Performance Management & Termination Toolkit
PERFORMANCE & TERMINATION TOOLKIT
You've Been Figuring HR Out As You Go. Most Cannabis Operators Have.
Here's the honest truth about HR in the cannabis industry: most operators, even those who genuinely care about their teams, are running on a combination of instinct, memory, and whatever they cobbled together when they first hired employees.
That works, until it doesn't.
As your team grows, the informal approach that served you in year one starts to create gaps. A discipline conversation that wasn't documented. A termination that felt right but doesn't have a paper trail. A former employee who files an unemployment claim and you're not sure you have what you need to contest it.
None of this means you've been doing anything wrong. It means you've been busy running a business, and HR documentation is the part that's easy to deprioritize when you have a hundred other things on your plate.
The good news: this is exactly the kind of gap that's straightforward to close, once you have the right tools.
PERFORMANCE & TERMINATION TOOLKIT
Here's What's Actually at Stake as You Scale
We're not going to scare you with lawsuit statistics. But we do want to be honest about what grows alongside your business when HR documentation doesn't keep pace.
Unemployment claims become harder to contest. Unemployment systems requires documented progressive discipline to successfully dispute a claim. Without signed warnings on file, even a legitimate termination can result in a paid claim, and your SUTA tax rate climbing year over year.
Inconsistent discipline creates its own risk. When some employees get documented warnings and others get a conversation that was never written down, you open the door to claims of unequal treatment. Consistency isn't just good management, it's legal protection.
The operators who handle this well aren't the ones who got lucky. They built a system.
PERFORMANCE & TERMINATION TOOLKIT
What's inside:
Clear, structured tools to help you manage performance issues, document decisions, and handle terminations with consistency and confidence.
Verbal Warning Template
A simple way to document early-stage conversations so issues are acknowledged and tracked without over-escalating.
Written Warning Template
Clear documentation for more formal performance concerns, helping create a consistent record of issues and expectations.
Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) Template
Structured plans to help employees understand expectations, timelines, and what improvement looks like in a practical, measurable way.
Final Written Warning Template
A structured final step before termination, ensuring expectations and consequences are clearly communicated.
Simple Termination Letter Template
A clean, professional template for straightforward separations.
Formal Separation Agreement Template
A structured agreement to use when additional protection or severance is needed.
Termination Checklist
A step-by-step checklist to ensure nothing is missed during the termination process, from documentation to final pay to system access.
Reasonable Suspicion Observation Report Template
A structured form for documenting observed behavior related to impairment or policy violations.
Unemployment Response Guide
Practical guidance for responding to unemployment claims, including how documentation supports your position.
We also included a progressive discipline policy template for you to include in your employee handbook.
PERFORMANCE & TERMINATION TOOLKIT
How it works:
- Use the progressive discipline framework as your foundation
- Apply templates consistently across performance situations
- Document issues clearly as they arise
- Follow structured steps if termination becomes necessary
Everything is designed to work together as a system, not as isolated documents.
This toolkit is not state-specific. We have customized the toolkit for a few states that have very specific employee documentation regulations. Check out our state-specific options here.
EDIT IN GOOGLE DOCS
Easy to Use
This kit is built for real-world use.
The templates are:
→ Written in plain language
→ Easy to customize
→ Structured for consistency
→ Practical for day-to-day management
→ Include a customization and usage guide
You don’t need a formal HR background to use them effectively.
PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS
The Right Moment to Build This System Is Before You Need It
The Performance Management and Termination Toolkit is $379 for the complete nine-document system.
It's the cost of less than two hours with an employment attorney, and it covers every stage of the discipline and separation process, already customized for cannabis employment laws.
If you're growing, if you're hiring, if you've had a close call, or if you just know this is a gap you've been meaning to close, this is easiest way to get started.