Money Doesn’t Spur Employees to Offer Better Guest Service;
Recognition for A Job Well Done Is A Real Motivator

By Martin R. Baird

When we consult with casinos about their guest service needs and how to keep customers coming back, the conversation inevitably turns to employees and their state of mind.  We’re often told by casino management that employees would provide better guest service if they were happier.  Or they say that it’s all about employee attitude – guests have fun when employees show up for work in a good mood but their gaming experience suffers when employees have a bad day.

So we ask an important question:  how can we improve the overall employee attitude?  It’s almost funny because the answer we always hear is, “Pay them more!”  Without taking another breath, management quickly adds, “And we can’t do that.”

It hurts me to say this but, sorry, that’s the wrong answer.

I know some of you are thinking that I’ve never been to your casino or interacted with your employees.  That could be true, but I do know after working with casinos from Oregon to New York that most employees have similar basic needs.  And study after study shows that pay is not at the top of the list of those things that make employees happy.  When surveyed about this topic, employees’ answers cluster around better communication and awards and recognition.  People, at their most basic need, want to feel appreciated.  I see this at every casino that brings us in to help with guest service.

Now don’t get me wrong.  There are few people who would turn down an offer to make more money, but that is not the primary motivation when it comes to job satisfaction.  People want to be recognized for the hard work they do.  It’s as simple as that.  But this one simple thing is very important when you work at a casino.  Believe me, dealing with people who may be drinking and losing money is no walk in the park.

So the studies show that employees want to be recognized, that they want incentives that will spur them to go above and beyond the call of duty.  Thus, the correct answer to our question about improving employee attitudes is:  establish an employee award and recognition program.  But before you jump into this with both feet, there a few dos and don’ts you should keep in mind when developing your program.

The first area of concern  is bias.  Any form of bias – real or perceived – will bring the greatest award program to an ugly end.  It can be the kiss of death in communities where employees from one family work at the same gaming property.  If my brother runs the program and I receive the award, it will look fishy even if I’m truly deserving of it.

We recommend using an outside mystery shopping company to evaluate employees’ on-the-job performance.  Mystery shoppers have absolutely no interest in who is recognized and who isn’t.  It’s critical to the success of the program to remove any bias from the process.

Here’s something else to think about.  You’ve removed the bias by using an outside service but how will the shoppers know what to shop for?  You need to have very clearly defined employee-performance expectations established for the shoppers.  For example, we had to define smiling for one of our clients.  We took it as far as explaining that a smirk or “fake” smile is not acceptable.  Shoppers need to be trained on what to look for at your property and you must set aside time for that.  The data you receive will only be as good as the specific requirements you set for the shoppers.

The next critical element of your program is that you should set your people up to win.  During the first baseline shop, you might not tell employees that mystery shopping is happening, but after that they need to know they’re being evaluated.  We are proponents of providing employees with guest service training before the award program is kicked off.  I want the employees to become familiar with the skills they will need to pass a mystery shop.  The whole purpose of the program is to provide the best guest service possible for your customers, so give your employees the tools they need to do it right!

While you’re rolling out your program, please note that it is designed as an award and incentive program, not as a way to “catch” employees doing the wrong thing.  It’s sad, but some properties lose their focus and start using the shopping reports as a way to punish people.  If, during the mystery shopping process, you discover that some people have yet to jump on the guest service fun bus, use the information to help them.  Try one-on-one coaching sessions.  If there’s a common problem, the shopping data can be used as a resource to design new training to help with specific needs.  You want to use this information to help employees grow into better guest service ambassadors.

An award and recognition program is a very valuable system for improving your property’s guest service.  When employees are publicly recognized for doing a great job, they appreciate it.  They feel good and they want to do it again.  This is a very valuable tool when used correctly.

My final comment is that an award program will be effective only if it has the long-term support of management and the resources to make it happen.  It’s detrimental to the property to start a program and stop it mid-stream.  We require properties to commit to at least 12 months of our program because it’s a waste of money otherwise. 

Employees need time to learn about the program and the program itself needs time to build steam and create a buzz.

Now you know the right answer to motivating employees to provide better guest service.  This is not an easy process.  Nor is it a fast one to set up and implement.  But if done correctly, an award and recognition program can do wonderful things for your guest service and for the morale of your most important resource, your employees.

Martin R. Baird is president of Robinson & Associates, Inc., a guest service consulting firm based in Phoenix, Ariz., that provides specialty guest service training, management skills training, presentation skills training, team building programs and employee incentive and recognition programs for casinos.  Baird has a Web site, www.casinocustomerservice.com, that’s devoted to helping casinos improve their guest service so they can compete and increase revenues.  Robinson & Associates may be reached at 480-991-6420.  The company is an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.