by Larry Lynch

In some business environments, communication is a simple process. Managers decide what they want employees to do and communicate it. At the Walt Disney World Resort, communication isn’t so simple. Disney created a structured, thought-out process to foster a dialogue with its cast members (employees). In this, the fourth of a five-part series in MRO Today, we’ll explore how that dialogue helps to consistently exceed the expectations of Disney’s guests (customers). I think you’ll see that the Disney approach can benefit you.

My previous columns stated that corporate culture drives every aspect of Disney’s approach to people management. It is the same with communication. The messages we send and the media we use are designed to communicate important information and sustain our unique culture. The communication process revolves around several concepts.

Sharing valuable information
You’d be amazed how many organizations fail to tap the powerful brainpower of its workforce. We thrive on the input of our cast. No one knows our operation better than the people who operate it every day. Our most comprehensive format for gaining their input is the cast survey. Administered annually, this is a surprisingly effective tool. Eighty percent of our cast members (Disney’s term for employees) annually participate in this voluntary survey.

The secret to the survey’s success? Credibility. After surveys are tabulated, all results are shared.

Cast members then help to develop action plans. Just as important, the cast is kept up-to-date on company and department efforts to address issues raised in the survey.

While the survey is the single-largest effort Disney uses to learn from its cast, it’s not the only one. To encourage more feedback, we still rely on suggestion boxes. Ongoing formats like this uncover emerging issues and address them early on.

Of course, when we talk about creating an ongoing dialogue with our cast, nothing replaces face-to-face communication.

Disney managers are expected to spend at least 70 percent of their time in the operating areas. There’s no better way to learn about our operation or our cast than to have managers working side-by-side with their employees.

Employees must know that their work matters
In a previous article, I introduced the Disney service theme, "We create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages, everywhere." That concept is introduced to new cast members during orientation.

It’s reinforced in on-the-job training and throughout their careers with Disney.

The fact is, we can train almost anyone to do the majority of front-line roles. Getting those same people to truly understand and buy in to our philosophy of customer service is much harder. After recruiting and training the right people, we constantly communicate with them and remind them of their roles in the show.

Here’s an example. In our banquet operation, a steward is what others might call a dishwasher. In most organizations, dishwashers would seldom, if ever, see the magical banquet experiences they help create. At Disney, banquet managers make it a point to bring "back-of-the-house" cast members on stage — sometimes before, sometimes during an event — to let them see the setting the cast created and the smiles on our guest’s faces. The communication point is the same . . . the employee helps to create happiness. It’s a powerful way of communicating our service philosophy.

Think about ways that you can impress upon your cast members that their work does make a difference!

Communication methods must meet employee needs
As a multibillion-dollar resort, we made an early financial investment in a specialized communications system: bulletin boards.

No kidding. A simple corkboard remains one of the most effective ways communication travels throughout the company. In this age of e-mail and the Internet, we never dismiss sources of communication that help us get the right information to the right people at the right time, helping them do their jobs the right way.

We do, of course, invest in new technologies. Cast Communication Centers are our latest example. These high-tech stations are located throughout our backstage areas. LED readers display up-to-the-minute information, while touch-screen monitors give access to a library of resources. There’s even a telephone that provides a hotline to cast support areas. Cast members tell us they most appreciate the kiosks being stocked with forms, from insurance claims to change-in-benefits paperwork and tax forms.

Between our high-tech approach and bulletin boards are dozens of other tools, including Eyes & Ears. Cast members consider this weekly newsletter our single-most-effective tool. Reflecting our culture, Eyes & Ears focuses on three areas — our traditions, our day-to-day operation and our plans for the future. To make the communication two-way, we add profiles of cast members, classified ads and job listings.

Key to the success of the newsletter and all our communication media is the fact that we design them to provide (or generate) the right messages, at the right time through the right medium.

Leader as communicator
One question asked every year on the cast survey is, "How do you most want to hear information about the company?" Not surprisingly, "from my leader" has been the No. 1 answer since we started surveying decades ago. That’s proof of the important role leaders play in the communication process. It’s also why we are so serious about leaders spending 70 percent of their time in the operating area. For all the advantages of electronic communication, I don’t think it will ever replace face-to-face dialogue.

As you can see, from bulletin boards and e-mail to surveys and one-on-one interaction, every manner of communication Disney uses is a reflection of our corporate culture. Disney constantly demonstrates support of its cast members by actively soliciting their ideas, acting on the input and conveying messages in ways that meet their needs. Simply put, this process shows we care.

Larry Lynch is the director of business development for the Disney Institute. For more information on the Institute's operations or people management courses, visit www.disneyinstitute.com.

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