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. 

Do you talk to your employees, or do you run past them in your hurried state? We know the challenges of small business owners all too well, but it's imperative that you stop for a few minutes and actually talk to your employees, not about work, but about their life, their family, and their concerns. Everyone has to eat, why not reward a job well done by taking an employee to lunch with you? Getting to know your employees and making them feel important will improve morale and productivity. 

{What-Not-To-Do Wednesday} Don't ignore your HR function. It can be a valuable tool to catapult your business, protect your bottom-line, and create a culture of excellence when given proper attention. Most business owners are overwhelmed by keeping up with employee issues and employment law. The good news is you don't have to keep struggling. Just like you outsource your accounting, your web design, or your janitorial, you can outsource your HR function. Find out how here: www.EliteHRTeam.com

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.

When life is dragging you backwards, remember you are getting ready to be launched into something great, like an arrow. Keep focus and aim.

Kandi discusses. 

Our Team's {Monday Motivator} today was on the topic of time management, which is relevant to both individuals and businesses. In life or business, if we don't manage our time well, we find ourselves stressed, stretched too thin, and unorganized. Some tips shared with the team were to try to do phone meetings rather than in-person, so you avoid 'down' drive time. Also, be respectful of your own schedule. But first, you must prioritize and schedule your time accordingly.