STATESIDE
Traditionally, businesses have operated from the
premise that the customer is always right and critical to prosperity. That is now harder to reconcile due to a greater number of rude, demanding and occasionally violent customers.
On the other side, what about employer/employee
relationships? Now would be a great time for employers to analyze the dynamic of their organization’s culture. Ongoing employee shortages have created desperate Human Resources departments. Many major corporate players have even curtailed certain requirements for hiring, let alone advancing. You may need to be vaccinated to keep a job, but will not be drug tested at some companies. Didn’t at least graduate high school or can barely
care in the world. When confronted, they shrug it off with indignance and lame explanations. Norman and I were fully vaccinated last March, but
confront mixed messages everywhere. How can anyone plan and conduct business with the confusion and double speak impacting every state? The US southern border is the only region with relaxed scrutiny and mandates. Who knows anyone’s health status down there? My nephew’s mother from Toronto owns two condominiums in South Florida and pays plenty of taxes. Unfortunately, she had to jump through figurative hoops last spring to vacation in her own residence and then return to Canada. She can now fly into the US, but cannot drive her own car across that same border. So, since I will not personally be at G2E, I will attend
virtually. I always like the morning sessions because they focus on the issues of the day. Over these 29 years since my first show in 1992, I could never have imagined the hot topics in 2021. It is amazing what was so critical then seems so elementary now. I guess that’s what progress is all about when a new generation comes on the scene. I’m not a technology fanatic so those sessions don’t
always interest me. I prefer the marketing, legal/ legislation, tribal, key notes and human resources panels. I always learn something from participants with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. I think Human Resources discussions will attract a big audience. Finding good employees has become a huge concern for most organizations, including thousands of casino companies and suppliers. Help-wanted ads and job fairs are everywhere. Of course, gaming companies want customers to remain
loyal to their brand. Experts attribute the current booming business to the end of closures and pent-up demand. If these numbers continue, customers will soon focus
more on employee quality. Many consumers, including me, already lament their struggles with businesses to get anything done. Why? We blame this situation on inadequate employee training, poor customer interaction and mediocre management.
10 OCTOBER 2021
read? No problem, unless reading orders or correspondence is part of the job. Forget about mandating a dress code or limiting visible tattoos at some organizations. The question is how will older customers with more discretionary money and different lifestyles react. If this relaxation of conventional expectations becomes the norm, will higher standards return when employment numbers and conditions improve? What requirements are ultimately more important and reasonable? That is now a soul-searching question. The pendulum is swinging closer to guaranteeing
happy employees, whatever that takes. Workers have more available alternatives and know it. Expanded governmental programs make joblessness or unsatisfactory employment easier to navigate. Who’s really in the “driver’s seat” at this point? As a teenager, I dated someone whose family had a
successful local business. Years later, he and his brother grew the business into an international conglomerate they eventually sold for untold millions. This guy actually wrote a book, claiming the
customer was the second most important person to a company. He contended the employee came first. The book stressed that without motivated workers who genuinely care about their company’s welfare and positively interact with customers, retaining them will be almost impossible over time. Does research support that theory? For the 12th
year, a suburban Philadelphia firm surveyed 2,531 regional companies with 24 questions. From approximately 76,000 employees polled, almost 43,000 responded. The results revealed some interesting conclusions.
Great companies engage, connect and make their employees feel appreciated and valued. They provide realistic pay, benefits, work environments and training. Confidence in their companies’ leadership is a vital attribute to working as a team. As we head into 2022, doing business as usual is out
and targeting areas that need improvement is in. I hope to hear some insightful, instructive and useful information and advice from these experts at G2E. I’ll let you know.
michaeljung/Adobe Stock
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