Out with a Bang! Working for You in 2018

(Winter 2018) Who can believe it is almost 2019? Where has the year gone?

Between the time we all rang in 2018, until now, we have been hard at work keeping tabs on drug-free workplace issues and trends to make sure we can provide the best possible service to you.

We’ve traveled near and far and talked with businesses and business leaders from all industries with the goal of helping businesses and communities reap the benefits of a healthier, drug-free workplace and workforce. Here is just a sample of what our work entailed:

• Worked with 65 organizations throughout Ohio — including Chambers of Commerce, Safety Councils, community behavioral health boards and state associations — to raise awareness on how Ohio’s medical marijuana law will impact business operations. As a result, we were invited to deliver our Yes. No. Maybe? Medical Marijuana and Your Drug-Free Workplace Program presentation over 40 times to approximately 1,500 people across the state.
• Presented at several state-wide conferences in Ohio including Ohio SHRM’s (Society for Human Resource Management) annual conference, County Auditors’ Association of Ohio, Ohio Safety Congress and the Ohio Chamber’s Annual Employee Health & Wellness Conference — reaching a combined audience of nearly 400.
• Traveled to Missouri to present at the national Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association’s (SAPAA) conference and to Kentucky to deliver the keynote address at the 10^th Annual Kentucky Health and Wellness Conference — reaching a combined audience of roughly 350.
• Formed new partnerships with like-minded organizations and businesses to provide discounts and services to our clients and Consortium members
• Became an approved provider of continuing education credits for HRCI (Human Resource Certification Institute), OCILB (Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board) and ODI (Ohio Department of Insurance).
• Partnered with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to develop a free, opioid toolkit for employers to learn about the opioid epidemic and how operating a drug-free workplace can help reduce the impact businesses feel as a result of this epidemic. The toolkit is available on the Chamber’s website and has received almost 7,000 visitors in 2018, making it the most visited page on their site.
• Started working with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce to create a toolkit, similar to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s opioid toolkit, for their state and administer a state-wide survey to measure the attitudes, knowledge and practices of their business community.
• Developed two additional education/training modules, bringing the total to 32 modules that can be delivered to employees and supervisors either by the Working Partners^® training team or company representatives who have completed our Training of Trainers course.
• Changed OnDemand 24/7 to give customers more options for the delivery and management of these web-based course, including access to a kiosk to enable individuals without email addresses to take the course and unlimited access to certificates of completion.
• Transitioned into delivering Training of Trainers materials digitally, enabling us to provide clients access to their renewal materials within two business days of receiving payment.
• Spent over 300 hours helping clients and Consortium members work through sticky situations that arose while running their drug-free workplace programs.
• Consulted with over 150 organizations to update their drug-free workplace policy and program.
• Helped customers customize their drug-free workplace policies and program against laws in 28 states outside of Ohio.
• Created three toolkits to help businesses make a decision and take action regarding Ohio’s medical marijuana law.
• Partnered with community behavioral health boards in Clark/Green/Madison, Logan/Champaign and Montgomery counties to provide a 14-hour Technical Assistance course to help businesses in their communities develop (or refine) a best-practice drug-free workplace policy and program. Combined, 15 businesses, representing over 1,700 employees took the course.
• Worked with the Tri-County Board of Recovery & Mental Health Services to survey 129 businesses in Darke county about their perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and practices of business as they relate to preventing and addressing substance abuse in the workplace and workforce.
• Expanded our staff with the hiring of Angie Newcomb, our new assistant director.
• Facilitated strategic planning sessions with the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Clark Greene and Madison Counties and the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin Counties to help each organization identify how they can better server their business communities.
• Delivered over 172 (and counting) onsite employee education and supervisor training to organizations throughout Ohio and the country. That’s 460 hours of training!
• Conducted the second of two pilots for CampusCents, an online, self-directed financial literacy course to prevent problem gambling among 18 – 25-year-olds, involving 150 students from approximately 15 Ohio colleges and universities.
• Interviewed by BBC’s The World of Business for a 28-minute radio documentary on the “Economic Impact of America’s Opioid Epidemic”.

As you can see, it’s been an action-packed year! We look forward to making next year even better and finding additional ways to better support your drug-free workplace needs.

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