Creating a Healthier Gaming Environment Copyright © 2009 EP&S Group LLC All Rights Reserved

Smoke Away Associates LLC

Employee Engagement

Research Whitepaper

If there was any sure-fire way for an organization to create competitive advantage and sustainable success, it would be through the customer experience they create. Today’s market leaders provide a quality product complemented with superior levels of service that engages the customer. This combination creates long-term relationships, and generates a strong brand. But in order to achieve these elements, the organization must first engage their employees. Employee engagement is where it all begins.

proud of the company they work for and identify themselves with the organization. As shown in Figure 1, engaged employees go well beyond their core job duties. They participate in improving business processes, and they are fully

committed to the success of the team and to the success of the organization. They are also driven to developing themselves and improving their skills and knowledge in the interest of making more of a contribution to the organization. When all of these things occur, the organization as a whole is being developed and improved. The employees are increasing the organization’s potential for gaining customers, growing revenue, and creating long-term success. The organization becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

The value of employee engagement? The value has been well researched and documented. Some of the business results reflect an increase in customer loyalty, enhancements to the customer base, and an increase to the revenue stream. For more specifics, Towers Perrin/ISR conducted one of the more comprehensive research studies on employee engagement, with 664,000 employees participating from numerous companies. Among the findings: • Companies with high levels of employee engagement saw

an increase in operating income of 19.2 percent, an increase in net income of 13.7 percent, and an increase in earnings-per-share of 27.8 percent.

• Companies with low levels of engagement saw their operating income decline by 32.7 percent, a decrease net income of 3.8 percent, and an earnings-per-share decline of

Despite the research supporting the value of employee engagement, it seems that most organizations are slow to embrace the concept. Some organizations, in responding to the recession, have reduced staff and cut spending. These measures add to the challenge of creating employee engagement, in addition to customer service impact

What is employee engagement? Employee engagement is not the same as employee satisfaction. Engaged employees are more than just content, more than just motivated and committed. They find their work to be meaningful and fulfilling. Engaged employees are activists and advocates for the organization who proactively look for new ways to contribute to the mission of the organization. That mission naturally would be creating the ultimate customer service experience. Most importantly, the engaged employee trusts their manager, as well as company leadership.

Engaged employees will work harder and longer than employees who are not engaged. They anticipate customer needs, and will gladly go out of their way to successfully establish rapport with the customer. They will also be passionate about assisting and supporting their coworkers and teammates in achieving the same. These employees are

Companies with high levels of employee engagement saw an

increase in operating income of 19.2 percent, an increase in net income of 13.7 percent, and an increase in earnings-per-share of 27.8 percent.

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11.2 percent. The findings are striking and leave little doubt that employee engagement can significantly improve business performance.

Engagement begins with Leadership. Research shows that one of the more common barriers to creating employee engagement is the need for leadership development. Often the potential of employee engagement is underestimated or misunderstood by senior management. For some, engagement is an annual staff survey whose results are never really acted upon. The reality is that a survey is no more than one tool in an overall approach that places employee engagement at the core of the organization’s strategy.

The inescapable truth is that achieving engagement requires leaders who are authentically subscribed and committed to their managers and employees. They must create trust, instill pride into the staff, and build a growth development mentality into the employees. Employee engagement will not happen if the senior

executives do not engage senior managers, and senior managers engage mid-managers, and mid-managers engage supervisors and employees.

This is not an overnight solution, as creating the engaged employee environment takes time and commitment. Regardless, the return on the investment is a double-digit growth in earnings.

Smoke Away Systems firmly believes there is opportunity in adversity, and that casinos operators that respond quickly with innovative actions will reap the greatest bene-fits. If you’d like to talk about how we can help your organi-zation attract and maintain players, improve the working environment for staff, and increase profitability, please contact us.

Creating a Healthier Gaming Environment Copyright © 2009 EP&S Group LLC All Rights Reserved

Employee Engagement Whitepaper

Sebastian Font President Smoke Away Systems +011-1-732-832-5704 sfont@smokeawaysystems.com Skype:sebastianfont, US-NY

Las Vegas, USA: 702-798-0500 Australia: +61 (0)2 9640 1333 Macau: +853 2870 1311 www.tcsjohnhuxley.com

Smoke Away Systems is a division of EP&S Group LLC, and manufactures innovative air filtration systems that target second hand smoke before it reaches casino guests and employees. Our products help casino operators and owners create a cleaner

and more comfortable gaming environment, resulting in improved player development, revenue growth, and reduced costs asso-ciated with public relations, legal/ lobbying fees, and facilities maintenance.

Figure 1 Engaged employees go beyond their core job duties.

Innovating Developing

Team-Centric Company-Centric

Core Job Duties