The writing’s on the wall


Gavin Chase, Principal Consultant at CNA Recruitment, offers his views on the future for online gaming staff


I


n every mature industry sector there is talent, best practice, organisational structure, all the ingredients of a good company. However, when you are entering into the unknown, as gaming did a decade ago, you just had to make it up as you went along – with lots of


mistakes along the way – coming out the other side you became a hero of the new age online revolution. Phenomenal growth and wealth opportunities for all - Oh, to be an entrepreneur! But think about it. What allowed these online gaming businesses grow so rapidly and where are we now? In the past there certainly wasn’t a pool of people looking for jobs, the skills hadn’t been invented yet! The simple truth – it was these new companies ability to attract individuals into an exciting world of opportunity and then develop them into the specialist talent that they needed to succeed. And didn’t this new found talent know their worth by 2007/8. Salaries across the board rocketed ahead and last month’s Affiliate or Retention Executive became the VP Marketing for their closest competitor or next new start-up. But they deserved this new found wealth and position, didn’t they? Afterall, if it wasn’t for them, their employer wouldn’t have been as successful by a country mile. No similarity to the self-perceived worth of the misguided investment banking sector there then. Thank goodness this arrogance has faded away and some reality has set in. It needed to with all the new regulation and licencing, tightening of margins and moves towards a more mature, corporate culture in line with what investors now see as a good online gaming business. The entrepreneurial excitement in the sector has largely faded away as we enter an era of consolidation and global brand domination rather than niche product offerings to selected territories. And now should be the time for employers to implement solid training and people development programmes to help their staff become more commercially competent, rather than be one trick ponies that have little to offer the sector other than their own niche skills which employers coveted. This all strikes a chord in the old brain box as it mirrors innovation in telecommunications throughout the 1990s which saw huge strides in technology that we all take for granted today. People skills were in demand, salaries went skyward, start-ups were abound and recruiters like me were loving it! Sounds familiar to you too? A very much different story today though, with far fewer


20 casino life magazine


private telecoms companies offering innovative niche products and I can see gaming following the same path. Industry professionals will have to accept that there will never again be a plethora of new companies entering the market where they can jump on board, make a difference and move to the next one. Yes, I’m sorry to say, for those that don’t want to hear it, your market sector is growing up and you will have to grow up with it or look for the next big thing. Of course there will be some great challenges in the online gaming industry but it is likely that the big boys will be playing the game now, not the arrogant start up. As an example of what I mean, we are all, of course, eagerly awaiting common sense to prevail in the United States and it looks like it is coming in some form relatively soon. However with the likes of IGT, Party Gaming/Bwin, Harrah’s etc. starting to show their hand it is clear that the depth of the well-oiled and powerful organisation, with an ability to draw on significant resources and industry partnerships will be the dominant force at play here. It doesn’t mean to say that fantastic career opportunities won’t exist, because they certainly will. However the landscape has changed, accountability for actions are more tightly monitored, costs are at the heart of business decisions, best practice and investor relations are becoming fundamental to a company’s willingness to act. The online gaming sector is becoming an environment for the business professional! This scaling up of organisations via mergers and acquisitions will come at a cost to those in the online gaming sector and you should be making sure that you have skills to make you invaluable to your employer. It will no longer be good enough to ride on the back of the wave of success that the industry has undoubtedly enjoyed and neither should you be waiting for your employer to help develop your skills in order to secure your future job prospects. Consolidation means job cuts whichever way you look at it. Don’t become a statistic. Gavin can be contaced at gavin.chase@cnaint.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52