sanitation worker

territory representative

technician

purchaser

production specialist

Groundworks-Industries

Groundworks, like most companies, is a mixed bag- your experience is largely affected by who you work with and who you report to. My first manager is one of the best I ever had. He ran a tight ship, respected and recognized work well done, and he provided great support and mentoring. This led to 3 promotions in a short time; the promotions and experience helped offset the low compensation. That said, I was lucky to get a good start, one which does not accurately reflect my overall experience.

Almost 2 and a half years at Groundworks and I can report that the company generally:
•	Lacks healthy communication
•	Fails to follow through on stated intentions
•	Fails to train and support for career growth
•	Is dismissive when workplace issues are reported
•	Fails to retain their best talent
•	Let’s retail stores operate for months without direction or leadership
•	Does not recognize or reward work well done
•	Expects employees to bear the brunt of failed operations without including their participation or feedback in developing operational improvements
•	Will ghost you if you call them out

Overall, the Groundworks experience can be evidenced by high turnover at all levels and low morale across the board. The best talent is leaving and the new hires are baffling. I have worked for some of the most successful organizations on the planet and have never seen such an exodus of workforce talent.

To conclude, I believe Groundworks has a stumbling and toxic work culture that could be improved with enough hard work and self-reflection, the company has huge potential. My review here focuses on the Retail Division, life at the Farm could be entirely different; they are definitely producing some of the best Flower in the Cannabis Industry. I would consider working at Groundworks again in the future.


I just highly recommend avoiding this corporate cannabis company; they claim to be a very caring and understanding company when fact it is quite the opposite and have been known to have managers that have gaslighted people and made people who have worked there for years feel underappreciated and get treated poorly. I watched the sales dropped dramatically as well as them pitting coworkers against each other. You make it lucky and find one or two people there that are actually pretty cool but other than that you will end up feeling over worked and under appreciate; not to mention if you have any issues of any kind they are not accommodating and will not transfer you even though they claim to do that. I recommend just finding a mom and pop dispensary or at least a company that actually cares and doesn't keep gaslighting and toxic management.

I worked for this company when they opened Serra at the Eugene, OR location. I stayed until the company decided to fire all of us a week before Christmas so they could avoid having to renew their license for the following year. Having close contact with upper management for the 1.5 years I was employed here they did nothing to remedy the constant issues happening with our location. Our management was very poor to start off, the company did nothing to appeal to our market, and they would lay the blame on our lack of sales when clearly marketing and management was the problem. After this company failed to uplift that location, they decided to close for a couple years and then re-open as Electric Lettuce, which is what all of the previous employees suggested for our demographic. It's no surprise to see they have not improved and seemingly just keep opening locations in a desperate attempt at a cash grab, which is typical for most investors in this industry. It's upsetting how much potential there was for this company, it's too bad they can't grasp the value in the input their employees have been offering them for so long.

In two years at Groundworks I have yet to experience any positive change or momentum. Instead, employees are subjected to a circus of top-down turnover, constant promises of improvement with no discernable change, and complete lack of direction. We go weeks or even months without seeing district managers in our stores, yet are expected to not only meet their outlandish sales goals (among other metrics). Once hired, there is ZERO training or development. To this day, there is no training or onboarding program for new employees. Furthermore, pay isn't even market competitive. 
Communication is hands down the worst here of any company I have been a part of. In the past year there have been at least a dozen times we were not told of an upcoming promotion or sale until the evening before or day of. However if we do not immediately hit the ground running with these promotions, we are penalized. They expect more out of their associates than they produce themselves, and there is so much turnover at the executive level (what they call "services") that no one has any idea who they report to nor who to reach out to. It's a disaster. 

One of the worst cannabis companies to work for in Oregon hands down. Coming from a 4+ year tenure with them, they have zero respect for their employees and workers. Managers are constantly being pulling in multiple directions to cover for shops because people are constantly quitting. The turn over rate is abysmal, I out lasted two Direct managers and two District managers during my 4 years which should speak volumes for a “upper” management positions. The district managers are unsupportive and generally work remote or from home. The staff is NEVER supported with most shops only opening with one single person working. There is zero communication between management to reflect on specials,deals,etc. things are generally rushed the week before or day before certain holidays or events leading to nothing but stress for all parties. I learned very quickly that the work I put it is not worth their time. The wage is terribly and they expect you to break yourself and always go above and beyond for bare minimum wage. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME

I've worked for plenty of various retail companies for the last 10 years and I have never been so disgusted by how the executives and upper management have treated their employees. They barely communicate with teams and when they do it is to disrespect the staff and undermined them. I have never been so underappreciated in all my years of retail. Higher management has been having turnovers and it's been taking a toll on the employees. They complain about our stores, yet we have fantastic reviews for customer service. They expect us to humble them yet they do not show the same respect. It's obvious they do not have their stuff together and it's created a toxic environment. This company is a joke and I would recommend you work elsewhere where you are appreciated. You would think with the high turnover rate they would try and put their focus on their employees and making sure they are set up for success, but they have chosen not to. And they believe "people are at the heart of our mission", what a load of crock. 

I would show up 15 minutes early and get water, put away coat, etc so I am ready to clock in 5 minutes early (as allowed) meet with my boss and then head out to the floor to get to work. Sometimes it was super busy and sometimes it was slow but I am fine either way. The other employees hung out at the bar or go home, but I don't drink so I went home. Anyway as long as one of the few truly awful coworkers weren't there it was fine. One would pick on people another cornered me when I didn't agree with them and management did nothing. I  still had to work with these people. I am sure it helps that I have worked customer service so long that, even in the most unpleasant company, I can still smile and work with anyone. The management was really bad at scheduling as well so they would often call last minute and ask me to come in and I did. They were always really careful not to five me enough hours to qualify for the medical plan. A new company bought it though so who knows 

There is a reason there are 37 job openings (20+ in management) and it’s due to an unstable corporate entity. From a store-level, everything is dependent on the store manager; so it’s mixed bag of experiences with middle management. Corporate level departments seem to be spread unsustainably thin; most departments only have a handful of people and have to coordinate for most everything for (nearly) 30 stores, which is not at all effective or productive. HR plays favoritism like CRAZY, instilling a work environment where you can get away with anything as long as the interpersonal HR coordinator likes you, but hard workers will get fired for pointing this out.  The district managers 
are spineless, mostly apathetic, and don’t seem to have much knowledge on the differences between traditional retail and cannabis retail. There is zero formal training depending on your SM. They do not set you up for success. 

Not a good company to work for. Major gaps in every department from the top down. Poor upper management that will bend over backward for the worst employees imaginable but refuse to work with or help out the good, reliable employees who make personal sacrifices to make sure that no shop is left short handed and business keeps running as smooth as possible. A company full of promises with zero follow through. They have an insane employee turnover rate due to unprofessional and DISRESPECTFUL behavior towards employees. They also force their stores to sell moldy flower. If honesty and integrity are important to you, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere for a job in cannabis.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sanitation worker 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour
Territory representative 3 salaries reported	$56,833 per year
Technician 2 salaries reported	$16.88 per hour
Purchaser 2 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour
Production specialist 2 salaries reported	$17.38 per hour

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