Consumers are changing the way the world works and how we work in it

Consumers are changing the way the world works and how we work in it.

Walk into any large business, particularly local gaming establishments, grocery stores and super centers, and you'll more than likely find cashiers, helpful information clerks and other positions have been filled by machines.

This may seem like a negative considering Nevada suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in its, and the country's, history. But that is an incorrect notion, say labor analysts and automation industry professionals. In fact, automation has brought more jobs to the valley since the recession began a few years ago.

Manufacturing jobs and other labor-intensive jobs have been eliminated worldwide, including India and China along with the United States. Automated checkout kiosks are the new norm in grocery stores and for industries such as movie and game rental. Most of the major store chains, including Walmart, Albertson's and Home Depot, have installed self-checkout stations and Redbox kiosks outside their stores that require little human employee interaction.

But automation doesn't necessarily costs jobs. In fact, it probably holds back layoffs. With automation, companies save money, which they can pass along to the consumer. Often, companies that are relying more on automatic machines and kiosks turn to the existing employee pool to streamline and expand other profitable areas of its business, moving employees from possibly repetitious jobs for a position that offers more personal growth and satisfaction, or hire outside contractors, therefore increasing employment, to maintain the automated machines.

The convenience of picking up a movie after the pizza and ice cream has created significant growth for the Redbox Automated Retail LLC. Coinstar claimed 100 percent ownership of Redbox in the spring of 2009.

The Illinois-based company was ranked as the fifth largest DVD rental company in the United States in spring of 2007 by revenue by the Entertainment Merchants Association.

Redbox was created around the idea of value and convenience. The first Redbox DVD rental kiosks were installed in the Las Vegas area early in 2003.

"And now we have close to 300 in Las Vegas proper and if you include the surrounding areas I think it's over 400 in the greater Las Vegas area," Marci Maule, public relations director for Coinstar Inc., said.

Today there are more than 28,000 Redbox kiosks across the United States.

Redbox parent company, Coinstar, also has a network of nearly 19,000 coin-counting kiosks, with approximately 150 machines in the Las Vegas area.

Coinstar is a pioneer in the self-service kiosk industry and the company's core strengths and success is based on value and convenience it delivers through automated retail solutions.

"We own and operate all of our equipment and have a large number of field employees that service our machines," she said.

Coinstar currently employs approximately 2,400 people, including more than 1,600 field service personnel.

"As Coinstar Inc. continues to grow, we will continue hiring in many functional areas across the company and in many U.S. regions," she said. "We hire field support representatives across the United States to maintain and service our machines; this includes hiring in the Las Vegas area in the past two years."

Coinstar's kiosks are available 24/7 (unless limited by retail store hours if indoors). Both Redbox DVD rental kiosks and Coinstar coin-counting machines are serviced and maintained by company field personnel.

"For our coin-counting kiosks, field technicians provide regular machine maintenance to ensure the machines are in top working order and available when the consumer wants to transact," she said. "In addition, all of our Coinstar centers are networked so we know how each machine is performing and when a coin pick-up may be required."

Coinstar is currently hiring in all regions across the country, but for the Las Vegas market it would be more of field work, servicing the machines that Coinstar has in operation in casinos and hotels in the Southern Nevada area.

"For Redbox, we have field representatives that visit our kiosks every week to deliver the latest movie rentals -- new movies are available every Tuesday," she said.

In addition, field personnel regularly clean and service our machines to maintain top working order. Personnel can also troubleshoot many machine issues remotely via a computer with a specialized program and link.

The self-service trend is on the rise and is driven by the consumers' increased comfort with technology and the desire for quick, efficient purchasing or interaction. A recent survey showed that 97 percent of consumers understand that they will use some form of self-service to handle a transaction or receive a service, and be better serviced in some respects than if they were to interact with a person for the same job.

Coinstar's automated retail services, including Redbox DVD rental and Coinstar coin counting, provide convenience and ease of use for consumers, and for retailers self-service devices provide an opportunity to reduce store labor for some services that can be automated.

While store labor may be reduced in some instances, jobs have been created to manage the kiosk network.

Coinstar Inc. is hiring in all areas across the organization.

"However, the areas where we have the highest number of open positions include IT software -- primarily in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. (Redbox headquarters) -- and field technicians and field managers for servicing Redbox kiosks," Maule said.

The field positions are located in various geographies across the U.S. There are also a number of positions open in Coinstar's headquarters, including engineering and finance in Bellevue, Wash., she said. Current openings can be found at www.coinstar.com.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook will improve over the next 10 years due to automation. Education is essential in obtaining a high-paying job, the BLS states, however the federal organization also notes that on-the-job training is a significant source of education for eight of the 20 fastest growing occupations, which includes management in fields that rely on automation.

Many of the educational requirements for these fields can be filled by technical institutes, adult education programs and company training.

Where jobs are lost in one area due to automation, they more often than not sprout up in others. Progressive companies might reinvest their IT savings in jobs that will help the business grow meaningfully, not just in terms of infrastructural complexity.

Automation may actually increase the number of computer technician positions.

Shuffle Master Inc. has been one of the gaming industry's more significant supplier's of automatic card shufflers and proprietary table games since its local beginnings in 1992. They are constantly creating and updating their innovative automatic line of card shufflers and other products are designed to increase a casino's productivity, profitability and security.

The gaming supplier company develops a couple of key automated products that are important contributors to the gaming industry: automatic card shufflers and its popular, fully electronic table game platforms, said Kristen Clark, vice president of worldwide marketing for Shuffle Master.

"The first of these product lines, automatic card shufflers, are the product on which our company was founded," she said.

These important devices randomly shuffle playing cards to improve table game speed and security.

"Although the concept of automated shuffling has been around since the early 1980s, in the past few years we've taken the concept to the next level by adding features like card recognition, and these devices are now used around the world," Clark said. "Our fully electronic table games automate popular games like roulette and blackjack, giving casinos the ability to offer these popular titles without requiring a dealer.

These products are mainstays in markets where live table games are not permitted and have even found a home in traditional casinos where they can augment a casino's game selection during times when staffing levels are lower.

Automation has not replaced positions at Shuffle Master; however, it has impacted efficiency and organization.

"As an integrator of technology, our international work force must be able to collaborate and innovate using the company's systems," said Terri Conway, vice president of human resources for Shuffle Master. "Customers are now receiving product information electronically helping our sales force provide solutions to customers more efficiently."

Shuffle Master will moderately add to its employee roster throughout 2011.

Gaming is an international industry that is steadily growing. While consumers may be taking fewer trips to Las Vegas because of the current economic conditions, they are finding other U.S. locations for their gambling pleasure.

"Working for a casino gaming manufacturing company is always exciting with new products and services to offer customers," Conway said. "At Shuffle Master, we are in the business of fun which makes our work place very enjoyable. Understanding our customers -- the casinos -- is an important job prerequisite for working here."