On Reflection
Joy West
We all live such busy lives that it is difficult to remember to take time to reflect on achievements or their lack. So when Roger Melling, the editor, suggested that I write a follow up to the article that I wrote for the very first edition of the magazine, it prompted me to stop and review how much he had achieved in bringing out 50 editions of Casino World. Now the magazine and Roger are so well known by everybody who is anybody in the casino gaming world, it is hard to remember a time when they were not. I can still recall the excitement surrounding the launch of the first edition of Casino World. The owner had a vision of the kind of magazine that was needed. He wanted an innovative magazine, easy to read with a variety of articles to provoke, inspire and educate. He wanted it to appeal to the growing international market, reaching out to all parts of the globe. And that is just what Roger has achieved. Here we are 50 issues on with a magazine that is clearly ahead of its field. It has set a style that has been imitated several times but not yet bettered. Congratulations on an amazing achievement to Roger and his staff!
I have been reflecting on how Seefar Associates has moved on since that first issue. In addition to our core casino staff recruitment business> providing experienced personnel to both newly opening and existing casinos> there has been an increase in demand for the provision of staff on a short contract basis to help overseas companies through difficulties with recruiting and training their own experienced nationals. In many instances ,we are able to take the contract employees on to our payroll, we are able to provide a useful service, which causes very little disruption with the casinos administration departments and a considerable saving in employment costs.
The advent of so many Internet web-sites attracted some of our potential customers for a while. However, it did not take long for the dangers of recruiting in this way to evidence themselves. Candidates claiming skills that they do not have and glossing over bad job performance highlighted the need for a professional face to face interview, table test and reference check. When employers have to pay for flight tickets, visas and work permits, making the wrong choice can be very costly.
The non-casino cruise division continued to grow steadily until September 11th. On that tragic day it was almost as though the whole world took a deep breath and continued to hold it until after the New Year. All hiring stopped, routes were cancelled and no one travelled to the UK to recruit. Then slowly, gradually, passengers began to make the bookings, as confidence started to return and the need to hire staff began again in earnest. The new Maritime Laws with regard to the Safety Training Certification has caused problems to some of the smaller cruise lines who do not have the training facilities that the larger lines do. This has meant that the employers need to assess their recruitment needs way in advance in order to ensure that their personnel can take the necessary safety training in time to join the ship.
After three years hard work, I feel that the croupier training school has reached maturity. We will continue to monitor the results carefully and constantly strive to improve the end result. We have reached the stage now where we have a waiting list for our trainees. We attract candidates throughout the UK and Europe and take time to make the right selection. Once on the course, the trainees’ progress is assessed on a daily basis. We have learned that attitude comes at the top of the list, because a bad attitude cannot be changed. Only the best survive the six-week course. We keep the training groups small in order to provide the best possible employees for our customers. Quality not quantity is our aim. Demand for good quality trainee dealers will inevitably increase as a result of the upcoming changes in the gaming laws. As we move further toward the entertainment complex idea, where casinos are part of that entertainment, the personality, appearance and people skills of the people providing the ‘entertainment’ will become more and more important.
Although we have not achieved such an amazing rise to fame as Casino World magazine, I hope that we have kept our reputation for quality of service and reliability in the recruitment market and have earned ourselves a place at the forefront of casino training providers. It will be interesting to see what the future will bring.
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