People Strategy & Workforce Analytics
Cannabis HR and workforce strategy, backed by data.
Organizational design, leadership, employee and labor relations, HR compliance and the workforce analytics to manage it all, from advisors with enterprise HR, labor relations and transformation experience.
Problems we solve
Where operators get stuck.
High turnover on the floor
Pay practices, scheduling and supervisor quality drive it more often than the work itself.
Supervisors promoted without training
Routine performance issues turn into employee relations risk.
Unclear roles and decision rights
Work falls between teams, and every decision lands with the owner.
Labor peace and organizing questions
Agreements to negotiate or administer, and supervisors unsure what they can and cannot say.
Complaints involving managers
Matters that need a prompt, independent investigation before they become claims.
HR built for a smaller company
Policies, payroll practices and records that haven't kept pace with growth.
What we deliver
Structure, leaders and data that hold the standard.
Plus fractional executive HR leadership when you need a senior HR leader without a full-time hire.
Organizational design and workforce planning
Structures, roles and staffing plans that fit the business you're becoming.
- Org structure, spans and decision rights
- Role clarity, job architecture and job descriptions
- Workforce and harvest-season staffing plans
- Labor planning tied to the production calendar
Leadership and manager capability
Managers who can lead, coach and document, and leadership teams that work as one.
- Supervisor and manager training
- Performance management and difficult conversations
- Executive coaching
- Leadership-team effectiveness
Employee relations and workplace investigations
Senior judgment on the matters that carry the most risk, handled confidentially.
- Complex employee relations and escalations
- Independent workplace investigations
- Findings reports and executive briefings
- Workplace mediation and conflict resolution
Labor relations and labor peace agreements
Lawful, proactive labor strategy built on strong employee relations.
- Labor peace agreement preparation, negotiation and administration
- Collective bargaining and contract administration
- Grievance handling
- Organizing-risk assessment and supervisor preparation
HR compliance and infrastructure
The policies, practices and systems a growing operator needs.
- Handbook and policy review
- HR audits and wage-and-hour practices
- Cal/OSHA programs and documentation
- HRIS and payroll readiness
Workforce analytics
Workforce data connected to production and cost, in one view.
- Headcount, labor hours and labor cost
- Overtime, utilization and productivity
- Turnover, retention and ER case trends
- Training completion and manager metrics
California-specific
Built for California's rules.
California operators answer to cannabis licensing and the state's employment law at the same time. We design people systems with both in view.
Labor peace agreements
Since July 1, 2024, licensees with 10 or more employees need a labor peace agreement in place to renew. We help you prepare, negotiate and administer it.
Piece-rate trim pay
Trimmers paid by the pound must also be paid separately for rest and recovery periods and other nonproductive time. Pay practices and timekeeping need to reflect that.
Cal/OSHA programs
Employers need a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program, and most also need a workplace violence prevention plan with training and incident logs.
Documentation and records
Consistent documentation protects the business in employee relations matters, audits and license renewals.
Summit is not a law firm. We work alongside your employment counsel on legal questions.
What you receive
People systems that scale with the business.
Practical tools your managers and leadership team use every week.
- Org and role map
- Job descriptions
- Workforce and labor plan
- Manager training program
- Investigation findings and executive briefing
- Labor relations strategy
- HR compliance assessment
- Workforce analytics dashboard
How it connects
Connected services
Most engagements draw on more than one practice. That is the reason to have cultivation, operations and people expertise at the same table.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do California cannabis businesses need a labor peace agreement?
Under state licensing rules, licensees with 10 or more employees must have a labor peace agreement in place to renew, a requirement in effect since July 1, 2024. We help prepare, negotiate and administer agreements, working alongside your counsel.
Can you act as our head of HR?
Yes. Fractional executive HR leadership gives you senior HR judgment part-time or for an interim period, without a full-time executive hire.
Are your workplace investigations independent?
Yes. We conduct impartial, well-documented investigations and deliver findings and an executive briefing. Confidentiality is built into how we work.
What workforce data do you need to build analytics?
Usually what you already have: payroll, timekeeping, HRIS or spreadsheet headcount records, and production output. We connect it and define the measures leaders should watch.
Are you a law firm?
No. Summit provides HR advisory services. We work alongside your employment counsel where legal advice is required.
Ready when the operation needs to evolve
When quality, people and operations stop moving together, performance suffers.
Summit helps identify the constraint, design the right intervention and move the business into a stronger operating model without adding unnecessary complexity.