How Boyd Gaming Delivers High-Quality, Consistent, Personalized Safety Training to Team Members
Using a mix of custom programs and Skillsoft compliance content, Boyd Gaming keeps safety standards high and incident rates well below industry averages.
THE CHALLENGE
With 28 gaming properties in ten states, Boyd Gaming is one of the largest casino entertainment companies in the United States. It’s also an industry leader in compliance and workplace safety.
In partnership with the Nevada OSHA Safety Consultation and Training Section, Boyd has received Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) recognition at nine of its properties in the state. This certification is awarded to state businesses that implement exemplary health and safety protocols.
As a result of these efforts, Boyd’s total case rate (TCR) and days away, restricted, or transferred (DART) rate are well below industry averages. But achieving and maintaining such rigorous safety standards can be challenging with more than 15,000 team members across the country.
“For us, every single property is basically a tiny city, and that means we need training programs for basically every OSHA standard you could think of,” says Traci Allison, Director of Safety at Boyd Gaming.
In addition to connecting each team member in each department with the right training, Boyd also needs to ensure that training quality and content are consistent across locations. It can be difficult to guarantee that every safety manager handles training the same way when team members are so geographically spread out.
THE SOLUTION
To make sure every team member gets the training they need at the same level of quality, Boyd partnered with Skillsoft. Skillsoft’s readymade library of compliance content made it easier to connect each department with comprehensive, consistent, and relevant training.
“We’ve found the Skillsoft library really useful,” says Allison. “It has all the programs and training we need to meet our OSHA standards. And everything is already built, so we don’t have to create the training ourselves.”
Skillsoft content also enables Boyd to tailor training more effectively to the needs of individual employees, departments, and locations — especially when it comes to topics that fall outside of regulatory requirements.
“It’s so easy to go in and search when we need additional content,” Allison says. “For example, if we have a property that is seeing more injuries in a certain area, we can always find content to help.”
In addition to working with Skillsoft, Boyd has partnered with OSHA in Nevada to develop training programs focused on SHARP certification. Those programs have helped make training more consistent outside the state, too.
“We’ve been able to develop these high-end, robust programs, and then we push them out to our properties outside of Nevada,” said Dennis Siano, Vice President of Facilities and Safety for Boyd Gaming. “We push those SHARP programs because they go above and beyond, and we want to protect everybody the same.”
THE RESULTS
By using Skillsoft content and its own custom programs internally, Boyd has elevated the quality and consistency of training for all employees at all locations. It prioritizes safety by incorporating it into corporate culture.
Each year, Boyd recognizes two properties that have achieved the lowest overall injury rate with a ‘President’s Award for Safety Performance.’ Two properties with the largest year-over-year decline in injury rates are recognized as ‘Most Improved’ properties.
A strong safety program doesn’t just enable Boyd to keep customers and employees safe — it also benefits the business.
“If we reduce injuries, it has a domino effect,” Siano explains. “We don’t have people out of the office. We don’t have to replace them. Our workers’ compensation costs go down. It’s in the best interests of our guests, our team members, and our company to make sure that we have a very robust safety and health program.”
Boyd has also used Skillsoft to streamline the process of maintaining SHARP certification.
How did the Program Perform?
83%
Percentage of Boyd team members who say they feel safe at work
97%
Percentage of Boyd team members who completed training requirements
28 Properties
Every Boyd property has a Property Safety Committee tasked with meeting periodically to review property injury statistics, recent incidents, and potential hazards in the workplace, along with recommended remediation measures
Everybody is seeing the same thing. Everybody is under the same policies and procedures and getting the same training. That really helps drive our safety program, and that’s beneficial for the business. It’s in the best interests of our guests, our team members, and our company to make sure that we have a very robust safety and health program.
Dennis Siano
Vice President of Facilities and Safety