The casino industry is struggling to fill positions and secure staff over the long term, but gaming and hospitality companies are using progressive tools to attract employees and technology for training, growth, and retention.
Millions of people across the country quit their jobs during the pandemic and for the hospitality industry the turnover has been “ridiculous,” according to Deana Scott, CEO of Raving, a casino and hospitality consulting company who moderated a panel on recruiting and retaining talent at the Global Gaming Expo.
“It’s been 50% since I’ve been in the industry, and we thought that was a good turnover rate, but if you remember from school, 50% is an F. We’re now up to 52% or 53%. This staffing issue has been around and it’s still around, and we need to find different ways to address it.”
Only 30% of employees say the technologies their companies use exceed their expectations, Scott said, citing a report from Qualtrics. “You would think that with gaming technology, we’d be ahead of the curve, but when it comes to back-of-house resources, it’s typically lagging other technologies,” Scott said.
Employees are 230% more engaged and 85% more likely to stay beyond three years in their jobs if they have the technology that supports them at work, Scott said.
“We all know that pay and benefits, work flexibility, career advancement, opportunities for growth, culture fit, and a well-known brand all provide reasons for employees not only to choose you as an employer, but also to stick around. Every one of these areas has a technology piece, whether you’re recruiting, doing licensing or career advancement, or using onboarding systems training programs. We’re now technology companies. As much as we come kicking and screaming, technology is who we are.”
Leveraging technology is “here to stay whether you like it or not,” said Ezra DeLodge, tribal lieutenant governor of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. It starts with the onboarding process, he said, but companies can waste time and money if they don’t pick something right.
“We have an employee website, electronic-application services, and kiosks in our lobby that all allow communication,” DeLodge said. “Technology plays a big role in everything we do, but when you boil it down, it comes to communication. Are we sending a clear message about what we want to accomplish in attracting people to want to come to work for us? There’s been a huge shift in making sure who we’re looking at and retaining talent.”
Colista Matsaw, owner of Hummingbird Advisors, a consulting company that engages in strategic planning, employment background checks, digital marketing, and leadership development, said her Shoshone Bannock Tribes of Southeast Idaho use many technology services. The problem is in the planning to make sure they all integrate and work together.
“Whatever you choose, make sure there’s a strategy behind it and that they’re compatible with each other,” Matsaw said.
Scott said one of the problems is how companies and tribes make overall strategic decisions when there is so much need within departments and only so much money in the budget to spend. It’s important to determine priorities for the highest and best use, she said.
Jeff Gray, a Raving partner in business optimization who has worked with Google, Starbucks, Amazon, and Microsoft, said that companies looking to hire, engage, and retain employees should look at applicants in ways similar to looking at customers.
“You want them to give you their time for money,” Gray said. “You have to give them more than that. They have to have an experience and career path. They have to be treated well and be in a culture and environment to grow and expand. If you treat them like customers and family members, they’ll stay forever.”
The casino industry burns out the people that do the best jobs, Scott added. It’s not that people don’t want to work in the industry, but there needs to be a work-life balance, she said. “Casinos need to adjust, because there’s a lot of competition out there.” Scott described that Amazon is abrogating employees and companies need to recognize such threats to their hiring potential.
Amazon is now paying employees on a daily basis at the end of their shift, Gray said. “See what the competition is doing and look at other industries,” Gray said. “You guys are casinos. You have lots of cash. You pay people every day.”
