In order for employees to completely understand and follow the drug-free workplace policy, it is important for an organization to create an effective employee education program. One of the first things you need to do is to determine the objectives of your employee education program, such as:

• To broaden your employees’ awareness about drug abuse
• To improve their pliability in preventing addiction

An effective employee education program must encompass the following:

• Information on the rights of employees and employers
• The organization’s views and possible actions regarding an employee’s drug addiction recovery and treatment
• Accurate drug detection methods and appropriate disciplinary action
• Implications of substance abuse, such as workplace accidents and injury

As you plan for your employee education efforts, keep in mind the following:

1. Discuss the drug-free workplace policy rules and regulations
2. Spread awareness on how employees and their family can get help in case problems related to drug abuse arise
3. Provide a concrete evaluation on the economic cost, economic benefits, and other significant outcomes of the program
4. Ensure confidentiality of every employee drug test results
5. Explain the relationship of employee assistance program to drug testing, treatment, rehabilitation, and aftercare

Listed below are some of the best educational tools you can use to carry out the objectives of your employee education program.

• A combination of multimedia approaches, such as posters, print materials, payroll stuffers, newsletters, brownbag lunch presentations, and orientation for new hires.
• In-house employee training, as well as online information resources, seminars, in-person, online training
• Promotion of health and wellness program
• Holding meetings, seminars, and supervisors training
• Team awareness efforts that focus on drug abuse-related topics, such as drug dependence, cardiac health and respiratory health, and other topics that will help employees pass on the knowledge to their offspring and other people

When designing your education program, you also need to consider the different types of employees that work in your organization, as well as their interest. The workers’ profile in your company may include the following:

• Parents who are willing to learn effective communication techniques to be able to pass on the knowledge regarding drug abuse to their children
• Younger employees who are willing to join health awareness programs; discuss other wellness issues; and promote drug prevention efforts in the community
• Younger workers who are concerned about drug related problems among their co-workers
• Middle-aged employees who are willing to enroll into individual training or education programs, such as the Web-based education.

Once you have already outlined the needs and considerations of creating the employee education program, you may create an effective evaluation strategy to assess the effectiveness of your program. The following are three most basic elements on which you can base your evaluation.

1. Instructional Design – This determines the ability of the program to foster learning. Does you education program cater to the needs of your employees? Are you using the right kind of media to convey your drug-free policy’s messages to your employees? Does your education program promote a learning process with relevance to your employees?
2. Aesthetic Design – This determines how appealing your program is to sustain the interest of employees. Does your program include training, workshops, and seminars? Are your program presentations, website, and curriculum appealing enough to draw employees’ attention?
3. Accessibility – This determines how employees can easily interact with the program. Does your employee education program provide a medium for employees to raise their concern, questions, and suggestion? Is your program fairly intended for the entire employees regardless of their position? What media are you using to help reach out to the employees who are not interested to the program?

Evaluating the employee education program will help you determine its weakness and strength. Once you are done with the evaluation, you can proceed to the implementation of your employee education program.

Additional resources:

www.topicseducation.com/pdf/TErubric.pdf

Posted under Employee & Workplace Drug Testing
Tags: drug addiction, drug detection, drug detection methods, drug-free workplace policy rule, employee education program.