The Western Australian Royal Commission released a new expert report that has revealed some concerns about the psychological safety of the employees of the Crown casino in Perth, with many of the staff members saying they do not feel like they can share details about any bad behaviour on the casino’s part. The report released by the state’s Royal Commission into Crown Perth also includes employees’ opinions that they believe they work with people who find money more important than following the rules.
The official release of the report comes at a time when the Western Australian Royal Commission is preparing for the final stage of its investigation into Crown Perth to find out whether the casino has done what was necessary to fix some problems in its operation. The Commission is set to consider the evidence gathered during the probe and announce its opinion on whether the Perth-based casino is fit to hold a casino operating licence.
So far, the Royal Commission that was created especially for the investigation into the Perth casino of the Australian gambling giant has heard allegations that the casino management has turned a blind eye to criminal infiltration, money laundering and problem gambling.
According to officials occupying senior leadership positions at Crown Perth, who have taken part in the Royal Commission’s inquiries, the gambling operator has to do a lot of work in order to fix its corporate culture, including making some changes to its policies and procedures and hiring financial crime specialists.
Crown Perth Prioritised VIP Customers and Profit over Following the Rules, Report Says
The WA Royal Commission appointed the corporate culture consultant Elizabeth Arzadon to prepare the expert report that reviewed a separate Deloitte report commissioned by Crown Resorts. According to the expert report in question, the Australian gambling giant’s culture prioritised profit and customers over following the rules, and senior leaders were not trusted.
According to the findings of the new expert report, Crown Perth’s staff understood the company’s policies but they did not always seem to be taking them seriously. An employee of the casino confirmed that the people they worked with did not always stick to the rules but bent them when it suited them. Another employee said that staff usually “skip the policies” when VIP customers come to the gambling floor.
The Royal Commission learned that the Deloitte report checked on whether Crown’s employees were effectively putting their corporate values into action, especially when it comes to the mottos “we act respectfully” and “we do the right thing”.
While preparing its report, Deloitte surveyed Crown Perth staff from across the organisation and the results showed that many employees did not believe that their management, including the one on the highest levels, were in line with the values of the company. However, more than half of the people surveyed (52%) confirmed that, in their opinion, general managers and executives at the gambling operator consistently behaved in line with the company’s values.
Unfortunately, the report highlighted some concerns regarding the psychological safety of the employees of Crown Perth. Still, more the half of the ones who noticed some problems (55%) were confident they would not be penalised if they escalated the problems to a manager.
The investigation found that the VIP gaming, surveillance and legal and regulatory teams at Crown Perth needed immediate attention or intervention. Only 19% of the members of the casino’s surveillance team said they believed they would not be penalised for raising their concerns with a manager.
- Author
Olivia Cole
