Companies that are involved in safety-critical work would likely be familiar with maintaining a drug and alcohol-free workplace. There are many organizations that fall under the federal purview to maintain a drug-free workplace. Workplace testing has attained a front and center place with an estimated 62% full-time employees to be harmful drug and alcohol users.
The majority of safety-critical industries consider testing to be a necessity instead of a luxury. There are two options when it comes to drug testing – hiring a third-party service provider or keeping things in-house. Many organizations are opening up to the idea of maintaining their drug testing in-house for obvious cost and reduced risk benefits.
This post will explain whether in-house or third-party employee drug testing is more beneficial in the long run.
What is Workplace Drug Testing?
Employers get to test their workers for drugs and alcohol abuse at the workplace with drug testing. There are two broad types of drug testing – reasonable suspicion and random drug testing. A predetermined percentage of employees are tested at required time periods in random drug testing.
In reasonable suspicion drug testing, supervisors may ask an employee to submit to a drug test if they have indications of working under the influence. Some organizations may require a drug test immediately after a workplace accident as part of their company policy.
Benefits of In-House Drug Testing
There are several benefits of in-house drug testing. Few of these are:
- Reduced costs since outsourcing testing are more expensive
- Retaining complete control over the testing procedure
- The process can be scaled up or down without any significant cost or hassles
- Employers can remain flexible and responsive to changes
Managing things in-house offer organizations the chance to get employees tested quickly and whenever they want. Third-party providers may not always be available. Also, operations can be ramped up or scaled down whenever wanted. This may not be possible if an organization has entered a contract with another service provider.
Benefits of Third-Party Employee Drug Testing
The biggest positives of outsourcing drug testing are:
- Zero conflict of interest
- Clear demarcation between the tester and staffing agency
- Impartial testing
- Results get reviewed by a certified MRO
However, third party testing comes with its own sets of drawbacks. For instance, it usually takes longer to obtain test results. Plus, there are higher chances of clerical and administration errors when you get employees tested in bulk. The biggest drawback is the cost factor. Outsourced processes tend to cost more.
Greater Flexibility with In-house Testing
Sometimes, organizations require drug test results to be delivered quickly. Or, they may need the test to be taken after hours. For instance, when an employee has a major accident at the workplace, the organization may require immediate testing if they have a post-accident drug and alcohol testing policy.
The usual laboratory may not be accessible at all times of the day. If you are lucky you may find a laboratory to carry out the one-off drug test. However, you find that their charges are thrice what it usually costs. That is good money down the drain. This situation is more common than you would want to believe. It happens to many organizations throughout the country.
Post-accident testing needs to be completed within a specified time period for the results to be viable. In-house testing programs can help ensure complete control and flexibility over drug testing. Organizations don’t need to depend on third-party providers to conduct tests on their behalf. Hundreds of thousands of employers have found in-house employee drug testing to be the perfect solution to canceled tests, delayed results, and unavailability of third party agents.
Organizations can maintain the required standard of quality and avoid having results canceled or invalidated due to inadequate/poor training.
Cost Savings with In-house Employee Drug Testing
The costs associated with hiring a third party to conduct drug testing will be higher than the cost of performing things in-house in almost every situation. Employers can utilize employees who are already on their payroll to conduct the tests. For example, typical in-house urine drug testing costs anywhere from $10 – 15. The same test when covered by a third-party testing provider can cost upwards of $50.
This is because third party providers need to factor in costs associated with on-site/mobile callout, after-hours service, interpreter fees, hospital visit fees, shy bladder procedure fees, expanded drug testing panels, confirmation testing costs, and federal versus state testing protocols among others.
Restrictions on In-house Testing
In-house drug testing may offer complete flexibility and greater control. However, it is not without its limitations. For instance, there are specific restrictions in place that bar direct managers or supervisors from conducting the test. This holds true for employees that work together or are on the same pay grade as well. This can be a limiting factor for small organizations that may not have many teams.
Employee Training for In-house Testing
While in-house drug testing can prove to be less expensive than third-party providers, it is by no means without cost. The single largest cost is usually in the form of training employees and transitioning to an in-house testing program. However, these are usually considered upfront costs and are soon recovered.
Employee training stands for a minimum period of 5 years before which refresher training is required. It is important to get this training completed to ensure all supervisors and managers are aware of the various testing protocols. Generally, where drug testing is concerned, organizations fall under two categories – DOT and non-DOT.
Employers that have their own set of policies and guidelines regarding drug-free workplace need to get multiple training for their employees. For instance, an employer may require urine tests for DOT employees’ drug testing program, oral fluid/saliva tests for company-authority drug testing program (Non-DOT), and employees’ alcohol tests (Non-DOT).
In such a situation, the supervisor would require a certificate for DOT Urine Specimen Collection, Saliva/Oral Fluid Testing, and DOT/Non-DOT Breath Alcohol Technician training. Several companies get all employees, regardless of whether they are HR team members or supervisors, trained in drug testing protocols.
