ASIA BEAT: Pride and prejudice in Macau
by Desmond Lam
May 2, 2009
Highly motivated employees, proud of their jobs and their companies, will ensure the long-term survivability of casino operators in Macau
I visited a local Japanese restaurant in 2007
with my family. The restaurant was located at the northern side of the Macau peninsula. It was a small but warm place to dine,
nothing spectacular, much like a neighborhood eating place in Macau but
slightly more classy. Just when I was sharing my usual office stories with my
wife I noticed a family of three sitting near to our table: an elderly woman, a
young man in his 20s and a girl in her early teens. Something about the man
caught my attention. I know it is bad to eavesdrop on other people’s
conversations, but, frankly, he was talking quite loudly. As a keen researcher
I just could not help it (especially when it concerned the gaming industry in Macau).
The man was describing to the older woman (his mum) and his sister his
job at one of the casinos. He spoke with passion and pride. He mentioned how
much he was paid. His mother listened quietly and carefully. Her facial
expression revealed mostly happiness about her son’s achievement, but also
showed some doubt at times. She seemed to doubt whether her son was telling her
the truth (it was too good to be true) and whether her decision to let him work
in a casino had been wise. Her late husband would never have allowed their only
son to work in such a “morally dirty” environment.
“Morally dirty” is
not a nice way to describe Macau’s casino
industry. However, many Macanese parents would absolutely have agreed with this
description before the gaming liberalization.
Back to the family in
the Japanese restaurant. The young man had just received his first salary, a
sum that eclipsed that of his dad many times over. Today was a special treat
from him to his family. This was a “luxurious” restaurant, not an ordinary
Chinese eating place near home. It represented a sign of achievement and
something to be proud of.
For boom time Macau, 2007 was a good year. It was the year The Venetian
Macao started operations, the promise of a new direction for Macau.
Ordinary Macanese were getting a taste of what prosperity really meant and were
inspired by what to expect for the future.
Then, in late 2007, I
conducted a one-month course for a group of local casino managers. I got a
sense that the mood was slightly different. While a sense of pride in one’s
achievements was still present, animosity toward their jobs and toward the
casino operators seemed to be much greater. Just as visitors to Macau had grown more demanding and sophisticated since
liberalization, the employees themselves appeared to demand more and looked for
greater job satisfaction. To some of those in my class there was little pride
in working for the “soulless” casinos and their insensitive management. Prejudice,
you think? There were frequent complaints about poor management decisions, a
less-than-perfect work culture and disinterested staff at various levels. As a
consequence, job satisfaction dipped, and there was a lack of pride toward
one’s job and one’s company — essential components of employee retention.
By the end of 2008
the fear of job loss was amplified within the industry. Rumors spread like
wildfire and much speculation was about. As the Macanese witnessed a gradual
drop in visitation from mainland China (their biggest customer) they
feared that the growth of the industry was slowly grinding to a stop. That
would mean jobs and prosperity no more. Resentment toward the casino operators
grew. This was not what liberalization had promised. But who was to be blamed?
It was perhaps the fault of some operators, who were perceived to be overly
ambitious with their plans and who had failed to foresee the political and
economic problems. Prejudice against the foreigners? Yes, as they are an easy
target in a market downturn. But the community also believed the Macau government was incompetent and had failed to
anticipate the growing demands of an enlarged casino industry.
Now, in 2009, things
have to change for Macau’s six casino
concessionaires. With increasing competition in a slower-growth market, added
efforts to further strengthen internal marketing badly need to kick in. This
should be a year to repent and recoup some of the losses made in the past few
years, losses represented by the lack of confidence toward management and the
decisions management made. In this environment, many things need to and can be
done, but regaining employees’ confidence and trust must be among the first.
Without confidence and trust there will be no pride but only prejudice.
Building a successful
casino starts from within. How can a casino promote good service to its
customers before its staff is ready for it? Extrinsic and intrinsic needs have
to be met. Appropriate alignment of the corporate culture, before any changes
in strategy, is paramount. Although it takes time this process is an essential
aspect of a sustainable casino business model.
Highly motivated employees, proud of their jobs
and their companies, will stand the test of time and ensure the long-term
survivability of the casino operators in Macau.
Desmond Lam
is a senior research
fellow at the School of Marketing/Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing
Science, University
of South Australia. He
can be contacted at
DesmondL@hotmail.com.
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