Strategies for hiring leaders

Navigating this new environment requires a thoughtful, strategic approach, including these steps:

Involve your legal counsel and HR team in all considerations.
Determine what best serves your business or specific business units within your company. What works for a tech company's office environment may not work for a manufacturing facility, and what works for hiring Baby Boomers and Millennials is different.
Distinguish between pre-employment drug testing and random drug testing in the workplace, and have clear reasons for doing either. Think about who and why you are testing. Have a good rationale for blanket testing, and enforce it consistently. Know that if your policy is to fire anyone failing a random test, you may lose people with institutional knowledge.
Examine the laws in every state where you do business. Up-to-date information can be found at the Drug Policy Alliance, Justia, National Drug Screening Inc. and BackgroundChecks.com, to name a few.
Learn which of your employees are medical marijuana patients and if their usage of cannabis in the workplace is protected by state law.
Consider the attitude of your workforce when making disciplinary decisions related to drug testing in the workplace. Is it worth losing key team leaders because they smoke pot on their own time?
Once a comprehensive policy has been adopted, ensure that all employees receive and understand it. Conduct periodic reviews to ensure adherence to current regulations and laws.

No business needs an explosive situation created by ever-changing laws. Wise employers, HR leaders and their recruiting partners will know the facts about drug testing in the workplace and proceed accordingly.

Instant Insights /

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