often become your leads.

Cannabis facility staffing questions

How RHO Hiring staffs Michigan cannabis facilities

Looking to staff your cannabis cultivation or processing facility? RHO Hiring can provide trimmers, cultivation support, processing, packaging, and post-harvest employees, with recurring staffing plans for your busiest seasons. Our workers are screened for dependability and attention to detail and trained in safety protocols before their first day, and we walk them through your facility's expectations before they set foot in the building. We are locally owned and operated, not a franchise, and the owners work directly with our clients. Want to learn more? Read how we staffed five cannabis locations in Hazel Park.