In the four months prior to the commencement of betting activities on 9 December 1964, there was a great deal of work to be done in the planning for and recruitment of operational and administrative staff. In addition, preliminary work and negotiations regarding working conditions and industrial agreements were undertaken with a number of unions.

 

The recruitment of betting Branch Managers was of course a key program. Newspaper advertisements attracted about 850 applications and, because of the unusual nature of TAB work, assistance was sought in the early stage from the Commonwealth Employment Service. The Service recommended the adoption of certain aptitude tests for potentially suitable applicants as well as a colour vision test. The latter was thought to be necessary for the fast sorting of the various betting tickets by colour. Branch Managers would be required to perform any tasks in the branch. Of course, any other more easily identifiable attributes in the application such as cash handling and control, managerial experience etc were taken into consideration. The tests were useful in the early years, but were not necessary later when a policy of promotion from within the TAB was implemented with ‘on the job’ performance being the criteria for selection.

 

A controversial decision adopted for the selection of Branch Managers was a maximum age limit of 40 years. This created somewhat of a storm in the press, it being pointed out by commentators that John Robertson (General Manager) was the grand old age of 43 and Russell Garbutt (Chairman of the Board) was considerably older.

 

In the absence of later anti-discrimination laws, it was an extremely sound decision. It foresaw the extreme pressures which would be imposed on Branch Managers in the early years of operation in a very different environment to which they were accustomed. In addition, they would be struggling to provide a service to a huge area of Sydney and Newcastle (branches were opened on 9 December 1964 in Sydney at Auburn, Manly, Maroubra, West Ryde and Parramatta; and in Newcastle at Charlestown, thereafter extending throughout metropolitan Sydney and NSW country).

 

A greater number of branch staff were appointed than was required for opening to cater for future needs and possible resignations.

 

About three weeks after opening day, John Robertson called a meeting of all Branch Managers (those in charge of operating branches plus those managers awaiting openings who were assisting in running branches). The meeting was also attended by senior staff from Operations, Accounts, Property, Audit and Personnel.

 

The objectives were to have an open discussion of problems being experienced, their solution and plans for the future. A spokesman for the Branch Managers predicted that each branch would require about 25 fully available casual staff. On that basis, the Personnel Officer quickly calculated about 5,000 suitable applicants would need to be found for possibly a total of 200 branches in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong – a seemingly impossible task. Apart from that, about 10 selling/paying windows were planned for each branch with no space to accommodate more.

 

Fortunately, these problems did not materialise for the following reasons:

 

· Productivity increased as casual staff became more proficient with experience.

· Accurate predictions developed regarding cash turnover and transactions according to the size of meetings
  being covered allowing staff to be rostered accordingly.

· The above enabled the engagement of limited availability casual staff to cover Friday nights, Saturdays and
   public holidays.

 

 

Staff turnover was high in those early days with many departing feeling that the extreme operating conditions would be never ending. However, with a branch opening target of six per month, conditions gradually improved.

 

Other permanent full time positions in branches were Assistant Branch Manager and Female Supervisor supported by a number of casual staff (betting sellers/payers, bet collating staff etc). The number of casual staff and their hours were determined by the betting turnover and busy periods in the branch.

 

Advertisements for casual staff for opening attracted about 2,000 applications. Culling had to be fairly drastic with preference being given to those with cash handling and/or office machine experience and fully available for work Monday to Saturday. Interviewees were given simple mental arithmetic and colour vision tests, the latter by quick sorting of betting tickets.

 

Overall the quality of applicants was satisfactory enabling a bank of suitable staff to be established for future branch openings. Every endeavour was made to locate casual staff within a reasonable travelling distance from home, but this was difficult for city branches. However, a compensating factor was a greater number of shifts available in the city.

 

With preference being given in the early days to those fully available, it followed that the vast majority of appointees were women. This, combined with a policy of promotion from within, provided many openings for appointment as Female Supervisor and Assistant Branch Manager and finally Branch Manager. The advent of agencies also facilitated further advancement for women.

 

The TAB can justifiably claim to be a pioneer in equal opportunity in the workplace. Female and male occupants of Assistant Branch Manager and Branch Manager positions received equal pay, handicapped persons were employed in some Head Office positions, and some years later an Affirmative Action Plan of Equal Opportunity to heighten earlier achievements was introduced.

 

But to return briefly to opening day and the weeks following. The scene saw long queues of customers, staff battling with unfamiliar procedures despite some training, stacks of money to be counted, banked and accounted for and a weekly accounting return to be forwarded to Head Office. At the end of week one the Personnel Officer mischievously asked Al Smith (then Operations Manager) if the branches had balanced their accounts. Al tersely answered, “Balanced? We’ll be glad to even get a weekly return from some of them.” Things quickly improved but in those early days it was not uncommon for a final entry to be “Amount required to balance $.....”

 

Occasionally other things went wrong. Whilst travelling to work, the Personnel Officer for the Operations Division always scanned the Daily Telegraph for any news of the TAB. He was astounded to read that on the following Friday (this was a Monday) a branch at Revesby would open. A breakdown in communication within the TAB had occurred.

 

Allocation of permanent staff was no problem as a reserve existed for future openings. For casual staff it was a different matter to be solved only by some frantic interviewing, training of reserves and the transfer of a nucleus of experienced casual staff. Revesby opened on time.

 

In a more personal setting, the Personnel Officer for Operations Division recalls a few unusual events:

 

 

The Personnel Officer’s first day in the job was spent being inducted by the General Manager and Operations Manager, setting up his own office and getting a grasp of the first work to be undertaken.

 

Day two was however different. The previous day the Receptionist/Telephone Switchboard Operator had failed to report for work and the next day was the same. Because of certain rumours, the Personnel Officer was despatched to make enquiries. With only about 12 people in the Head Office all working feverishly, the absence of the first person of contact in the TAB was important.

 

After enquiries at the girl’s near city flat, it was apparent she was in the company of various members of the visiting American fleet – and having a good time. Despite a message being left to contact the Personnel Officer urgently, no response was received. She was written off.

 

 

Because of the huge number of applicants to be interviewed for casual work, Bob Lidbetter (Personnel Officer for Administrative Staff) assisted with Kings Cross and other branches. King Cross was most difficult to fill because of its near city location and the unsavoury reputation of the area.

 

The Application for Employment form was rather detailed and, because of the nature of TAB business, contained the question: “Have you ever been convicted of a criminal or gaming offence?”

The female applicant, who was in her forties, answered “No”.

 

As a later aid to the interviewer, an Interview Assessment Form was completed during and after the interview and, amongst other things, contained comments on work experience, appearance and grooming, cash handling etc and a general summing up as to suitability. Bob’s notes were:

 

“Work experience – ‘Years as a barmaid.’ (Nowadays known as Bar Attendant.)

Appearance and Grooming – ‘Well worn but worn well.’ (Apparently there were still traces of attractive younger years.)

Cash Handling – ‘Extensive.’

Summary – ‘Great for branch work.’”

 

On the face of it, this was logical comment. Barmaids had an ideal background. They were used to handling plenty of cash, able to cope with busy periods and manage the odd difficult customer.

 

The fly in the ointment however was the security check of successful Operations Division applicants. The Police Department reported that this lady had about 170 convictions for prostitution ranging over many years. It should be noted that in this period houses of ill-fame were not licensed but were tolerated, the price being regular raids by the Police, appearance in court by the ladies and ‘on with the job’ next day.

 

Fortunately, the lady had not been informed that she had been selected for employment so she was merely notified that she was unsuccessful.

 

 

This case concerned a lady appointed to a casual position in a District Centre at Head Office. She was of good appearance and grooming, pleasant personality and very suitable work background. She had commenced work immediately.

 

Because of a delay in receiving a security report from the Police Department, she had been working for about three weeks when the report disclosed a conviction for shoplifting some months previously. Her work had been quite satisfactory, but policy required she be called to the office of the Personnel Officer for her services to be terminated.

 

A very tearful interview followed.

 

She explained that in a moment of temptation she had taken a garment from a retail store, been intercepted, charged and convicted. Apart from having to live with this, she said her husband who was the Deputy Town Clerk of a prominent suburban council knew nothing of the matter. Furthermore she had told him and relatives and friends how much she was enjoying her new job. In the light of this, sudden termination of employment was inexplicable unless she disclosed the reason. She knew this would cause marital discord and great embarrassment to her and her husband.

 

In the circumstances a departure from policy was justified. Employment continued, confidentiality was preserved and the lady went on to give years of good service.

 

The early years of the TAB were a wonderful experience to all those involved. It produced feelings of pride and achievement interspersed however with periods of tension, but overall a confidence in one’s ability to cope with higher responsibilities within the TAB or elsewhere.