Drug testing is a tool. As with all tools, there is a time and a place to use it. Without proper guidance, you may misuse this tool and make a bigger muck of things than they were before. Here are some do’s and don’ts for using employee drug and alcohol testing in your company.
Do start using it when you begin feeling uneasy that your employees are taking the job too casually or have no interest in interacting with the work itself when they are on the jobsite.
Don’t use drug and alcohol testing to “catch” someone in the act when they are acting strangely. Regularly scheduled testing for all employees should be used.
Do tailor your drug and alcohol screening to the area in which the jobsite is located. Depending upon environmental factors, you may need increase or reduce the number of times you test your employees.
Don’t use drug and alcohol testing when you are part of a family business and one of your other family members is clearly abusing. This is a personal issue, and it may require a decision by the family as a whole, but it is unwise to drag legalities into the matter.
Do facilitate strong and continuous communication between your employees at all times. This may render excessive testing unnecessary and help employers to aid their employees through minor issues easily and effortlessly.
Don’t become offended when an employee falls below your expectation or behaves in a manner inconsistent with how you have trained them to act. This is not the time to get personal. Drug and alcohol screening is about setting boundaries and recording when someone steps over those boundaries. This is not the scenario in which personal disappointments can be aired.
Do use onsite drug and alcohol testing from Mediscreen if your business is located anywhere in Australia. This saves time and money, as opposed to sole laboratory testing.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Businesses will inherently have kinks which need to be fixed and employees who will need to be fired. It is all a part of the process of strengthening and growing your company. Call Mediscreen today: (+61) 1300 79 70 40.
