No matter how many job interviews you may have been to, sitting in front of a potential employer and answering the question “why should we hire you?” can still be pretty nerve-racking.

Being well-prepared is by far the best way to ease the pre-interview jitters and show the interviewer your best side.

Kandi Mensing shares her knowledge. Read more at: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/resumes/job-interview-tips

Edwardsville (KSDK) - Guns at work. It will be the new reality for some Illinois businesses, as owners adapt to the new concealed carry law. But not every workplace is allowing guns. The new law allows companies to ban firearms on their property. And since the first concealed carry licenses are set to go out in a few months, many business owners are still deciding whether to allow enact a ban.

Kandi Mensing owns an HR consulting business called Elite HR Team. She's still deciding whether to allow people to carry guns on her property._

"You have to be able to trust their judgment, and how they're going to utilize that weapon," said Mensing.

But she says there is also risk in banning firearms.

"You have to consider whether your employees' safety is at risk then because you didn't allow them to carry a gun if they wanted to," said Mensing.

So she's attending a seminar to learn more about the law. She'll also use the information to advise her clients.

"Whether you are for it or against it, you still have to have a written policy," said Todd Sivia, whose law firm, Sivia Business and Legal Services, is helping host the seminar.

Sivia says if the policy's not clear, it could create problems for the establishment, and its patrons.. Whether that's a store, church, or restaurant.

"The waitress sees a gun on the person you don't want them to run around saying 'I see a gun, I see a gun.' That's going to create a panic," said Sivia.

So businesses who ban firearms will have to post a sign at the front of their building to alert people before they walk in the door. And it's especially important for Illinois businesses to be clear about their policies, because having a gun where you're not supposed to is a misdemeanor in the state. That's one reason firearm safety trainer Allen Keilman is attending the seminar.

"I want to make sure I'm giving the right message to our clients," said Keilman. "They're good people. They want to do things the right way."

The seminar will be Thursday, January 16th, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. It's being held at the SIUE Morris University Center in the Hickory/Hackberry Room. The event is free and open to the public.


Source: KSDK News

Many female workers in the United States do not know their rights when it comes to lactating in the workplace. I hear of women pumping their breast milk in their vehicles, or in the bathroom (yuck!) for lack of having a suitable space in the workplace. I firmly believe that female workers should be afforded the right to work outside the home AND breastfeed their baby. When it comes to infant nutrition, breast is the best. I'm not going to go into the benefits of breastfeeding (you can look that up on your own), nor am I condemning those that choose to formula feed; to each their own. I will, however, be addressing a mother's rights when lactating as it applies to U.S. law.

A lot of women think they only get protected lactation benefits if they work for an employer with 50 or more employees. That's not true. They're thinking of FMLA (the family & medical leave act). FMLA addresses medical leave, not breaks for pumping breast milk. Employers with less than 50 employees are allowed an exemption in some cases, and that is outlined below.

The laws that apply to protected lactation benefits include:

• ADA (Americans with disabilities act)
• PDA (pregnancy discrimination act)
• ACA (affordable care act)
• EEO (equal employment opportunity)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• FLSA (fair labor standards act)

In its 2014 guidance, the EEOC takes the position that the PDA requires employers to offer temporary light-duty assignments to pregnant employees with work restrictions if the employer provides the same accommodation to nonpregnant employees who have similar work restrictions. The guidance also makes clear that the PDA covers lactation, current pregnancy, past pregnancy, and a woman's potential to become pregnant in the future.

Nearly all states have their own laws on pregnancy leave, and most of these mirror the PDA. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (29 U.S.C. Sec 207) by requiring that employers provide a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child's birth each time the employee has a need to express milk.

Employers must provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.

The Department of Labor's (DOL) "Fact Sheet #73: Break Time For Nursing Mothers Under the FLSA" provides general information on the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the ACA, including general requirements, time and location of breaks, and coverage and compensation during break time. If the employer already provides compensated breaks to employees, the covered employees must be paid for that portion of time expressing milk equal to the time paid to other employees during breaks. The employer does not have to compensate for time that exceeds the paid break time. DOL states that breaks for expressing breast milk would not be properly be considered FMLA or count against the FMLA leave entitlement. DOL encourages employers to permit nursing employees to make up unpaid break time.

According to the DOL, the frequency of breaks needed to express breast milk varies, depending on factors such as the age of the baby, the number of feedings in the baby's normal daily schedule, whether the baby is eating solid food, and other factors. Therefore, DOL has stated that it expects that nursing mothers typically will need breaks to express milk two to three times during an 8-hour shift, and that longer shifts require additional breaks to express milk.

The analysis of reasonable time must also include the time it takes to get to the lactation site, the time it takes to gather, set up, and clean a breast pump and other supplies, and to secure and store the milk. DOL encourages nursing employees to give employers notice of the intent to take breaks and states that the employer may ask an expectant mother if she intends to take breaks to express breast milk.

According to EEOC's 2014 guidance, lactation is also a pregnancy-related medical condition. An employee who is lactating must be able to address lactation-related needs to the same extent as she and her coworkers are able to address other similarly limiting medical conditions. For example, if an employer allows employees to change their schedules or use sick leave for routine doctor appointments and to address nonincapacitating medical conditions, it must also allow female employees to change their schedules or use sick leave for lactation-related needs.

Smaller employers with fewer than 50 are exempt from the break time rule ONLY if the employer can demonstrate that compliance that the statute would cause the employer "significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer's business." Where practicable, employers should make a room (either private or with partitions for use by multiple nursing employees) available for use by employees taking breaks to express milk. Where it is not practicable for an employer to provide a room, DOL says the requirement can be met by creating a space with partitions or curtains. Any windows in the designated room or space should be covered to ensure the space is shielded from view.

With any space provided for expressing milk, the employer must ensure the employee's privacy through means such as signs that designate when the space is in use or a lock on the door. The employer is not obligated, says DOL, to maintain a permanent, dedicated space for nursing mothers. A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by a nursing mother is sufficient, provided that the space is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.

In order to be a functional space, DOL says the room must contain, at a minimum, a place for the nursing mother to sit, and a flat surface, other than the floor, on which to place the pump. Ideally, the space should have access to electricity so that a nursing mother can plug an electric pump, rather than use a pump with battery power. DOL recognizes that there are a range of additional features that some employers have included when providing spaces for their employees to use to express breast milk, such as sinks within or nearby the room for washing hands and cleaning pump attachments, and refrigerators within or nearby the room for storing expressed milk. While such additional features are not requires, says DOL, their provision may decrease the amount of break time needed by nursing employees to express milk. Employers are not required to provide refrigeration options for nursing mothers for the purpose of storing expressed milk; however, they must allow a nursing mother to bring a pump and insulated food container to work for expressing and storing the milk and ensure there is a place where she can store the pump and insulated food container while she is at work.

Ensure you check your state specific laws as well as your company policies in addition to knowing the federal laws I've just outlined.

Additional Source: HR.BLR

It can be tempting to write your job requisition and then just wait for the resumes to come flooding in. It may seem redundant to have a job application as well, when all the job applicant's information is hopefully already on their resume, but here are some reasons why you need an application.

• An application allows you to compile all the information you need in one place.
• An application is the perfect place for a permission statement, which gives you the authority to call former employers and check references. You can also include at-will and false information statements, which inform candidates of your requirements.
• You can customize the application to gather the information you need, including education requirements or certifications, to make a preliminary decision what candidates to bring in.
• Although you can't make hiring decision based on protected classes, if your company is required to meet affirmative action benchmarks, the application is a good place to allow candidates to willingly self-identify.

Job applications are one more thing that a company can do to protect itself. If someone threatens legal action for discrimination because you didn't hire them, you can use the paperwork provided in the job application to prove that you hired based on fair practices. Applications are easy to create with our HR Form Templates. 

A Personal Note from Kandi Mensing

Kandi here. I just returned from spending 7 days in New York City. What an amazing week! If you’re anything like me, you sometimes need a break from business and reality. Since I was spending 3 days in Stamford, CT (just an hour outside of NYC), for business, I decided to extend my stay and take some time for me, to reenergize myself, reconnect to my purpose, and I did just that. Rather than staying in a hotel, I chose to sublet a Manhattan apartment and so I got to experience the city as a real New Yorker! What a fast-paced city, but I was surprised by how friendly and helpful New Yorkers are. The movies make them out to be stiff and rude, and my experience was nothing like that.

I spent 3 days with the most incredible entrepreneurs from around the world. We have created strong friendships in the last year of working together, but our time together last week provided me with some lessons, I’d like to share with you. I hope they serve you in some way.

Too often, we entrepreneurs run ourselves ragged in our businesses. We are pulled constantly from one thing to the next. We need to actively find focus. It’s important to find focus by delegating to your team, creating well-trained staff, respecting your time, schedule, and calendar, and outsourcing the activities that are a drain on your business (accounting, cleaning, billing, website work, marketing, public relations, and human resources just to name a few). Your time is your responsibility, and it’s your duty to ensure that you are not overwhelmed so that you can "show up" in a big way for your business.

We entrepreneurs are also very hard on ourselves. We often don’t take the time to celebrate our small or large successes. Instead, we move on to the next goal, the next project. We set strict, sometimes unrealistic goals and deadlines and when we are unsuccessful at meeting them, it takes a hit on our confidence, which prevents us from moving forward the next time, or causes frustration. Take time every day to celebrate your accomplishments for that day. Implement a system to track goals you set (no matter how small) and whether you met them. I constantly amaze myself at what I accomplish every quarter because I establish goals, and track them. It creates confidence, which I believe breeds success.

Make time for the things that matter most. Work smarter, not harder. We sometimes equate being busy with being successful and that is so far from the truth! It’s not about doing everything right, it’s about doing the right things. Be strategic and focused rather than busy. There’s no point working on things that don’t give you results. Your business needs you to be focused and energized, and if you’re stressed and overwhelmed, you will not show up for your business and your business will suffer as a result. Work more strategically. Work less hours by ensuring your time is respected, uninterrupted, and work on the strategic, most important things in your business.

I could go on all day but I wanted to share with you the lessons that spoke to me the most, the issues that I find are a common denominator in the businesses of our clients. Entrepreneurship is a full contact sport, but we are the coaches building the teams, training the teams, leading the teams, and creating the legacy. When we have strategies, and we show up energized in our business, there’s only one option: WINNING!

Group Interviews Explained Have you ever been in or conducted a group interview? Group interviews involve having an interview with a range of 5-15 candidates at the same time. The interview can be conducted by asking the same question to the whole group and allowing each individual to answer among the group. Or, the group may also be divided into subgroups for group activities and assignments. Group interviews can save an employer a lot of time in the interview process. For example, a manager is more likely to have time for a 1-hour group interview with 10 people but making time for 10 one hour interviews may not be possible. Group interviews can aid in identifying those candidates with leadership skills as they stand out in the crowd and take the lead in the group. 

Group interviews are a great idea for certain types of positions, but for other positions should not be utilized. A group interview should not be conducted for mid-level management positions or higher. Upper management is an integral part of any company. It's important that their interview time is spent one-on-one to really get to know them. Plus, it can be perceived by the applicant as demeaning and degrading for an executive to be interviewed in this way. Let's be honest, it is difficult to find good managers. You want to spend one-on-one time with them for your own sake and for the sake of showing them respect in the recruiting process. Group interviews are a great tool for lower level positions, to entry-level management positions. These positions often have a lot more applicants than management positions, so you can really maximize your interview time with group interviews. Plus, as mentioned above, you can see what applicants show strength, confidence, and leadership. 

Would you consider a group interview situation? What roles would you put through a group interview? Leave your comment below. 

By: Dan Cozzi

Veracity is one of our core values at Elite HR Team. We define Veracity as, "extending permission to embrace unique qualities and serve genuinely."

Passion means to have a strong, almost uncontrollable emotion about something.  Where do such emotions come from?  They aren't logical, but they are tied to something deep within us; extremely personal.  One of the great philosophers in western history, Thomas Aquinas, held that temperance binds our passions.  In the realm of morality and justice temperance protects society, but the absence of it can turn an individual into a sociopath.  However, when related to the health of your workforce, encouraging certain passions is a goal of the highest order.  Passionate people greatly engage in the things they are passionate about, and here is where veracity is important. 

Companies that don't embrace veracity find it difficult to promote passionate workforces. Without it managers, executives and company leaders risk tempering their worker's passion for their work. Think about it, how passionate can someone be where her/his unique qualities are suppressed in an effort to force compliance to tasks and exercises which are counter to their strengths or individuality. 

At Elite HR team, we embrace veracity as one of our values to avoid tempering our team members’ passion for their work.  In whatever we are working on, for our clients or for our business goals, we give ourselves and our partners permission to embrace their unique qualities and strengths and live them in their work. These unique qualities determine our strengths which we welcome and encourage to strengthen our team and yours.

We've shared why we feel veracity is key to our vision for our future, please share how or if veracity plays a role in your company, team, or work group.  We look forward to learning from you! Comment below or join the conversation on our Facebook page.

You can also watch our video about Veracity where Dan interviews Kandi on Elite HR Team's core Value Veracity here: 

February already? What happened to January? Are you as shocked as we are that a month has already gone by in 2014? Don't freak out. I want you to take a look back at January. What did you accomplish? Remember to celebrate your successes. What professional resolutions did you make for 2014? Did you put any pieces in place that got you closer to your goal? Progress is a great thing, celebrate it! In December, we sent our our E-zine article about change being inevitable and it is. The strongest and most successful people are adaptable and embrace change. Albert Einstein, a very wise man indeed, once defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." If you want different results in your business, or just in your life in general, you have to embrace change. Too many people (our employees included) do not embrace change. When someone is in their comfort zone, change is scary. Business owners tend to embrace change more than their staff does. Entrepreneurs have to push through the fear in order to launch their business, launch a new program or product, hire their first or another employee, change locations, change their company name, and the list could go on and on. We've conditioned ourselves to embrace change. The question is, how do we condition our employees to embrace change? Employees don't like new systems, new methods of doing things, and sometimes they even frown at the new staff being added to your growing company. The unknown is scary for them. They realize that they depend on someone else for their paycheck, that their job is in the hands of someone else. They fear change because they are scared they won't be able to learn the new system, or because they are intimidated by the new employee. It is our duty as their employer to communicate with them open and honestly, to provide them with training that gives them confidence both in their jobs and the organization, to spend time with them to uncover and address their fears. It's not that hard, but we see many small business owners that keep themselves too busy to spend any quality time with their employees. Are you guilty of this? When you go to talk to one of your employees is it to ask about work? Get to know them as an employee, as a valued member of your team. Something that we launched within our own business at Elite HR Team is Dream Manager. We held a company-wide meeting where we "Dream-Stormed" with each other. It was very neat to see the team document their dreams, share their dreams, and it will be even better holding each other accountable to their dreams, and watching everyone achieve their dreams. In the process we learned a lot about each other and 'what makes us tick.' Dan Cozzi, our Excellence Manager, oversees the Dream Manager program internally for us and also as an external service for our clients. Contact him to learn more. Outside of the Dream Manager, other ideas to help your employees overcome fear are to have frequent meetings with them, identifying their needs, and their concerns, and putting goals and plans of action into place (and signed copies into their personnel files) to follow up on during future meetings with them. Simply asking your employees what they need shows and tells them that you care about them. 

Don't let the resumes pile up on your desk. There's a better way for small businesses to recruit. Streamline your efforts with our affordable online recruiting portal. Your first posting is free, and there are plans as low as $29/month! Claim your free job posting here:

http://register.hiringthing.com/partners/elitehrteam