Black Oak Casino Introduces New Human Resources Website and “I Am Black Oak Casino”
Recruitment and Team Building Campaign

Tuolumne, CA – April 25, 2007

Black Oak Casino’s Human Resources Department, as part of an overall Team Building and recruitment effort, has launched its new “I Am Black Oak Casino” campaign.  This program will illustrate the focus on the commitment of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk to their Team Members at Black Oak Casino and their three core values, one of which is Teamwork.

Recruitment of new Team Members to fill positions required to operate Black Oak’s expanded growth has required aggressive study of the best way to present the property, the core values of the Tribe and existing Team Members, and the degree of potential for advancement and level of benefits at Black Oak Casino.  The “I Am” campaign was a concept from Human Resources that was developed in a partnership with Marketing as a vehicle to not only inform prospective applicants about available opportunities, but also tell the story of what it means to be part of the team at Black Oak Casino.  Mixed with photos and recorded personal stories as well as links to Silkroad Technology’s “Positions Available” and online application processing, this site and campaign has proven to be a valuable addition to our recruitment program.

Opportunity from within has been a hallmark of the employment experience at Black Oak Casino.  Black Oak Casino’s Human Resources Manager Patrick Dempsey stated “We have had much success in growing our own Supervisor and Management level Team Members.” “We often promote from within.”   Black Oak Casino has launched new internal Supervisor and Managerial courses this year, and has beefed up tuition assistance programs, job shadowing programs, and now offer formal development plans for Team Members interested in a professional advanced career path in the Gaming Industry.  Dempsey added, “We are actually adding focus and resources into succession planning and TM Development.  We find that it is often very difficult to find the "right" person from outside sources.”

Jennifer Bates was recently given the new management challenge of "Personnel Development Manager". Jennifer is now responsible for guiding Tribal and Team Members in their personal development activities, providing one on one support to them in their growth path.  She is also is responsible for providing guidance and leadership for career development with Tribal members. 

When we hire from external recruiting efforts, we often tap our local market in creative ways rather than focus on search agencies.  For example, retail management requires many of the same skills as our supervisors.  We look for people currently work in retail, but are looking for a change, and put their skills to use here. Black Oak recently held a career fair for employees of a relatively large local business that was closing its doors. We interviewed many of their staff, and hired seven, of their sixty five employees (including a Manager) and even got local radio coverage for the event. The Coordinator that was hired leads a team of twenty and is responsible for overall operations of our Bowling Center and Arcade.

We have MANY success stories of people who have grown with us. Many of these can
Be found on our recruitment website iamblackoakcasino.com.  Recruitment and retention are key programs when very large staffing levels are required and Black Oak Casino is taking the proactive approach to building its team.

Because of the great recognition our guests give our team members for outstanding guest service we look for friendly, outgoing, individuals who respond to our culture and guest service standards we have established over the past six years of our properties existence.

Black Oak Casino, owned and operated by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians in Tuolumne, California The Casino encompasses 164,770 square feet of gaming and entertainment options for the whole family, including 1013 slot machines, 24 table games, a non-smoking gaming area, three restaurants, two casino floor bars, an interactive sports bar, a state of the art bowling center, a live entertainment lounge, a players club, gift shop, and kids arcade.
For more information regarding Black Oak Casino, please visit www.blackoakcasino.com or contact Cynthia Fidel at (559) 252-2500 or Al O’Brien at (209) 928-9318.