Your company’s Human Resources department plays an important role in the overall success of your business operations. After all, your HR department is responsible for the selection of highly-skilled employees for your business. When it comes to the recruiting process, having a corporate drug screening policy and procedure can be a simple but powerful tool.
Drug testing has become a pivotal part of recruitment in many companies in the United States. According to a report published by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 67% of all drug users in the United States are employed. HR departments need to combat workplace drug and alcohol abuse as it is proven to reduce productivity and performance in the office. Moreover, it puts overall employee security and safety at risk.
Therefore, HR departments should endeavor to have the right strategies in place to ensure the efficiency of their drug screening programs to combat workplace drug abuse. Below are tips for HR departments that can help them accomplish this task.
Make it a priority to screen for commonly-detected drugs.
There are many types of drugs with corresponding types of tests to use. Employers need to decide which drugs to monitor. As a rule, employers can always test the most commonly detected illicit drugs of abuse such as marijuana, cocaine, LSD, synthetic drugs, heroin, and so on. With the abuse of prescription drugs seemingly on the rise however many organizations are choosing to test for ten or more panels that include things like Oxycodone and other prescription drugs of abuse as it is no longer cost-prohibitive to do so.
Many corporate drug testing companies now offer comprehensive drug testing programs that can help HR departments effectively roll out the policies in your company.
Determine the best method that suits your company’s needs.
Different drug testing types, methods or procedures are better fits for different organizations. The one your company should use depends on your specific needs and requirements. The common methods for corporate drug screening include urine specimens (the most common), oral fluid or saliva testing, hair samples or even fingernail testing. While some of these drug test methods can help you detect only very recent drug use within hours of the test, others can help detect substances taken weeks or days before the test.
Decide on who will collect the drug testing specimen.
The collection of the drug testing specimen is a critical but unheralded part of the entire screening process. The question of who will collect the specimen depends on the type of test conducted. For instance, companies can require their employees to visit a testing facility or they can also choose the option to perform the drug test in the workplace and have a designated and certified person collect and send it to a testing facility. Since many in the workplace are a bit uncomfortable handling different types of specimens, especially in the age of COVID-19, it is common to send employment candidates for a collection facility and to have a collection service come onsite to collect specimens for random or roster level testing.
Be transparent about why the company is conducting a drug test.
Whether the person is a newly-hired employee or still a prospective employee, he or she deserves to be duly informed about why your company requires a drug test. Inform them why it is important for the company to conduct the testing and how it can affect not just their employment but their safety as well.
Conclusion
Imposing a comprehensive drug and alcohol abuse policy is a vital tool for HR practitioners. Therefore, HR teams may wish to partner with corporate drug testing companies that have the right drug testing services designed to specifically meet the needs of their workplace.