During a make-or-break time for much of the cannabis industry, happy workers can help propel a company toward greener pastures.
Colorado-based Summit Brands co-founders Holden Farahani and Tim Goodman know this all too well after arriving on the cannabis scene following decades in the restaurant development and tobacco-leaf industries, respectively. The leaf-tobacco industry includes companies that purchase tobacco from farmers and process the leaf into grades before it goes to product manufacturers.
At Summit, which operates a pair of cultivation facilities in Aurora and Denver, Farahani and Goodman strive to keep their team motivated by instilling a shared purpose that aims to make work life feel meaningful and fulfilling. An inclusive atmosphere of camaraderie, rather than a top-down management system, is the name of the game at Summit.
Here, Farahani and Goodman further detail how Summit encourages collaboration, open communication and employee well-being as one of this year’s Best Cannabis Companies To Work For.
On why Summit is a great place to work:
Holden Farahani: For us, it’s always been about providing an environment where people can thrive and make themselves better. Our philosophy at Summit is about constant improvement in how we work every single day—really following the Kaizen philosophy from Japanese manufacturing, which basically states that everyone at every level has to do their very best every single day and try to identify ways to improve that process every single day. For that reason, they’re engaged, and they’re involved in what we do. We empower them to tell us about the things we ask that may not work in their day-to-day operations, and vice versa, the things that they come up with that actually make things more efficient.
On growth opportunities for the team:
Tim Goodman: We tell people outright, "Look, if there’s something else that you’d like to be doing in the company, let us know what your aspirations are." People often have the ability to move from one aspect of the company to another, because it’s important for us that our team members enjoy their work.
On fostering a positive work environment:
Farahani: If you come into our facility and you are not happy with the workplace, and it’s something that is bothering you within the workspace or your team members, the next thing you do after you punch in is send an email to one of us so we can get to the root of it and either let you know the reasons behind it, and maybe it’s compliance related, or maybe there’s a fix and the company’s missed it and we have to make it better. If it’s a problem for one person, it could be a problem for four or five others that aren’t going to complain.
On work incentives provided to motivate the team:
Farahani: We brought out “Peak Performer” because there were a lot of times that we had management and leaders wanting to give something extra to our team members. So, we started looking at Peak Performer as a way to value and recognize each little effort that they go above and beyond the call of duty. When that happens, the management team can give them Peak Performer rewards, and then those rewards go back to being able to get different things, be it PTO days or other things that we can offer to them. It’s a little bit more than just the salary or a wage.
On addressing company challenges:
Goodman: Annually, we do a little “state of the company” meeting where we tell them where the money came in, where it went, what the plans are for next year, and so on and so forth. We try and make these things as visible as possible, be transparent as possible, because the buy-in is necessary. … Honesty is the best policy. If they know what the company’s real challenges are on a higher level, it affects their perspective.
On examples of open communication that benefits the team:
Goodman: I’ll give you an example of how we navigated some of the harder moments post-COIVD, when demand was no longer king in the marketplace. We had a packaging department that was very efficient—robust—but we had to make some difficult choices. And so there was a moment where we were looking at having to drop a couple of team members for financial reasons. We talked with our department heads and came up with the solution where everybody in the department would work half Fridays. That would free up enough budget for us to keep everybody on payroll and keep everybody’s job. And everybody in that department made that sacrifice for each other.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for style, length and clarity.
