Well-managed cannabis dispensaries rely on standard operating procedures (SOPs) to keep the business running smoothly within tight regulations. Many managers use checklists to stay on top of important tasks each day. Professionals working in highly regulated, high-risk environments have long relied on the humble tool for years to stay focused.
Checklists have evolved to become more sophisticated. Instead of the paper-based tools of the past, checklist apps now incorporate the power of digital intelligence. They still help your team follow SOPs, but they also help you run and improve your cannabis business.
With smart checklists, you can:
- Increase checklist completions by 30%
- Save employee and manager time
- Capture more reliable and detailed information
- Improve business results with data-driven insights
- Increase operational efficiency
- Strengthen training programs
Increase Checklist Completions by 30%
Digital apps make it easier to finish checklists, so employees are more likely to complete them. While paper and pen checklists require your team to carry around a clipboard and tally their actions, digital apps present the list on a mobile device.
On their smartphones or tablets, workers can conveniently access the relevant forms whenever they need to. And following a simple, intuitive user interface, they register task completions with a few taps on the screen.
Save Employee and Manager Time
While still very useful, paper checklists take a lot of administrative work. Once the forms are complete, managers have to copy the information into spreadsheets and write up reports. The process can take hours each week.
But digital apps do that work for you and free your schedule to focus on growing the business. When a list is complete, the apps push results to the cloud and compile the data, so managers instantly see individual details and aggregated scores. If you need a report, it’s a few clicks away. Instead of digging through SOP compliance records for hours, you have them within reach in minutes when audit time rolls around.
Because digital checklists are easier to use, they also save employee hours. Your team can finish them 25% faster than paper ones. Several people can work on the same checklist simultaneously, eliminating time-wasting bottlenecks.
Capture More Reliable and Detailed Information
Many paper checklists suffer from “pencil whipping” – when employees find it too much trouble to complete and fill it out without doing the tasks, often at the end of a shift. Pencil whipping undermines the reliability and value of checklist results.
Digital apps discourage pencil whipping by making it easier to complete checklists and verify them. The tag records the location, date, and completion time. As a further safeguard, they can be locked after a deadline, so if they’re not done on time, no one can go back and fake it.
Mobile checklists also open the door to more detailed records. Users easily attach photos with their comments about a task or item. Photos provide details about problems encountered and proof that work is correct.
Improve Business Results with Data-Driven Insights
Digital apps have the advantage of collecting and storing checklist results in the cloud. So, it’s easy to apply data analytics. Data analytics find trends and patterns in the information that help you improve the business over time. Better yet, it displays these trends in accessible and customizable graphs and charts.
For example, if some employees have trouble correctly following operating procedures, the analytics will identify the areas where they’re struggling. Managers have clear evidence to act on, and they can address the root of a problem before it impairs the business.
The analysis also ranks stores by scores on key metrics, such as compliance, service protocols, and loss prevention. Charts reveal locations that need coaching or other support so you can bring everyone up to the same standard. With a chain of high-performing dispensaries, you protect brand values and reputation in the increasingly competitive cannabis market.
Increase Operational Efficiency
The data trends also help you find ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. While learning and growing the business, you may start with procedures that do not scale up well. The checklist results will reveal any SOPs that take too much time or just never get done. You can revise them or re-organize the work environment to streamline these tasks and save labor costs. Comparing task completion rates from store to store and shift to shift also helps you find the optimal staffing plan, where employees have to time do everything needed, but the payroll isn’t over-inflated.
If your digital app has an unlimited user business model, you can put the data dashboards in the hands of every manager and employee. Anyone can see their results, which focuses the entire team on the most important areas for improvement. If managers spot trouble, they can devise a plan to fix it and assign responsibility to the right people immediately, even if they’re not in the store.
Strengthen Training Programs
Cannabis dispensaries need to get new employees trained up quickly and build an experienced, effective team. Although many managers do not have the time or resources to train thoroughly, workers who do not receive proper instruction will either make mistakes or become frustrated and move on to another company. Either way, you’re left understaffed with rising hiring costs.
Digital checklists serve as training helpers. You can set a series of tasks for each new hire to complete while they learn. If managers are busy, experienced colleagues fill in as mentors. A checklist ensures you do not overlook necessary steps.
Customize training checklists for each role in the business; create remediation lists for people that need refreshers, and turn on-the-job experience into advanced employee development for people who want to move up.
With checklists as your training tool, it’s easy to measure how effective the training is. Do people correctly follow procedures after the program, or do some elements need reinforcement? With feedback on post-training performance, you can tweak the plan for better results.
Experience the Advantages of Digital Checklists for Your Dispensaries
It doesn’t take long to see how powerful digital checklists are. Just the weekly time savings from managing paper reports will transform your business. MeazureUp’s DailyChex app is easy to take for a test drive. We’ve designed and refined DailyChex based on years of feedback from owners and managers like you. You’ll understand why our customers rave:
- Unlimited user model
- Analytics dashboard
- Easy customizability
- Instant reports
- User-friendly forms
- Geo-location and time stamps for checklists
- Online and offline access
Click here to experience the power of digital checklists today.
