Marc Rodriguez: Cannabis Operators Need to Focus on Blocking & Tackling to Keep Employees Engaged, Happy

How he helps cannabis operators succeed by getting back to basics, like making sure employees get paid accurately and on time.

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This week, Marc Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of Green Leaf Payroll and Business Solutions, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he helps cannabis operators succeed by getting back to basics, like making sure employees get paid accurately and on time.

Marc Rodriguez grew up in Southern California. He came from a pretty large Hispanic family, and he says cannabis has always been a part of his culture and family gatherings. Throughout high school and college, Rodriguez was a business-minded student, and as medical-use cannabis became legal in California in the mid-1990s, he saw a lot of business opportunities.

After college, Rodriguez worked for a Fortune 500 payroll and HR services company, quickly learning the ropes. When recreational cannabis became legal in California, he witnessed cannabis companies being underserved—even his Fortune 500 employer was kicking cannabis companies off of its platform. Rodriguez saw an opportunity, and he took it, co-founding Green Leaf Payroll and Business Solutions, which specializes in outsourced cannabis HR consulting, payroll compliance services, timekeeping, applicant tracking, and benefits administration.

It was a difficult road for Rodriguez and other cannabis industry stakeholders, who didn't have even the most basic tools for doing business, like access to banks, or automated clearing houses (ACH) which provide the ability to pay employees or vendors via direct deposit or electronically.

But times have changed, and Green Leaf has played a big role in the transformation.

Jump around.

  • Starting Green Leaf. (2:12)
  • How cannabis HR and payroll solutions have evolved. (5:27)
  • How HR is different for cannabis operators. (7:25)
  • Challenges unique to the cannabis industry. (8:55)
  • Why operators outsource HR and payroll services. (11:53)
  • Implementation timeline expectations. (13:59)
  • The cost of outsourcing services and ROI expectations. (15:40)
  • How to improve turnover and employee retention. (18:02)
  • Why an HR department will make or break a company. (20:33)
  • Thoughts on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). (24:29)
  • Generational differences among employees. (28:46)
  • New trends in payroll, HR gamification. (30:27)
  • The importance of cultivating new leaders. (38:28)

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