Think back to your first time visiting a dispensary. It can be overwhelming. You probably had an idea of what product you were looking for, but maybe you weren’t exactly sure.
Who was there to help you? A budtender.
Budtenders are a key component behind any successful dispensary. They are typically the person your customers interact with the most during their visit. Successful budtenders are engaging and helpful. They also have extensive knowledge of cannabis and are able to speak to the different nuances of each product or strain. The right budtender will put new customers at ease and keep loyal customers coming back.
However, as the cannabis industry grows and evolves, there is a noticeable lack of formal budtender training.
Benefits of Budtender Training
Quality budtenders are hard to find. Lack of a formal budtender training program can make your new employee’s first few shifts difficult, especially when they are learning a sophisticated compliance software system.
For your dispensary to thrive, finding and retaining the best employees is vital. Frequent turnover has a negative effect on employee morale, productivity and ultimately revenue.
Having a budtender training program can boost morale and increase employee engagement, because they see you investing in their future. However, it is not just your employees who benefit. According to a poll from Gallup, highly engaged teams show 21 percent greater profitability.
Dispensary Standard Operating Procedures
To ensure consistency in your budtender training, start by implementing dispensary standard operating procedures (SOPs). SOPs are step-by-step instructions to guide an employee on how to perform certain processes within an organization. Having these detailed policies and procedures in place can help your dispensary run more efficiently.
In addition, SOPs make life easier for your budtenders. As a result, they will know exactly how to execute certain tasks and perhaps most importantly, maintain compliance.
Consequences of Dispensary Compliance Mistakes
In a highly regulated industry such as cannabis, compliance is paramount. Budtenders play a critical role in maintaining compliance. As the customer-facing, product experts, budtenders are typically the ones performing the front of house compliance tasks.
Dispensary owners who have to constantly focus on replacing employees face serious compliance risks. Beyond the fines or license revocation, you could also face a host of consequences if you don’t invest in budtender training. For example, you may be subject to long investigations, painful audits, poor customer service, or even jail time.
Budtender Training With ZolTrain
Budtender training empowers your staff, mitigates risk and helps you operate more efficiently. Want to learn more about how adopting a learning management system can boost profits for your cannabis brand or dispensary? MJ Freeway partners with Zoltrain for budtender training resources. Request a demo today and choose partner integrations on the form!
