The Perks of the Job
The ability to retain employees is a major challenge for any employer. Keeping personnel helps companies to promote a culture of continuity and stability, and enables employees to believe they are a part of the business. Skills and proficiencies are preserved in key business areas, and as a result, productivity often increases. Conversely, unwanted staff turnover can have a profoundly negative effect, particularly when those leaving are essential components of the success of a firm's operations.
Gibraltar's gaming industry is incestuous in the way that workers bounce around between rival firms. Some individuals switch allegiance on a regular basis, with some employees jumping ship up to three times in one year. The gaming companies have aimed to kerb this wherever possible by finding ever more innovative ways to keep their employees happy.
Some firms reward their "employee of the month" or members of staff with excellent attendance records, because hard work and dedication are qualities they are keen to instil in their workers. Employees of Cassava Enterprises (888.com), on the other hand, receive a gift on the anniversary of the day they joined the firm. It may be nothing more than a meal for two at a local restaurant, but it's a nice token, nevertheless, which will help make the employee feel appreciated. With the monetary value of the present increasing every year, there is added incentive for employees to remain faithful to their firm.
High stress levels are one of the most commonly cited reasons for employee dissatisfaction in Gibraltar. For this reason, gaming firms are nowadays more involved in helping to solve any emotional or stress-related problems that their employees may have. Managers are specifically trained to carefully monitor the workloads of their staff and can offer mentoring or counselling to manage the signs of stress. In addition, one of the larger Gibraltar-based gaming firms even employs the occasional use of an on-site masseuse, whose soothing visits help keep staff members relaxed but on their toes.
Like a good army, an efficient workforce marches on its stomach. There is no better way of keeping employees content than by ensuring they are fed a healthy and nutritious diet. Members of staff at Ladbrokes can look forward to unlimited free fruit on "fruity Fridays," and at PartyGaming, employees are encouraged to help themselves to the range of healthy foods on offer to them on a daily basis. Healthy bodies, after all, mean healthy minds!
The gaming community also has found that investment in staff education and training is an ideal way of keeping staff stimulated at work. Offering employees the opportunity to develop their existing skills or to learn new ones is advantageous on two levels; firstly, for the employer, who will expect improved performance from the staff, and also for employees themselves, due to the new things they will learn and the confidence boost they will receive. Many gaming firms in Gibraltar also tend to offer Spanish language lessons for their employees. Though this does not directly benefit the firm from a business point of view, it helps workers from overseas settle into their new environment whilst doubling as a bonding session for the staff.
Performance-related incentives are another good way of maintaining staff motivation, particularly amongst the various Gibraltar-based gaming firms that are listed on the London Stock Exchange. Employees of Ladbrokes, PartyGaming, and 888.com are invited to participate in share-ownership schemes in which they are either given or allowed to purchase shares in the company at preferential prices. Owning an equity interest in the company they work for not only ties employees to the firm, but also increases their desire to make the company succeed.
Whilst all of these measures keep Gibraltar's gaming firms competitive and may improve productivity and company turnover, there is no evidence to suggest that innovative work practices will help when it comes to retaining employees. At the end of the day, people will be more likely to remain working for a firm that treats its employees fairly, with development opportunities and adequate staff motivation considered secondary issues.
Gaming firms appear to be focussing on outdoing each other with themed work days and ever more elaborate staff parties, but seem to essentially be missing the burning issue. If they are failing to hire the sort of employees who will stay at the firm for the long haul, there are clear flaws in their staff selection process. No firm wants to lose employees it has spent time and money training, but when that expertise is being lost to your closest rivals, the pill is even harder to swallow.
Tristan Cano lives and writes about the gaming industry in Gibraltar.
