This blog is specific to a question from our community based on Tangam’s TYM Live product but some of the content and general best practices can be applied to any operator looking to measure staff performance.

For some additional context, our Table Games Yield Management (TYM) platform, is a tool that helps the frontline operations staff make better, data-driven decisions when managing the floor. These come in the form of recommendations to help with pricing or table game spread. Ultimately, these prompts are meant to improve the guest experience and, more importantly, the bottom line.

Casino Management often expects that their Floor Managers will adjust spreads and pricing as demand changes. Through these decisions, operations can have a material impact on the financial performance of a business; at Tangam, we often say that Floor Managers are also Revenue Managers. For management, the question becomes how do I measure the effectiveness of these decisions? And how do I maintain consistency across a large team?

In this Ask Tangam, we will talk about the key KPIs for measuring your team’s progress and strategies for improving their performance.

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KPIs - What should you measure

There are 3 main KPIs in TYM Live that measure the effectiveness of your team’s dynamic management of the floor. We consistently see that clients who do well with these KPIs generate better ROI.

1. Logged in Rate. Recommended benchmark 90% - You can’t use TYM if you’re not logged in! This metric simply measures the percentage of recommendations where someone was logged in when the recommendation occurred.
2. Reviewed Rate. Recommended benchmark 80% - The reviewed rate measures the percentage of recommendations that were accepted, rejected, or commented on by a user. This metric is how you track whether your team has actually seen and considered the recommendation.
3. Applied Rate. Recommended benchmark 50% - The final step when using TYM happens outside the software: implementing the recommendation on your floor. The applied rate measures how many recommendations were implemented as a percentage of the total recommendations. It does this by checking your table management system to see if a change was made (e.g. was a table priced up or not?). 

Two important aspects to the Applied Rate make it an effective KPI. First, it prevents any gaming of the system because the software determines whether a recommendation is applied, not the user. A common misconception is that by “accepting” a recommendation, it will be marked as applied, which is not the case. 

Second, we understand that not all recommendations should be applied. We acknowledge that sometimes there are operational constraints, such as the availability of labor, customers playing as a group, or other factors that may make it impossible or inappropriate to apply a given recommendation. This is the reason why we set a benchmark of 50%.

Let’s take a look at these KPIs and how they were trending before and after a TYM Live implementation.

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All three of these KPIs must be worked to reach the full potential of profitability offered by dynamically yielding the floor. Given that the value for the operator is in applying recommendations, it’s tempting to focus first on the applied rates. However, if the team isn’t reviewing recommendations, they are less likely to apply recommendations because they aren’t aware of them. Similarly, if the team isn’t logged in to TYM they aren’t going to be able to review recommendations that are being generated. It is always the case that if you can generate improvements in logged-in and reviewed rates, there is a natural improvement in applied rate.

Strategies for Improving and Maintaining Performance

Tracking KPIs and identifying performance trends is the easy part. The challenge is implementing a strategy for improving or maintaining performance. Drawing on our experience from working with clients and as operators, we have identified some strategies that consistently generate results.

Initial Implementation

This is where you are looking to develop the skills and knowledge of your team to maximize adoption. Here are a few effective strategies:

• The first step is to set the Expectation! In all aspects, the team must be aware of how they are expected to perform their job. We have found that when there is leadership that clearly communicates the benefits of TYM usage and sets expectations, this generates better engagement with the product. 
• Knowledge is power! An educated workforce can more appropriately apply the yielding principles if they understand them. Too often we see behavior change due to a lack of understanding on the calculation of table profitability. A full table is not necessarily a more profitable table. Questions and feedback should be encouraged.
• Training. This is a no-brainer. If you are adding any tools for the floor to help in their decision-making, training is a must, especially if you have a large team and need to be able to have consistency in your decision-making. All new clients receive comprehensive training from Tangam and have access to online learning to support this.
• Nominate Champion(s). Designate one or more staff members that will champion the usage and application of the training. Importantly, these individuals need to be respected in the organization and be backed by management, so when they provide coaching it will be effective. 
• Reporting and Celebrating Success. It is important as time goes on that some reporting is communicated throughout the organization. This demonstrates to the team that this is important to the Company's leadership and part of the expectations of the job. Initially, there should be a conscious effort to share positive examples of how staff efforts contribute to revenue growth and the success of the business.

Business as Usual

Now that the team is using a tool that is integrated with the daily activities of the operations staff, there are different challenges. We have encountered situations where, after the early successes were celebrated, the focus dissipated over time and all of the Logged In, Reviewed and Applied KPIs decreased. Here are some longer-term strategies that should be considered:

• Continue Reporting. We suggest a monthly cadence, but continued visibility of these KPIs from the front line to management will ensure that questions are raised.
• Make people accountable. Once the entire team is up to speed, it is no longer a large-scale effort to make any significant impact to the Applied rates, but rather focus on individual performance.
• Continued Training. Ensure that new staff is trained at the same level as the initial implementation. Often this is missed and performance declines as the workforce changes because they don’t understand the principles of yield management or how to use the software. Consider a refresher training every few years if appropriate.
• Incorporate KPIs. Personal KPIs and performance reviews are the ultimate measures of how well an individual does their job. Incorporating TYM usage into the overall job performance KPIs can be a great way to motivate individuals to use the tool more effectively.

Conclusion

When it comes to implementing a dynamic yielding strategy on the gaming floor, effectiveness and consistency are critical. We have discussed the important KPIs for measuring this as well as strategies for generating short and long-term success. 

We love hearing from you and we wanted to thank the Pit Manager who has recently assumed the role of TYM Champion for his question! We're passionate about sharing our knowledge and expertise in gaming optimization and strategy. You are just a couple of clicks away from submitting your own "Ask Tangam" questions!

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