The old days of waiting for applicants to walk into the back of the casino and fill out an application form no longer works . Nor does making applicants wait weeks instead of days to receive an offer ; in that span of time , most job seekers are already working somewhere else .
Amazon , Target and other large companies in response to living-wage initiatives in many cities and states exacerbated the situation for tribes that were slow to react to the quickly changing compensation landscape .
Those workers also realized that there were no true guarantees in life when it came to their relationship with their employer . They discovered that their worth as an employee was higher than they thought pre- Covid , and they also discovered that they preferred working for someone they could trust .
While it is mostly anecdotal , the companies that sought to preserve some of that psychological contract by engaging in emotionally intelligent practices were also the ones that had little or no trouble quickly getting back to pre-Covid staffing levels . And the laid-off employees seeking to get back into the job market could see that : help-wanted signs and postings told the story .
As casinos started to ramp up to pre-Covid business levels , operators discovered that laid off employees were not eager to come back to work . While a small portion of former employees continued to enjoy extended supplemental unemployment benefits and others chose to retire , a lot of people took the time to explore other employment opportunities .
What they discovered was that a lot of businesses were eager to hire new employees , and they were willing to pay more , provide more flexibility in work schedules , and benefit packages that rivaled what casino operators offered . In other words , things got competitive . The emotion- ally intelligent practices that many employers adopted looked and felt very attractive too .
The Problem With Trying to Get a Job at a Casino
Every tribal gaming enterprise has an obligation to adhere to hiring standards defined by their individual tribal gaming commissions as well as the policies created by tribal governments . Criminal background checks , mandatory drug testing , and even character references were historically required for one to be considered for a position in a casino , and rightfully so .
Casinos — commercial and tribal — operate in a cash environment , and putting people to work in such environments required that they be trustworthy . Unfortunately , these background checks are often required for all employees — not just those that worked as dealers , slot attendants , in the casino cage , and in the count room .
Another challenge for many casino operators is in the way they recruit candidates , and the time it takes from the moment an application is submitted to the day that a candidate receives a job offer .
First , a candidate must visit the casino or go online and complete a job application . Then that application goes out for review , a background investigation is initiated , and the candidate is asked to submit to a drug test . Often , candidates are asked to pay for a portion of
MARCH 2024 www . ggbmagazine . com 19