The Case of the Troubled Casino The Upper Midv.est of the United States has lagged behind the economic recol.ery enjoyed by much of the rest of the nation. With an economy built largely on the steel. lumber. Agriculture, and manufacturing industries, local businesses were hit by the triple challenges of declining commodity prices, globalization, And automation. Countries such China and Canada offer cheaper steel or lumber: crop prices have been falling, And many manufacturing jobs either vere replaced by robots or moved to China, Southeast Asi or Mexico _ Ending thriving businesses in this region can be difficult, and one of the few standcrats has been in the gaming Industry A small group of American tribal leaders opened the Broun Bear casino Abcrat SO years Ago _ The facility was built on tribal land and such is not subject to local, state or federal taxey Initially started A relatively small stand-alone casino, the complex has grown to include 2.000 slot machines. 2S blackjack tables: a bingo hall for 600 players. convention center, A 400+-room hotel. three restaurants, And golf course Over the years it has become destination location for those wanting to play golf, see shows, enjoy good meals. and gamble without having to travel all the WAY' to Las Vegas to make it happen. The Brown Bear casino complex is ncV A SSO million business headed up by general manager, who in tum cversees I I different department heads. such the chief financial officer, head of security, director of gaming operations, and so on. These I I leaders manage the 1.200 employees working At the casino, hotel. convention center. And golf course. Althcrugh the casino enjoyed strong grcv,vth durmg its first 20 years of existence. it has not recovered fully from the economic recession of 2007-2009 _ Many of the good-paying jobs m the area disappeared, ard AS a result the local ppuIAtion has become considerably smaller And older. Compounding this problem is the fact that the gaming industy is facing increasing competition for customers' entertainment dollars. The chief marketing officer has implemented number of campaigns to bring more And younger customers into the casino and increase theil A3erage spend per visit, but so far the z efforts have yielded negligible results. Althcmgh the casino is the largest employer in the Area. staffing and employee engagement have been chronic problems. Many long -term employees to be completely checked out At work biding their time until retirement, and they go out of theil way to disparage those who put in an honest v,ork. Despite paying competitive wage And the relative scarcity of good-paying jobs the casino A'.erages 30 percent Annual tumo.er_ with some positions reporting tumo.er rates over 100 percent. Turnover not only taking A toll on the employees who remain they often have to pick up the slack for those who but it also has An impact on the casino's customer satisfaction and financial results _ Nev,el And less expenenced staff do not kxuw how to handle more complex customer and It costs the casino SI , in recruiting fees for each new person hired. With 400 new staff being hired each year, these staffing fees Ale having A material impact on the company ' s bottom line.