SafeWork Laboratories* forensic toxicologist Andrew Leibie said almost a quarter of a million Australians were high on ice at work “on any given day.” The number of workers testing positive nationally increased from 1:66 in 2016 to 1:52 in 2017, equating to some 240,000 workers nationwide. In safety sensitive industries it is worse: 1:45 workers were “either under the influence of ice or suffering its hangover effects”.
It is estimated that methamphetamine use in 2013-14 accounted for workplace accidents and absenteeism, costing $289 million nationally and a social cost of more than $5 billion annually.
Preventative advice:
Don’t offer candidate’s who currently using drugs – of any sort – an employment contract. They are a ticking time bomb and you have a duty of care to your currentl employees and your organisation -not- to hire them. An overt background check notice in your job advertisement will help to ward off and deter those who know they will fail the screening process.
Bottom line:
What lies beneath a Candidates profile needs to be a “cleard life” and you can’t be assured of that during a job interview process. In fact, in many cases, you are forbidden by law to even ask the types of question that we do*.
Background screening leads to an improved Reputation.
It has been shown that a 20% reduction of retail employee theft occurred when this policy is implemented. Then organise a fast, fair, one-on-one interview with third party a background screening company. Once you put the policy in place, you can hire for competence and character and your company can improve its reputation, reduce costs and counter-productive workplace behaviours. In short, prosperity and success will follow.
Screen inside the shortlisting process.
We have 4 levels of coverage, depending on the position you need filling, and it covers 21 different aspects of person’s background that could cause you pain. The process uses the informed consent protocol. It is non-discriminatory, fair and is backed up by the same principals and standards that commonwealth vetting agencies use today. In as little as three days, you’ll get the result: Green=Favourable, Amber: Caution, Red: Adverse and your Hiring Manager gets to make the final decision.
