Daniel Arias, Director of Amusnet Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean, spoke at the EXPO Santa Fe Convention Center about OKRs Applied to the Games of Chance Sector. He began by explaining that  "we all know that in gambling, chance is part of the game. To achieve their goals, those who manage companies in this sector are clear that decisions cannot be left to chance."

And he added, "To do that, we need to look for tools like OKRs, which allow us to move from games to strategies. I'm here to introduce OKRs to entrepreneurs in the games of chance industry, so they can make sure bets, with results that allow them to win big."

Arias then explained that “90% of organizations fail to transform strategy into results.   Management teams develop their strategy, but fail to communicate that strategy. Only 10% of employees know a company's objectives. Imagine, if we don't have objectives, we're not going to be able to make the strategy simply accompany them. What should we do to change this? Implement the OKR methodology.”

What are OKRs?

“A management and leadership system based on objectives and key results. Who created it? Andy Grove, one of the leading CEOs of the 1970s, having served as CEO of Intel”.

Does it apply to all companies?

“Yes, it applies to large, medium-sized, small, technology companies, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, just as it applies to companies from foundations like Bono's or Bill Gates'.

And he added that an OKR "is a collaborative work system designed to set challenging goals and measurable results. The key is how I take those goals and align them with the company's vision, purpose, and strategy."
 

What elements are relevant?

“Agility and Transparency. At Google, for example, they have a rule called 10X. They aim to multiply results by 10. What they do with this is ensure that people think differently, that they zero in on knowledge, and that they think about disruption and how I do things differently to achieve those goals.”

Advantages of OKRs

“Focus, autonomy, and alignment. The strategy is defined between one and three objectives, with everyone aligned to achieve the goals we've defined. All teams are working in the same direction. We constantly see in companies that the administrative area follows a 180-degree different path than the sales or marketing departments. Furthermore, the management team defines the strategic OKRs, and what each team does is deploy its OKRs, targeting those teams with the strategic OKRs.”

He added, "The key here is for each team to define their direction based on their alignment with the strategic OKRs. And finally, alignment. Sharing the OKRs across all areas of the operator."

OKRs and gambling

“Let's look at some examples applied to games of chance: Build player loyalty with memorable experiences, and surpass all-time highs in revenue. These are objectives we can define for businesses. What is the key result? Quantitative, specific, and results-oriented. Is it the number? Is it the date? It's what allows me to tell if I'm meeting the objective.”

Arias stated, “Let's imagine a casino in Mexico City. The corporate objective defined by the management team is to become the gaming venue operator, leader in customer experience and operational efficiency in the local market”

What do we have to do?

"First, increase local market share of physical arcades from 25% to 40%. Second, increase average daily revenue per machine from $150 to $200. Third, raise the NPS player referral index from 60 to 80. That's the measure of whether a player wants to recommend us to a person or acquaintance. Of course, the objectives, the corporate OKRs. Now, how are we going to scale this down to other areas of the organization?

Product OKR. Optimize the gaming experience portfolio to maximize revenue per machine. Replace 20% of underperforming machines with high-performance models. And here I would add the initiatives. Identify and analyze which machines perform best."

And he concluded: “Going out to negotiate, meeting, signing contracts, and issuing fines to machines. Key initiatives, and if I carry them out, if I fulfill them, my OKR is met. And if I fulfill the OKR, my objective in the organization is met.”

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