Personal Objectives Plan
Category: section 1
Company Research
Rank Group (Grosvenor Casinos)
Company Name: Rank Group (Grosvenor Casino)
Location: Worldwide, Dundee Branch
Describe the business activity
A: One of the leading multi-channel gaming operators comprising of Grosvenor Casino, Mecca Bingo and Enracha Gaming Business. Clubs include gaming table, restaurants and bars.
What industry do they operate in?
A: Gaming Industry
How many employees?
A: Rank have approximately 10,000 employees engaged in the UK, Spain, Belgium, Malta and Gibralta
How many offices and where are they located?
A: Great Britain is the largest of Rank’s markets, generating approximately 83% of Group revenue. The Group has a total of 142 venues in Great Britain and its online bingo and casino operations are licensed out of Alderney and the UK.
Is the business owned by another company?
A: Grosvenor casinos is owned by parent group Rank group plc
Who are the customers?
A: Wide range of age groups – Large majority of customers are 55+
Why do the customers buy from this company?
A: One of the largest Gaming operators in the UK with huge brand awareness. Late licence for alcohol means facilities are popular with younger generation.
Who is the competition?
A: William Hill, GVC Holdings, Paddy Power, Bet 365, BetFair
Has the company been in the press recently and if so, why?
A: News Story August 2018: Rank Group suffers 41% slump in profits as bingo and casino customers drop
Are there stories about the industry or competitors in the press?
A: Recent news articles concerning stricter rules around gambling/online gambling industry
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43418099
What skills does the company look for?
A: They hire primarily for attitude, behaviour and values – with the right raw materials we know we can train in the necessary technical skills. Above all we want to be confident that every one of our customer facing employees will deliver THE most exceptional customer experience possible – and this is first and foremost down to personality 000000000
Why I have chosen Company Research
I have chosen the company research template on the belief that it is important to know all aspects of your workplace, no matter how short your time there me be. I personally find this especially important with Grosvenor. Since being only one part of a larger company, I feel it is essential to complete proper company research as details regarding the parent company as well as other branches of the company all have a direct effect on each other. This is important because detailed information helps create informed decisions as well as make you feel more confident about speaking out and adding to discussion in the workplace. I believe it is also critical to apprise myself of all competition and the struggles that face the industry I feel be joining as well as the reasons behind these struggles such as legislation or shift in industry to digital platforms.
Rank Culture
Reflecting on Grosvenor Casino Company Culture
Rank as a company is as much employee based as customer based with strong core values expressed company wide. On research I came across Ranks 5 core values
Rank’s values
- Service: We start with the customer. We do everything in our power to deliver special service every time
- Teamwork: We pull together across brands, channels and locations to perform at our very best
- Ambition: We challenge the way we do things and explore new ways to excite and entertain our customers and outshine the competition
- Responsiblity: We understand our responsibility to all in our communities. We act with the highest integrity and honesty in everything we do
- Solutions: We act positively to get to the heart of problems quickly and find ways to solve them
It appears rank cares about its employee’s opinion with such things as employee engagement surveys done bi-annual named ‘Your view’ which is designed to keep employee and management exchanging different opinion and ideas. With a company as big as rank I feel this is a great way to keep employee engagement high which should increase employee productivity with a much more relaxed company culture. The company is also committed to diversity and inclusiveness with programmes such as the woman at rank networking breakfast and others. These are the kind of programmes I feel will appeal to many people and make rank a ideal prospect for a career with many movements such as the ‘Me too movement’ being at the forefront media coverage recently. It is an important issue.
Rank is also a company committed to charity work, with each club being responsibly for charity events such as sponsored walks etc. Above is a event organised from the Dundee branch of Grosvenor casinos also below is a link to a video regarding Rank group and carers Trust Scotland’s relationship.
Why I have chosen company culture blog
I have chosen to write a short blog post on company culture of Rank group as I feel currently it is a very important aspect of a company. Perhaps ten years ago or so a company had no need to create a proper company culture as the career employee would settle in at a company for 20+ years. However, in this globalised economy and plethora of career choice a company must work harder to make itself more attractive prospect for employees to stay as well as attract the skilled workforce it needs. It is my believe that factors such as work-life balance, company beliefs and values should be important factors when chosen a company. If I had two job offers equal in both pay and position as is a common occurrence for the skilled workforce, factors such as company culture are often looked at as plus for job seekers.
Info-graph (Company Research)
Why I chose an Info-graph
I have chosen to use an Infograph to represent Rank group and its subsidiary’s company research as it is a detailed account of financial information. Infographs are great ways to display information that may be overwhelming in a more data or written context. It was my reasoning that an inforgraph would be unique and visually pleasing as well as packing a punch of useful information for the reader. It also has the benefit of being engaging as well as easy to share with other individuals. They can be adapted easily to promote brand awareness and a quick decisive message. Since I wanted to focus on the financials of Rank an Infograph was the ideal choice for me as it allowed me to insert a table of financial numbers as well as explain the main points in a quick and to the point manner.
Preparing for my internship
My interview process wasn’t a traditional interview as I am currently employed part time as a barman for Grosvenor casino a subsidiary of the parent company Rank Group. This allowed me a foot in the door, since the business had never done an internship, I had to get special permission from not only the manager but from head office too. The manager made this request and it was quickly approved which made me feel particularly grateful as I was told it was only because I was a valued member of Grosvenor staff and they would be glad to help me in my studies. My main reason for chosen Grosvenor is I felt as a business it gave me the opportunity to be exposed to different industries under one roof, from the restaurant industry, bar industry and gambling industry each with their own challenges and legal rules. Although I will only be focusing on the food and beverage aspect of the business due to legal rules around alcohol and gambling it is important for me to have a well-rounded knowledge base. Through this opportunity I hope to gain a better understanding of the financial aspects of business as I feel it is always something I have struggled with and I believe exposure to real life examples will help. I hope this internship give myself a more practical view of management rather that purely theoretical. In retrospect a more relevant choice for the industry I wish to progress in may have been more suitable however I believe the skills I will have the chance to learn will be universally transferable. When it comes down to preparation for the placement I feel like I have an advantage with already being an employee of the company however I have still felt the need to do more research into the company as well as Dundee restaurant and bar industry. My main research has focussed on the parent company Rank group as what effects the top will trickle down to all aspects of the company, through this I have discovered I industry in trouble and a company needing to adapt to growing change in digital. My main goals revolve around the financial aspect of the business, learning and improving my understanding. I feel these goals will challenge me the most. I feel this is my weakest attribute and one which I always strive to improve. Although this will be my main goal I have also set myself a goal of learning more about the manager – employee relationship as I feel this is a difficult line to walk between being to friendly and being to harsh with employees. It is my hope the placement will meet all my expectations and I achieve my goal, although I will not be to disappointed if all my goals are not met, as I am aware in the world of business and management things rarely stay on schedule and we have a very short amount of time to get everything done.
Marc McCabe Internship Portfolio 