The fact is, the number of people that are becoming addicted to drugs in general in the U.S is increasing, probably due to the high paced life that we all endure nowadays. That is why many companies are doing drug testing for their employees and for new applicants.
HR has to hire the best and most talented professionals, and that is why a drug screening program is one of the crucial obligations that they have. This also gives the companies a healthy and stable professional environment where the employees can thrive.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health states that 67% of all drug users are actually employed people. Keep this in mind as we go through the top seven tips for HR when it comes to drug testing.
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Know when and who
You need to be aware of when to do testing and who to do testing on. There can be several different reasons for drug testing. Usually, one of them is pre-employment drug testing which takes place when a potential new employee has an offer from the company.
Another type of testing is a random selection which is picking random people from the ones employed and doing drug testing. This process has to be very randomized and included in the normal working schedule without an announcement. Make sure you are taking a look at your local laws such as Illinois drug testing laws to ensure you are also within your state’s compliance.
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Think of the type of test
There are many drug tests out there that you can choose from. You have to carefully consider their advantages and disadvantages before choosing the right one. One of the most common types of drug testing is a urine drug test that checks people’s urine for any illegal substances. Another one that is very well-known is the hair follicle test on which you can read more.
There is also a saliva drug test that uses a mouth swab to determine the presence of drugs in the system. Make sure you get informed on all of these and choose the best one for your company.
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Types of drugs to screen for
The test can detect many types of different drugs in the organism. However, when choosing the right test to keep in mind what types of drugs are available in the region, what is the job type, the demographics, and other factors that might influence the type of drugs used. A good framework is the federal drug program and its guidelines.
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Think of the risks
The usage of drugs is really increasing in the United States. And of course that this is true in the workplace as well. The most common drugs used are marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines, and quite a lot of working people use them. So, make sure that you think of the risks of not doing drug testing in your company and how much can that cost the overall productivity and success of the business.
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Keep up with the new policies
The trends will always be changing even when it comes to drug usage. The best way you can follow them is to get informed regularly as to what is going on. Join the right organizations or subscribe to the right newsletters to make sure that you are in the loop of the news.
With that in mind, make sure that your company’s policies are up to those standards and that are in line with the federal laws. For example, marijuana policies are changing a lot in the past years so following those changes can be of extreme importance.
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Train your supervisors
It is not only crucial to update the policies of the company constantly, but it is also important to keep the employees in the loop as well. Make sure that your supervisors are always informed and trained on how to identify the warning signs of substance abuse in their employees.
The whole management team should be monitoring and taking notice of any performance-related issues with the staff. They should also know how to help out, info on insurance coverage plans for treatment, how to make an employee get help, etc.
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Be transparent with your employees
The goal with drug testing is not to “catch” the employees in the act and constantly change them, but to make sure that if somebody slips the company won’t suffer the consequences. That being said, you should be transparent with your employees why you are conducting drug testing and what it would mean for an employee to be on drugs in the workplace.
Pre-employment drug testing should be talked about, and if the people are hired they should know to expect more drug testing in their employment.
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Interesting related article: “What is HR?“