Weed Out Time Wasters and Save $$ When Drug Testing New Employees
by Michael Wagoner, president, Cantel Sweeping, Inc.This a suggestion that has saved us lot of money and frustration:
We always require new hires to pass a drug test prior to adding them as an employee. We would offer them the job subject to passing the drug test. Of course, they would say "No problem, I'll pass the drug test". Then the selected candidate would fail the drug test and we would get stuck with the $35 bill from the testing company. This would occur about 5 times a year. I used to hate it whenever that would happen! Not only did we lose the cost of the drug test, but then we had to start the hiring process all over again.
A few years ago my general manager heard of a method that would eliminate this problem. Now, when we offer the job to a candidate, we still tell them it is subject to passing a drug test. We also tell them that we will pay for the drug test. However, we require the prospective employee to bring in $40 cash (no checks!). We put the cash into a sealed envelope. They get the money back after they pass the drug test. If they fail, we will use the money to pay the testing company and keep the $5 difference as a "hassle" charge.
The concept is that the prospective employee knows whether or not they are going to pass the drug test. Those that know they will pass the test are only out the $40 for a few days. If they know that they are going to fail then they shouldn't waste their time or money. Now the drug testing process is no longer a frustration to me.
Believe it or not, we still get an occasional selected candidate who fails the drug test and loses their $40!
Michael Wagoner
President
Cantel Sweeping, Inc.
Have an idea that would be helpful to others in the industry? Please let us know what it is.
