Our cast members are the ones making magic every day.  If they weren’t happy, it would be difficult for them to make our guests happy.  We’ve found over and over that if an employee feels truly valued in his or her job, if they understand what is expected of them and feel they are contributing, they will go above and beyond to deliver great service.Employees need to know how their work contributes to the organization’s goals.  Most of us feel better about our jobs when we know how we make a difference.  Measure success and share those successes with your staff.  Disney employs recognition tools including what we call Great Service Fanatic cards. These on-the-spot recognition cards praise cast members for going beyond the call and recipients are eligible for monthly prizes such as priority parking.But one of the best ways to recognize people is to simply ask their opinion.  By listening and tru …… Continue reading →

Think back to the days when you were a child. You knew you could be anything -- an astronaut, rock-star or maybe even a Disney animator. But then you grew up, and realized there are limits to what you can do. Or are there? At Disney, we pride ourselves on never saying: "That cant happen." Rather, we ask, "How can we make that happen?"The next time your team comes together for a brainstorming session, try clearing your mind of all the limits that have built up over the years. Think like a child, an …… Continue reading →

To help instill the spirit of each nation to World Showcase, the country pavilions at Epcot take part in cultural celebrations with guests. These celebrations include Bastille Day (France), Guy Fawkes Day (United Kingdom) and Children’s Day (Japan). During these celebrations, each pavilion adds special decorations and provides additional activities.Respecting your customers diverse background and cultures can help you stand out from the business crowd. How do you make international guests feel at home in your business? …… Continue reading →

We pride ourselves in having a unique culture at Disney. We even have our own language that we affectionately refer to as "Disney-speak." As someone who came to Disney from the outside, I can attest to its complexity. (It took me a good two months to figure out that DAK meant Disney's Animal Kingdom).Outside of the acronyms, though, is a vocabulary designed to support a culture dedicated to guest service. And we do mean "guest" -- other companies have followed Disney's lead and adopted this term over the years, but they don't always understand its meaning. When Walt Disney started using the word "guest" to refer to Disney customers, he did so because he believed our customers are like guests in our home and should be treated as such. We hold true to that belief to this day.Do you treat customers like guests in your home? Do your employees understand why that's important? Would love to hear your thoughts/comments below. …… Continue reading →

Within Disney theme parks and resorts, name tags are an essential part of the costume. But what makes them so important? They make our frontline cast members more approachable, but more importantly, our name tags give you, the guest, a little bit of personal information so that you can relate to us and maybe feel more comfortable striking up a conversation.Continue reading →

In both large and small organizations, its easy to lose sight of the big picture. As your day to day tasks pile up, goals fade away. Thats why it’s important to remind yourself and your employees how their efforts affect the overall guest experience – even if they don’t interact with guest …… Continue reading →

Nearly everyone has had the kind of manager who closes his door and rarely talks to his employees, except for the occasional email to tell you what you are doing wrong. Its not fun, or productive.Thats why Disney takes the opposite approach to the leader/employee relationship. Here, leaders are expected to be readily available, and always willing to discuss just about anything with cast members, including problems they may be having in their personal lives, or dissatisfaction they might have with their jobs. Why do we do this? Because our cast members tell us its important to know that they are being heard, and our business cant survive without cast members who are happy in their jobs.With that in mind, here some tips for encouraging a better manager/employee relationship:• Make one-on-one time a priority. Disney leaders set some time aside each week to s …… Continue reading →

Disney trains every cast member in the same way, no matter what job, and goes to great lengths to ensure that cast members understand the company’s heritage and purpose. This helps them feel connected to the company, and to their jobs.Everyone’s first day begins in Disney Traditions, where the new vice president of sales may be sitting next to a housekeeper or a transportation host.  Regardless of the job classification, whether full-time, part-time, or seasonal, everyone goes through this same orientation process.  Our facilitators for Disney Traditions are not professional trainers, but role model cast members selected through a rigorous auditioning process for a one-year program, delivering a couple of times per month as part of a rotating team. Having these operations people serve as communicators of company culture adds tremendous realism to what it is like to work for Disney.What does your company …… Continue reading →