Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa operates two casinos—Black Bear Casino Resort and Fond Du Luth Casino. The BSA division was familiar with the challenges of keeping track of classroom required employee training for multiple properties, so they implemented online training in 2020 with Vector Learning Management System (LMS) (formerly CELEXA, a Casino Essentials brand), to manage, train, track and report everything in one place. They are currently training their employees on Title 31 courses, General Safety Training courses, COVID-19 Safety courses, Customer Loyalty courses, HR Compliance courses, Leadership courses and their custom content. The Fond du Lac BSA division relies on Vector Solutions for a seamless training cycle to ensure all training is completed by employees.

About Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Owned Casinos

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa operates Black Bear Casino Resort in Carlton, Minnesota and Fond Du Luth Casino in Duluth, Minnesota.

Black Bear Casino Resort

Black Bear Casino Resort offers endless options for families. The property consists of over 1,800 state-of-the-art video slot machines, a 12-story hotel tower, fine dining options, a concert venue and a par 72 and 18 hole golf course with a driving range. The Casino gaming floor is 83,000 square feet and manages over 500 employees.

Fond Du Luth Casino

Fond Du Luth Casino offers two levels of gaming with over 650 slots, video poker and video keno games plus a blackjack pit. The Casino gaming floor is 20,000 square feet and is managed by over 200 employees.

Online Learning will Save Time and Money for Casinos

Prior to implementing Vector LMS for Casinos, the BSA division held separate classroom training for both properties. Managing classroom training is extremely time consuming, difficult to track, and requires a lot of employee’s time to complete the necessary training. “Typically, two classes were scheduled per month; first was the SAR portion of the training, then the second half was Title 31,” said Strom and Lundgren. “It was a lot of emails and record keeping for completion of training documentation.”

Vector LMS for Casinos has eliminated the email hassles and manual tracking. You can upload course content and track completion status in real time with reports all in one place. One of the many benefits of online learning is that the site is available 24/7, anywhere there is an internet connection. “The employees now have the availability to complete the training at their convenience,” said Strom and Lundgren. “The BSA division doesn’t need to monitor or conduct the training in-person, which consumes more personal employee time than online learning..”

Traditional classroom training is more time-consuming because leaders have to create the course content in addition to conducting the in-person training. Vector Solutions offers an extensive casino-specific course catalog for clients to choose from which saves time and resources. “The BSA division has been more than satisfied with the Vector Solutions courses,” said Strom and Lundgren. “They have simplified our duties significantly, which allows the BSA division more time to focus on our daily jobs.”

Managing Multiple Properties with Vector LMS for Casinos

The training matrix in Vector LMS streamlines navigation for assigning courses across multiple properties and simplifies tracking with the reporting features. The BSA division manages online training for over 800 employees at two different properties. “The ability to select which property I am looking at and manage and report on it independently of other departments helps me get the information I need faster and assign the right training to the respective teams,” explained Strom and Lundgren.

Administrators can assign required training by property, department and job title for multiple properties. Once changes are made in the training matrix, the employees with the matching property, department and job title combination are updated automatically. This saves administrators from having to manage each employee profile individually. It also ensures consistency for everyone in their respective position to get the correct level of training.

Lessening Interpersonal Contact with Online Learning During a Pandemic

Online training is a great option to lessen employee contact and manage social distancing during a pandemic. CDC recommends, “When possible, use flexible worksites (e.g., telework at home) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts) to help establish policies and practices for social distancing (staying at least 6 feet apart).” CDC Considerations for Distance Learning. Since Vector LMS for Casinos is available 24/7, anywhere there is an internet connection, employees can train at the casino on a staggered schedule or remotely using their own tablets/computers.

The BSA division for Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa implemented new policies to keep their employees safe while continuing their online training. “Due to COVID-19 and our new training procedures, interpersonal contact is lessened, and record keeping is far easier,” said Strom and Lundgren. “Prior to the pandemic, the BSA division was strictly training on Title 31 for both properties. Since then however, the HR Department elected to practice safer options for training due to the COVID-19 response and we now offer all of our mandated employee training on Vector LMS for Casinos.”