Security Training for Dispensary Employees

Security Training for Dispensary Employees 

One of the most crucial aspects of running a high-risk business is ensuring that your employees are well-versed in your dispensary’s security standards and procedures. There is a clear correlation between your company’s long-term success and how well trained your employees are. Trained employees off your business a better ROI because they are aware of the company’s losses if they choose to break any policy, attempt theft, slack off, etc. Dispensary security training is more than paramount for your business and should remain a top priority to ensure your long-term success.  

Dispensary Security: What To Go Over

One aspect of your business that your employees must be well-versed in are the standard operating procedures (SOPs), which intend to set standards and improve productivity to drive the company toward common goals. Cannabis dispensary SOPs accomplish this as the procedures are tailored to the handling of cannabis products. These instruct your employees on what they need to complete and how to accomplish the procedure step-by-step. 

Your SOPs should cover at least the following topics: 

  • Company standards 
  • Working conditions 
  • Work expectations 
  • Wages and benefits 
  • Performance reviews 
  • Termination Policy 
  • Administration
  • Employee and manager responsibilities

SOPs can be used as a training manual for new employees and a resource manual for existing employees, so it must accommodate employees of all experience levels. There are many ways to write SOPs, but there are tried-and-true methods that offer clearer communication.  

Dispensary SOPs must cover every step of the retail process, beginning when a customer shows their ID and ends when the customer leaves the premises. The dispensary process must also include how employees handle cannabis products from the arrival shipment vehicle to when the product returns to the vault at the end of the day. 

Another vital aspect of your security SOPs is training your employees on the opening and closing procedures of your dispensary. Ideally, Employee 1 will unlock or lock the store’s front door, turn the alarm on/off, and have the store locked during this task. Employee 2 will wait and watch safely in a car once the perimeter is clear as Employee 1 disarms or activates the alarm. IMPORTANT NOTE: every employee must know the alarm duress code. Training and testing your employees on this is paramount for mitigating risk for your dispensary.  

Why is Dispensary Training Important?

Internal employee theft is one of the greatest threats to any cannabis business and an estimated 90% of financial losses in the cannabis industry are traced to employee theft. We strongly recommend that any cannabis business implement a ‘Culture of Honesty’ policy to lay out accountability standards within all staff, the consequences that could occur if an employee does not follow policy, and create an ‘Open Door’ policy for employee concerns, as well as scheduling periodic staff meetings.  

There are ways to make the dispensary security process more secure – starting with an established hiring process in your SOPs. Background checks and thorough interviews help ensure employees are properly vetted prior to hiring and reduce the likelihood of employment issues later. Once a candidate has been hired, it should be policy that the employee completes your company’s security training within 30 days of the hire date. SOPs should also dictate that all employees must repeat refresher training annually.  

Operating a cannabis business involves many risks, and if you manage a dispensary, you and your employees must be prepared to tackle emergencies. This is only possible if your employees know what to do at any given moment based on what they had learned in their training. Not only does your business have to be and remain compliant with state and local laws, but your employees should be aware of these issues. With robust dispensary security training, your dispensary can alleviate risk and remain successful for many years. 

How Can Sapphire Risk Help?

Tony Gallo and the team of experts and consultants at Sapphire Risk Advisory Group have worked to secure medical marijuana and recreational cannabis businesses in 37 states. Follow us on social media to stay up to date with more security best practices and cannabis industry updates!