A client case study – WinnaVegas Casino Resort
WinnaVegas Casino Resort uses BLR’s HR Hero as its one-stop shop for HR
“In the past decade, so much has changed when it comes to Human Resources, and in order to be successful in this industry, you have to keep up with it. Having something like HR Hero really helps you.”
Background
WinnaVegas Casino Resort is owned and operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe in northeastern Nebraska. The Winnebago Tribe first arrived in northwest Kentucky around 500 BC. Their ancestors settled in Nebraska in the 19th century following several migrations and treaties with the United States. Today, they seek to preserve the community’s Winnebago heritage, history, language, and culture. By working together, they believe that nothing can prevent them from achieving their dream to be self-sufficient and economically self-reliant once again. WinnaVegas Casino Resort is one way of supporting this dream. WinnaVegas has grown over the years to become the largest gaming floor in the area. With a reputation for being so friendly (and the most fun!), WinnaVegas focuses on taking the best care of its guests. Christian T. Rogers, director of Human Resources, holds a master’s degree in HR, has spent over 15 years in the gaming industry, and has worked at WinnaVegas for a year now
WinnaVegas by the numbers
- Nearly 30 years in business and still going strong.
- Largest gaming floor in the area, with over 53,353 square feet.
- The casino has over 750 slot machines, which is the most in Siouxland; 9 casino table games; a poker room with 3 tables; and a bingo hall.
“Wrapping my mind around not having to hire one full-time generalist or HR specialist to do some of the work that HR Hero does for us is just remarkable.”
Key challenges
- Instant access to reliable, ready-to-download training resources
- Single source to reference industry-specific compensation data and employment law changes at the federal, state, regional, and local levels.
As an HR executive, Christian is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Human Resources department. With HR encompassing so many different areas, from hiring and recruiting to compensation and employment law compliance, his team is no stranger to juggling various problems and resolving new issues daily—all with the understanding that time is of the essence. “In human resources, time is critical. There are movers and shakers that need answers yesterday,” said Christian. It was immediately apparent that his team devoted a significant amount of their time to the research and development elements of compensation and keeping up with ever-changing employment laws and regulations.
He also recognized the need to cut down on developing employee training and course material from scratch, which can be time-consuming, as there’s not a lot of material readily available that’s specific to the gaming industry. Christian also wanted to
conduct a wage survey for the business, which can be a helpful tool in assessing the effectiveness of a company’s pay structure and practices. But it requires an extensive amount of manual research; some companies hire a third-party HR generalist specifically to assist in this process.
Christian knew there were HR platforms available that could assist in taking some of the burdens off
their shoulders. Christian had been referred to use HR Hero® by another colleague that used BLR® in the past. Christian was familiar with the name, as he’d previously been a subscriber of BLR’s employment law newsletters. “I was looking for a specific program that did these things we needed, but that also wasn’t going to break the bank.” He went on to say, “We all have budgets that we have to follow when it comes to the almighty dollar. BLR is fair in price. You get more than what you’re paying for.”
Solution
Following WinnaVegas Casino’s implementation of the HR Hero platform, both he and his team now reference one single source of truth for all things HR-related and gain back valuable time by doing so. For example, using HR Hero’s Salary Finder tool, WinnaVegas Casino could complete its wage survey quickly and more efficiently without the need to hire outside help. Christian said, “Hospitality and casinos
are such a unique platform, and when I’m doing my wage survey, I can easily find compensation from any frontline position to our C-Suite level.” He continued, “If I hired somebody to do a wage survey for us, that would be tens of thousands of dollars. So, wrapping my mind around us not having to hire one full-time generalist or HR specialist to do some of the work that HR Hero does for us is just remarkable.”
Time saved wasn’t limited just to compensation research. For example, when discussing HR Hero’s training modules, Christian said, “I was spending hours on end developing course material that was suited for casinos. Now, using this tool through BLR, we click on the training option, and there are several different training programs available where I can load them, print out the associated handouts, and facilitate something that would’ve normally taken me at least a month to develop.”
It was important for Christian to choose a platform for his company to use that is cost-effective, reliable, and reputable. “I think BLR is respected amongst HR professionals; that’s also important to us,” he said. Now, both he and his team use HR Hero regularly in their day-to-day tasks. “I have an HR manager, a training manager, and two other managers. The HR manager and the training manager are on HR Hero so often- it’s one of those sites that’s added on their favorite toolbar. We’ve only had it for maybe 3-4 months. But I’ve gotten my money’s worth already,” said Christian.
Moving forward
BLR’s HR Hero continues to support WinnaVegas Casino. With HR Hero on its side, it’s been able to:
- Solve day-to-day problems more quickly and efficiently.
- Train teams more efficiently with HR Hero’s industry-specific training modules.
- Conduct a wage survey using HR Hero’s Salary Finder for reliable compensation research.
- Cut down on manual research processes.
