Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs
No matter what business you are in, you want employees that will make a positive contribution to your company. They might be expected to interact with customers or perhaps not. They might be working in a shipping office, packing boxes that will be sent all over the country or all over the world. They might even be simply mopping the floor after hours when everyone else has gone home. But no matter what they are doing, you hired them to do the best possible job that can be done in that position. The simple fact of the matter is that most people who use alcohol or drugs are not always performing at their best. They may think that the use of some stimulants sharpens their thinking or that some narcotics are necessary for them to remain calm and focused, but multiple tests performed by multiple sources have proven that their minds are just not as alert and focused as they think, and that means they tend to make mistakes.
Mistakes cost you money and if they are serious errors could also cost you customers or even, in the long run, your business. You cannot be in a position to allow an employee who you hire in good faith to do damage to a business you have spent years building. That is why pre employment drug screening is not just a nice thought, it is a real necessity. Having a system of pre employment drug screening in place will give you peace of mind because you will know that your employees will generally be performing at their best and will be less likely to make stupid costly mistakes that could be seriously detrimental to your business. Applicants who like to use illicit substances or get drunk repeatedly will likely not even bother to apply at a company that informs all of their potential new hires that they will be expected to undergo pre employment drug screening, so that can save you a great deal of time and expense of hiring someone who later turns out to be unsuitable.
Another risk that is endemic with people who use alcohol or illegal drugs on a regular basis is the possibility of theft. Obviously not everyone who uses drugs has to steal to pay for their habit, but it is certainly a possibility that you must consider if such an employee will be working alone or around materials that could possibly be stolen.
Although it may seem to be an unnecessary step when you are hiring someone, making sure that you have a pre employment drug screening in place will help weed out bad employees. They will either not apply or, if they do, they will not be hired. So the small amount of expense a pre employment drug screening program costs will be more than compensated later.