Unlocking Cannabis Industry Growth with Wurk CEO Deborah Saneman

Join hosts Eric Schneider and Isaac Bock in this special episode of Roots to Risk as they sit down with Deborah Saneman, CEO of Wurk, the leading HCM provider for the cannabis industry.

Deborah shares game-changing insights into how Wurk’s cutting-edge compensation benchmarking tool and real-time data analytics are helping cannabis operators stay competitive in today’s fast-paced market. From navigating the hiring challenges of new and established markets to leveraging data-driven strategies, Deborah reveals what’s driving growth and innovation in cannabis HR.

They also discuss Wurk’s exciting partnership with AlphaRoot to deliver tailored insurance solutions, including health benefits and workers’ comp—essential for attracting top talent.
Whether you’re an operator or industry leader, this episode offers a glimpse into the tools and trends that are shaping the future of cannabis businesses. Don’t miss out on the strategies that are pushing the industry forward!

Transcript

00:00 Eric Schneider
This is the Roots to Risk Podcast hosted by Eric Schneider, alongside Isaac Bach. Roots To Risk brings you insights, the latest stories, and long form discussions about the cannabis industry. You’ll hear interviews with industry leaders and their perspective on current and future trends, how they’ve built success and what challenges they have faced. Our goal is to facilitate candid conversations and provide informative content for the cannabis community at large. Let’s go. What’s going on, Isaac? How we doing today, brother?

00:32 Isaac Bock
I’m good. How are you doing today?

00:35 Eric Schneider
I’m great. I’m great. We have a repeat here on the Rooster Risk Podcast, possibly the first one. First

00:42 Isaac Bock
Repeat. Yeah,

00:43 Eric Schneider
First

00:44 Isaac Bock
Repeat. Crazy

00:45 Eric Schneider
A great one. We have Deborah Sandman, who’s the Chief Executive Officer at Work. Work is the leading HCM provider dedicated to the cannabis industry. You know, as you know, work has been a tremendous partner of Alpha Root for, for quite some time. So excited to hear about the updates that they have on their end about the rebranding that they have going on, and they have some really, really exciting things that they just recently launched and that are coming in the pipeline.

01:18 Isaac Bock
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, obviously we, we have intimate knowledge of one of the things we’ll talk about, but definitely excited to hear about, you know, all the things they’re doing on the, the data analytics side and, you know, excited to see what they have going on in 2024 and into 2025.

01:33 Eric Schneider
Absolutely. Well, let’s bring her in. Hey Debra, thanks for joining us again on the Roots, roots Risk Podcast. How’s everything going?

01:42 Deborah Saneman
Great. Thanks for having me back.

01:45 Eric Schneider
Absolutely. No, I know that there’s been some big updates with work in, in 2024 and in the coming months we’d love to just, you know, get a quick update from you how things have been so far this year, and then we can, you know, dive into some initiatives that you guys have coming up.

02:03 Deborah Saneman
Great. Yes. At the beginning of 2024, we actually went through a very minor rebrand strategy, and they’re really subtle changes that you might know and see with the work logo. But as experts in this space, we really plan to focus on the data that we’ve gathered over our nine years. We’re celebrating nine years this month of serving the cannabis industry, and it’s really showcasing not what just we’re known for, but what we’re also capable of.

02:40 Deborah Saneman
And so we’re really excited about some new product launches and initiatives for this year.

02:46 Eric Schneider
Yeah, and I know just from, from previous conversations, there’s definitely been a, a focus and an emphasis on leaning into the, the data that you guys have and, and providing those types of tools to cannabis operators. Can, can you dive into those a little bit and what’s gonna be, you know, available in the coming months and, and what you’re most excited about?

03:09 Deborah Saneman
Sure. So actually already available, we do a lot of feedback sessions and we have client advisory boards, and what we hear from our clients is just a need to really understand cannabis specific comp benchmarking data. It is a very competitive time in which to hire and attract and retain employees. And so what we’ve been able to do is leverage our nine years of data and the comp benchmarking information that we have and being able to launch our new comp benchmarking tool that went live in June of this year.

03:52 Deborah Saneman
And we’re really excited about it. It’s not only great for just making sure that you’re appropriately staying up with, you know, any increases that are happening in the industry, in your area or in the specific market that you’re in, but also for these new markets where we’re seeing expansion of what is a competitive salary, what does a total benefit package look like? So they’re able to attract those employees from other industries and get them back in or get them into the cannabis space

04:30 Isaac Bock
Now. That makes a ton of sense. Are there certain roles within yo an organization that people are more interested in seeing the comp benchmarking for? Is it kind of universal across the entire organization?

04:42 Deborah Saneman
Yeah, we’re really seeing it in the retail space at the dispensary level, bud tenders, c cultivators. We’re not seeing as much of it in the upper level managerial positions because there’s so much data out there, but it’s really in the very specific and unique positions that exist within the cannabis industry

05:07 Isaac Bock
Now. And that makes a ton of sense. Are there certain markets that, you know, in the research or through speaking with clients that seemingly are, you know, more competitive than others, like our California bud tenders making more than people maybe in Colorado or other area? Like how, how is that looking across market to market?

05:27 Deborah Saneman
Yes, so our tool actually will show the distribution, and not only, and by the way I wanna preface this, all this data is anonymous, so there is no proprietary information that is shared. And so we have to have a, a specific number of by down to the exact zip code that we make sure that the data is anonymous and protected and secure. But what we are seeing is the, the standard deviation for the range of these positions is really telling.

06:03 Deborah Saneman
So it gives people a really good insight into what that looks like. And when you have the outliers and some of the positions are, there are tips that are being paid. So that can sometimes skew the, the data and information from an hourly wage from one location to the next.

06:25 Eric Schneider
Yeah. And j and just to piggyback off of Isaac’s question, like h how has feedback been from operators so far that have been using the tool? You know, is it been been super insightful? Have they like changed their practices? Just want to get a sense of, you know, what the feedback has been from your guys’ point of view.

06:48 Deborah Saneman
Sure. We’ve received so much feedback that we just rolled out another iteration of the tool incorporating all of the feedback that we received. Really what we’re seeing is how does their company compare to the industry and specifically by position, by location, by geographic region. We’re look, there, we’re seeing a more of a desire and need for more company insights and analytics and this platform and this new product offering will be complimenting our data analytics program that we will be launching this fall.

07:34 Deborah Saneman
So realtime information awesome. Is really what people are looking for, not having to kind of dig and mine for that information and validate. And because it is real time, our data is refreshed every day. We all know payroll happens every week, so that data is constantly fresh. It’s not stale like some other services that publish a report once a quarter or once a year. Yeah,

08:03 Eric Schneider
No, that’s very impressive. And, and the fact that it could be refreshed and used on a, on a consistent basis like that, you know, really gives operators the ability to get a pulse on that specific instant. Right. To your point, and one other thing that I know that we’ve been working on together, which is super exciting is just helping the work platform and cannabis operators with insurance solutions, right? And something that you’ve seen a tremendous need for specifically is like workers’ comp health and benefits and we’re, you know, rolling out a, a relationship and looking at, you know, different captive solutions for works portfolio, you know, what, what do you think the impact of that would look like?

08:49 Eric Schneider
And you know, I guess what are some of the feedback from the current companies that are within the work portfolio that they’re looking for?

08:59 Deborah Saneman
We’ve seen extraordinary growth in the benefit offerings. Yeah. And variety of, of benefit programs that are being offered a tremendous need for having those quality benefit programs, again, to attract and retain employees, you know, a company’s biggest asset and the turnover that we’ve seen by able to not only offer unique programs for the cannabis industry, but also to help with the benefit admin administration eligibility and enrollment.

09:35 Deborah Saneman
And most importantly, there’s carrier feeds. So work is focused on providing full solutions for our clients so they don’t have disparate systems. They’re not having to use a lot of different individuals and companies that we are able to centralize it and support them through their benefit offerings and the renewal process as well.

10:02 Eric Schneider
Yeah, and I think what’s gonna, you know, oh, sorry, Isaac, go ahead. No, what I, what I was just gonna say is, you know, what’s exciting is that there are a lot of technology capabilities that allow, that will allow us to improve and make the insurance procurement process for health and benefits workers’ comp easier. However, they’re still gonna have a personal touch, right?

10:35 Eric Schneider
Which, which is as you know, very important and making sure that we’re properly advocating and articulating what plans should be appropriate for the certain type of operators, how to create additional efficiencies. And so I think, you know, combining that personal service with the technology component is gonna be a, a game changer honestly for for works portfolio.

11:04 Deborah Saneman
Absolutely. And you know, even in new markets, yeah, there’s not a ton of choices out there. We’re seeing that slowly catch up to the mainstream industry, but when we have partners like Alpha Route, it’s been just a, a tremendous partnership that we’re very thankful for and being able to have such aligned cultures in how we approach our clients and how we service them, always making sure that ultimately at the end of the day we’re doing what’s in their best interest to help them administer these plans.

11:44 Isaac Bock
Absolutely. And I mean, I know we touched on a few of the, the major developments have already started to roll out and are coming up, but what else is on the docket for the rest of 2024 and into 2025 for, for you all at

11:55 Eric Schneider
Work?

11:57 Deborah Saneman
Yes, we continue to invest in our product and development team. So they are excited about potential uses of AI in gathering information, our data and analytics. I think a combination of AI and being able to real time have companies be able to really get the data they need to make decisions, which has been limited in the past. And so now that is really gonna enable our clients to, I, I think, be a little bit more nimble in their decision making.

12:38 Deborah Saneman
Excuse me.

12:40 Eric Schneider
And Deborah, you know what, what a tremendous accomplishment, you know, being nine years consistently in the industry as a, a supporter, you know, what are some things that, like you look back on maybe and your, you know, you see the growth of the organization and where things have gone. You know, just wanted to get your perspective on what you’ve seen over the years being at work, both from an industry perspective as well as organization.

13:14 Eric Schneider
And you know, you guys have come so far and being one of the first right. And just consistently iterating, right. And improving your product offering, which has allowed you to continue and maintain success. So just wanted to get your perspective on that.

13:34 Deborah Saneman
Yeah, it has been just, it’s actually, it’s exciting and refreshing to see the growth, to be able to impact change in, in this industry. We have aligned around a corporate mission at work, and that is to cultivate expertise. And so what we have seen in as the industry has evolved and matured over those last nine years is more sophistication in terms, you talked about that procurement process.

14:06 Deborah Saneman
We’re seeing more sophistication there. We’re seeing not just core or basic plans being offered, but we are seeing people really build out a true total rewards program for their employees and giving them real time access to data and information. You know, the industry when it started, the reason that work was started back in 2015 was because everything was cash basis, cash transactions, paying employees, and now we’re able to offer pay cards and wages on demand and all of these great things.

14:46 Deborah Saneman
And we hope to continue to push the industry to be that market leader and to bring quality products and services to our clients so they don’t have to spend their time out doing the due diligence and researching. But we really make sure our partners are vetted. We wanna make sure the thing that we’ve also seen in this industry, so many people enter the industry and then exit. We spent a lot of time last year with the Paychex exit and really helping clients that were displaced after and with 30 days notice.

15:20 Deborah Saneman
And so what we’ve done is try to streamline our implementation processes, reduce that time to go live so that we can have clients not focus on day-to-day and getting their employees paid, but really growing their businesses.

15:36 Isaac Bock
That makes a ton of sense. I guess how close is the canvas industry to being, you know, where more traditional and, you know, well-known industries are as it relates to the things you guys are focusing on?

15:50 Deborah Saneman
Well, we are hope to close that gap, but I, I would still say we have a lot of work to do and really finding partners. There’s so many great technology solutions out there, but that can be also a very daunting task of having to manage all of those relationships. So what we wanna do is partner with different organizations that can help them from point of sale to cannabis training and, and information so they can keep their employees up to date and trained.

16:26 Deborah Saneman
And then again, quality benefit programs that we’re looking at. So I think there’s a lot of work to still be done, but I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done and we’ve really tried to accelerate that in the last 12 months, and you’re gonna continue to see us kind of push, push the boundaries there in making sure, you know, our goal is to have it be very normalized and so that they ha that they have the same quality of partners and vendors that can help the industry continue to grow.

17:00 Eric Schneider
No, I think that’s, you know, really well said, Deborah. And you know, that’s, that’s kind of a microcosm of like where the industry is currently is like every year we continue to push the envelope, more states are coming online, you know, we’re approaching hopefully schedule three that will allow additional research. Like there’s constant iteration in the industry every year, and those operators that continue to iterate and push are gonna be the ones that are, you know, really continuing to, to add value to this industry.

17:31 Eric Schneider
Just like what you all are doing at work. And it’s truly commendable. Congratulations on nine years. That’s just tremendous. I feel like nine years in the cannabis industry is like, you know, 27, 30 plus. So kudos to you guys and, and it’s just a testament to the value and the culture that you’ve built at work and the work that you guys continue to push.

17:56 Deborah Saneman
Well, thank you. And we appreciate having partners like Alpha Root to be alongside us and to really give that touch and personal touch to our clients to help them be successful, as successful as they can be.

18:12 Eric Schneider
Awesome. Well, thank you for your time, Deborah. Have a great day.

18:15 Deborah Saneman
All right, great talking to you guys. Thanks Deborah.

18:19 Eric Schneider
It was great to get a, a new update from Deborah and, and kind of the things that they have going on, you know, super interesting is the data analytics and compensation tool that they have for operators just to provide additional value and, and really provide cannabis operators transparency into wages, which, you know, obviously is, is a win-win for everybody. As, as you had alluded to on the, the intro, we’re super excited about the partnership on the, the health and benefits and workers’ comp side, you know, more to come on that.

18:56 Eric Schneider
And I think that’s definitely an area that needs improvement overall for the cannabis space, especially on the side. And yeah, you know, they, they have had tremendous success nine years. It’s incredible and wishing them the best of luck in the future and just excited to see what, what’s to come.

19:17 Isaac Bock
No, absolutely. And you know, we’re lucky to call ourselves partners of theirs and help them in one small way as they continue to provide great services to the canvas industry. So excited to see how they wrap up the year this year and head into 2025 on high note.

19:33 Eric Schneider
Absolutely. Till next time, Isaac, have a great day, brother. You

19:37 Isaac Bock
Too, man. Appreciate you as always.