How to Start a Drug Testing Program for Your Company

Starting a drug testing program at your company is easier than you might think: it requires a bit of advanced planning but American Screening Corp has made it easy with our 5-Step approach (Who, What, When, Why & How). Large and small business owners find the benefits of employee far outweigh the initial planning requirements and once you see how easy it is, you will too!

Use these simple steps to start a drug testing program for your business:

1.Who. Decide who will be tested prior to beginning any drug testing initiative. Will all employees be randomly tested or only those in positions requiring additional safety precautions? Decide in advance if you will use pre-employment screening, drug testing for accidents, random drug testing or general testing of all staff.

2.What. Unfortunately, there are a lot of drugs out there. Knowing which drugs to test for is a key component of a successful employee drug testing program. Applicants, pre-employment screening and staff can be tested for illegal drugs, alcohol and commonly abused prescription drugs. If you aren't sure what types of drug screening or testing is best then speak to an American Screening advisor.

3.When. Drug testing can save money, reduce risk of injury and liability charges plus prevent many other commonly encountered situations if performed properly. You know how expensive turn-over and absenteeism can be ? and drug abusers have a much higher rate of absenteeism than other employees. Avoid the problem altogether by implementing a pre employment drug screening policy before making final hiring decisions. Likewise, was that accident due to an intoxicated employee? Find out by establishing mandatory post-accident drug testing. Other common testing times include upon reasonable suspicion, for cause, random drug testing, periodic drug testing and post-rehabilitation drug testing.

4.Where. Understand the local, state and federal laws for your industry. Legal and other contractual relationships such as collective bargaining agreements may stipulate where, when and how drug testing is performed.

5.How. There are many different types of on-site drug testing kits and programs available to suite your needs and budget. Each has a variety of advantages ? as well as disadvantages. American Screening Corporation provides full service solutions to determine the best drug testing solution for your business.

Once you have the Who, What, When, Where and How decided, it is time to formalize your plan and put it into action. Don't worry ? It's as easy as 1, 2, 3 !

1.Develop a written policy. Explain the company position on substance abuse, why the policy is needed, a clear description of the new program, who it will impact and where to go for more information.

2.Educate Management. Managers, Human Resources and supervisors all play an important role in the success of the new drug testing program. Before implementing the program take time to educate key personnel on the new policy. Allow them to ask questions and take time to explain why this is good for business.

3.Inform Employees. Employees should be made aware of the new policy as well as resources for more information. Employees should also learn to recognize and report substance abuse related problems of co-workers.

Learn More about On-site Drug Testing Kits