Size Does Matter and So Does Length -- when it comes to providing casino employees with successful guest service training.

Its Not A Myth....Size Does Matter and So Does Length

For Immediate Release
Jan. 20, 20903
Contact: Tom Ellis
Ellis Communications, L.L.C.
Phone (623) 780-4558
E-Mail tellis@casinocustomerservice.com

Size and length do matter -- when it comes to providing casino employees with successful guest service training.

I work with a number of casinos across the country and Im usually asked questions about the size of training classes and length of the training sessions," says Martin R. Baird, president of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Robinson & Associates, Inc., a guest service consulting firm for the gaming industry. These are important questions because they and other related factors can determine the success or failure of the training."

Baird offers the following tips on how gaming properties can use size and length to their advantage in guest service training.

Number 1: Keep the size of the class to about 40 people. For training to be successful, attendees must participate and they have difficulty doing that in large classes," Baird says. With a group of 40 attendees, people have an opportunity to actively participate and speak up."

Number 2: Match the size of the room to the number of participants and the activities you want them to do. People feel lost and intimidated in a large room that seats far more than the number of participants," Baird notes. Likewise, if the room is not large enough to accommodate the class, people cant get comfortable and they find it difficult to participate."

Number 3: Make the session long enough to get the information across without becoming repetitive. Some properties think training should be done in eight-hour increments to match the workday," Baird points out. A workday and a training day are not the same thing. Base the length of the training on what you want people to learn."

Number 4: Avoid sessions that are too short. Trying to cover three hours of material in two hours is a waste of everyones time," Baird says. It can take 45 minutes to an hour for a group to get warmed up and start taking part in the training. Be sure you have enough time to cover the material beyond that point."

Number 5: Hold modules to a reasonable length of time. Modules are organized sections of the training and if theyre too long, they lose impact," Baird says. People who go through training need to see progress in the form of a beginning, a middle and an end. Properly planned modules give participants that feeling of progress."

Number 6: Avoid long lectures. The mind can only absorb as much as the backside can endure," Baird notes. Im not a fan of lectures but they may be needed to some extent and a trainer who drones on and on will lose the participants very quickly."

Owned by Lydia and Martin Baird, Robinson & Associates, Inc., is a guest service consulting firm that provides specialty guest service training, management skills training, presentation skills training, team building programs and employee incentive and recognition programs for the gaming industry. The Bairds have a Web site, www.casinocustomerservice.com, thats devoted to helping casinos improve their guest service so they can compete and increase revenues.

Robinson & Associates may be reached by contacting Lydia at 480-991-6421 or at lbaird@casinocustomerservice.com. Robinson & Associates is a member of the
Casino Management Association and an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.
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