Meeting/Event Information

Description:

Presentation Title: Identifying & Responding to Workplace Impairment

Presentation Objectives:

1. Recite the “four rules” for responding to suspected worker impairment.
2. Describe the physical, behavioral, and performance signs of drug and alcohol impairment.
3. Discuss the three components of “reasonable suspicion”.
4. Demonstrate an effective, non-confrontational conversation with a worker suspected of substance misuse and/or impairment.

Presentation Description:

This 1.0 hour training teaches participants how to identify signs of employee substance impairment, and also how to safely and effectively confront an employee suspected of impairment.  Current drug trends are reviewed, “reasonable suspicion” is defined, and the importance of an up-to-date drug and alcohol policy is emphasized.  Knowledge checks are peppered throughout to increase participant engagement and content retention.  Upon completion, attendees will be better equipped to identify physical, behavioral, and performance signs of worker substance impairment and know how to appropriately document and respond.

Speaker Bio:

Ryan West, EQualifyed LLC

Ryan West began working in the chemical addictions field in 2007 as a clinical evaluator, counselor, and workplace consultant for a regional drug and alcohol treatment provider in Pennsylvania.  Over the past ten years, Ryan has helped hundreds of organizations, from international to local, modernize their drug and alcohol policies and procedures, drug panels, and drug training and awareness programs.  He also speaks at regional and state conferences as an authority on chemical addictions and co-occurring disorders - how they develop, how they are treated, and how they impact the individual and the workplace.  Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a master’s degree in psychology with an industrial-organizational concentration.  His special interests include the relationship between employee health and wellbeing and employee performance, and the impact of personality and emotional intelligence on worker communication, performance, and relationships.  He is also a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, President for the Employee Assistance Professional’s Association - Indiana Chapter, a DOT Qualified Substance Abuse Professional, a Certified Forensic Interviewer specializing in nonverbal communication, and a published author on the subject of workplace substance use and impairment.  Ryan resides in Zionsville, Indiana, a northwest suburb of Indianapolis, with his wife and three children.