Build Your Casino’s Revenue on a Solid Foundation

 

Managing a casino requires that a significant amount of time be spent in meetings discussing how the casino can steal market share, get more guests in the door, grow revenues and, as a result of all of these efforts, grow the casino’s operating income or EBITDA.

While these types of meetings and discussions are essential elements to the strategic direction of the casino, there are four steps that must be taken prior to strategic planning if the new revenue and income are to become sustainable.

Specifically, I am referring to the importance of attracting, hiring, training and retaining the best and brightest employees.  While a great business strategy is vital to the longevity of the casino, all the strategy in the world will not help if your employees are not highly satisfied and do not take great care of the casino’s guests.

 

 

Attracting the best employees

All of us would love to have the money casinos spend with newspapers on classified ads.  In addition, in this day and age of the Internet, we would gladly take the money that is spent with Internet career services that charge a fee to the company in search of the employee and sometimes charge the employee seeking a job.

While advertising/marketing may be necessary to make potential employees aware of job openings at your casino, there is another approach to attracting employees that is far less expensive than the conventional methods discussed above.

A culture where employees are appreciated, treated fairly, respected and seen as partners is not a secret that can be kept for long.  When your employees leave at the end of their shifts and feel they have worked hard, been treated fairly, paid well, always respected, involved in the decision making process (when possible) and participated as a partner, the word will spread quickly.  Very soon, your casino will become the employer of choice in your market.  Instead of the expense of classified and internet ads, you will experience a steady stream of applicants who come to your casino due to word-of-mouth advertising.

Many times, gaming employees want to work for the biggest and flashiest casino.  In every market, only one casino can be the biggest and flashiest.  If your property can’t win the “beauty contest” related to size and flash, there is no reason that you can’t win the recruiting and retention battle by developing the most desirable work culture.

 

Hiring the best employees

Many times we encounter employees who work in the service industry who are truly great at what they do.  Whether we meet them in a restaurant, retail setting or other service venue, it is quickly obvious that these people excel in their jobs.  If you meet this type of potential employee, you should be handing him a business card or asking him to call you about possible employment opportunities.

All of us have had the experience of a person applying for a job with our casino when there are no openings.  What steps does your casino take if the potential employee appears exceptional in all aspects, but there is no job available on the day they apply?  Do you put her application in a “hot file” and call her when the next opening becomes available?  Do you have someone call her periodically to continue to express interest in her coming to work for your casino?  Do you send her a postcard or letter once a month to keep the relationship alive?

While the aforementioned hiring practices may seem a bit strange, I can promise you these techniques are far less expensive than the traditional advertisement, and you already have met this employee or seen her “on the job” and you have good idea what type of employee this person could become for your casino.

 

Training employees for success

Your new employee finally comes to work for the first day….hooray!!!!  How much time and effort does your casino take to train him or her properly?  Does your employee orientation last four hours, eight hours or three days?  We all hope that at the end of the orientation, the employee has a good knowledge base about his or her new employer and what is expected in their new job.

Is the training exciting and specific to their job?  Do you have a knowledgeable employee from the new hire’s department review all of the standard operating procedures and job description with the new employee?  Do you have one of your best employees working as a “buddy” with the new employee to make certain their transition into the workforce goes smoothly?  Does your management team and your human resources department follow-up with the employee on a weekly basis to check for job satisfaction, etc.?

I have had the opportunity to analyze turnover in many casinos.  One commonality I have found is that many casinos experience drastic turnover in the first 120 days of employment.  While developing strategic plans, your team would do well also to have a plan to make sure your new employees are happy – not “thrown to the wolves” without proper training – and that the new team member feels part of the team.

 

Retaining your talented and well-trained team members

If your casino is successful at all of the steps above, you are to be congratulated.  However, your work is far from done!  After you have spent time and energy on attracting, hiring and training a great staff, you need to make sure you have all of the tools in place to keep these great people your employees. One very important tool is the employee satisfaction survey.  This survey will help you understand the level of employee satisfaction and how your team’s satisfaction relates to your employee turnover statistics.

A recent study revealed that when employees were asked about the 10 most important aspects of job satisfaction, pay ranked seven out of 10.  Company culture, fair treatment, work environment and other attributes ranked higher than the attribute of pay.  If your company conducts annual wage surveys and knows your pay structure is competitive, you can then focus on other ways to retain your employees.

To keep your most valuable asset happy and motivated, you have to be firm, fair and consistent in addressing inadequate performance and attendance.  If the employee does not see everyone being treated the same, de-motivation and poor morale is sure to follow.  A well-crafted employee handbook and progressive discipline policy that are enforced fairly and consistently are critical elements to holding all employees accountable.

Just as important, your property has to recognize and reward great performance.  When an employee goes “above and beyond” in the performance of his or her job, does anyone at your casino notice?  An employee of the month, employee of the quarter and employee of the year program alone may not be adequate.  Great companies have aggressive reward and recognition techniques that single out the best performers and consistently reward their star performers.

Numerous casino companies report that the cost of training one new employee is $12,000 to $15,000 per employee.  If your casino employs 500 team members and your annual turnover is 40 percent, it means you are losing 200 employees a year at a cost of $2.4 to $3.0 million.  If your team could work towards reducing turnover by 25 percent, it would have significant implications for your bottom line.

While there is a lot of “buzz” about marketing strategy and the strategic direction of the casino, you can’t build sustainable revenue/income growth without first having a solid foundation built upon attracting, hiring, training and retaining the best and brightest team members.

Lee Witherow is President of Hospitality & Gaming Associates which assists clients in casino operations, acquisition/development, food & beverage, team/leadership development and hotel operations.  Contact him on the web at lee@hga.cc or at (434) 242-3172