“You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it takes people to make the dream a reality.”-Walt Disney.
Walt Disney made his dreams come true, but he didn't do it alone. Like all great Disney stories, his required a dream more than one person believed in. Woven with imagination, villains, betrayal, loss and ultimately, the Disney happy ending, Walt persevered, learned through trial and error, had plenty of set-backs-- but triumphed.
After losing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to a friend turned foe, Walt Disney forged on fueled by passion and unwavering belief.
He made new friends.
In 1929, the world met them; Mickey Mouse and his pals.
In 1937, Snow White and her seven friends made their debut. He dreamed, he breathed life into his dreams and his dreams became a reality.
But, Disney learned the hard way how to quickly lose employees. He learned the hard way how much employees can surge or stifle a dream.
After suffering an animators' strike due to reduced bonuses, disorganized pay structures and stringent micromanagement practices, he revamped his idea of success from being one of his own, to being a dream of everyone's.
After success in animation and movies, Disney wanted to share the magic of his creations with the world. He wanted the world to live his dream. Most of all he endeavored to build a profitable park that offered his customers a magical experience that exceeded their expectations [1].
More than anything, Disney desired to create a family-style park that was spotless and orderly to set it apart from other amusem*nt parks [1].
He wanted every part of a customer's experience to go beyond the limits of what they could imagine.
He wanted magic.
Walt Disney knew in order to bring that dream to life, he needed employees who would share his values and carry out the magic of Disney in every nook and cranny of their daily deeds. From the moment they stepped on Disney grounds he needed them to become part of the dream.
He knew he had to create a magical culture fused with loyalty, rewards and accountability. He learned quickly what he needed to do differently to avoid mutiny and foster loyalty.
Disney executed his strategy by creating an organizational culture that aimed to exceed his employees’ expectations first, in order for them to exceed his customers’ expectations.
Focusing on creating shared norms, beliefs, values, and loyalty, Disney indoctrinated recruits into a culture of magic through specialized Disney-speak, magical roles, rigorous employee training, rehearsals, and rewards.
Through this indoctrination of his employees, Disney believed it would create a culture where employees want to make every day a magical experience for Disney customers because every day was magical for them.
Ah, the magic of employees wanting anything for a company rather than from it--that is the dream, is it not?
Disney conquered that dream. Disney Parks' organizational culture today is a strong one that energizes employees by appealing to their higher principles, values, and uniting them around Disney’s goals--most importantly, it is a family of employees who are motivated to be the fuel of Disney's dreams.
How does one accomplish such a feat?
Disney creates a culture with a sense of belonging, devotion, and employees who want exceed customer expectations. This is achieved through the manner in which they are trained, rewarded, empowered and treated. How is that, you ask?
They are treated upon selection as if they are guests.
Walt Disney’s organizational cultural focus can be summed up in one statement; employees are the most important because they make dreams a reality.
Employees are Disney’s core focus on carrying out the magic of Disney to create a profitable business that is coined as the happiest place on earth. The happiest place on earth must have the happiest employees. Walt Disney’s dream has lived on long after his death through the organizational culture he created.
Weaving Effective HR Practice at WDC into its Organizational Culture
Walt Disney’s culture is an environment rich with human resource strategies that weave Disney values into the minds and behaviors of its employees. This strategy inspires his employees, who then--pass on the inspiration to Disney customers and keep them coming back for more magical memories.
Disney HR practices focus on recruiting, hiring, and training the right employees while empowering them to generate their loyalty and motivation to carry out goals.
Every step of the process infuses the magic of Disney into the organizational culture of the theme parks.
Disney Human Resources Strategy
Disney begins first by recruiting candidates who are adaptable to Disney values and beliefs. They receive an official invitation to join the team.
When they arrive, they are permitted to wander the grounds. They are encouraged to become enchanted by the park, the atmosphere and the visual buffet of childhood dreams. Upon arriving at their interview, the candidates are asked questions based specifically on their applied role to determine if their answers fit the ‘character’ of their choice [1].
Proper selection is crucial to ensure successful assimilation into standing organizational culture. Do they have the voice? Do they play the part? Do they believe?
Once the candidate is selected, management, through training and socialization, begins to introduce and reinforce the cultural expectations and knowledge of social norms.
The employees are first sent to “Disney University” for training.
The training process is comprehensive and employees rehearse their parts with each other while Disney values, such as staying in character and being ‘onstage’, are verbally reinforced [1]. This reiteration is the beginning of the Disney molding process of becoming 'a part of the dream'.
Managing through this form of training and socialization creates team members who understand Disney values, their abilities, and behavioral expectations that ensure they acquire social knowledge and bond. To take it a step further--they become part of Disney's family.
These bonds and behaviors together establish a strong culture where loyalty, belonging, and accountability are prevalent.
Employees are further indoctrinated into the culture by learning “Disney speak” such as referring to customers as guests, and to themselves as cast members and being onstage [1]. This fortifies the sense of belonging and culture.
Once employees are fully trained, they job shadow first, and then begin performing ‘onstage’. The performance is rewarding and rewarded.
Disney doesn't stop there. It employs the use of reward systems and promoting creativity. When employees exceed customer service expectations, their managers provide them with Customer Service Fanatic Cards which are entered in monthly drawings for prizes [1].
This motivates employees to do well and makes them feel valued. They are in it now for more than a paycheck, they feel, and are part of, the excitement.
Three times per year Disney hosts a Gong show where all employees can pitch movie ideas to executives [2].
Innovation is a fuel, and it is a cultural norm that is universal within successful firms. It can promote creativity, employee empowerment, competitive advantage and beneficial change.
Walt Disney stated the best ideas come from employees, and his cultural and HR practices prove it’s not lip service. This support of creativity attracts creative candidates who feel safe and empowered to take risks and share ideas that can improve the business. Without risk, where would you be? Without the freedom to 'try new things' where would we be?
This freedom and sense of personal and professional autonomy results in employees feeling accountable not only for their actions but for their coworkers’ behavior [2]. It reinforces and fortifies the Disney work world. The Disney culture. The Disney atmosphere.
Recap of How The Happiest Place On Earth Thrives
Disney human resources focuses on selecting the right candidate for the culture and then shaping them into the employees Disney needs.
Employees are equipped with training and knowledge, during which they are introduced to social norms and shared beliefs. This HR practice reinforces culture through exposure and social bonding.
Employees are offered assistance programs, discount programs and refueling rewards to maintain employees who feel valued and motivated.
In addition, they are entered into contests and recognized for exceeding expectations.
This provides clear, consistent, and comprehensive goals utilizing a reward system that connects informal rewards to formal rewards.
The result is motivated employees who feel valued, are loyal, and devoted to Disney and its culture. It fortifies organizational culture focused on business objectives.
Employees reinforce culture through empowered environments where they are encouraged to be innovative and rewarded for it. It emphasizes innovation and creates a psychological safety net where employees will share their ideas with leaders and each other.
While sharing ideas with each other, the social norms, beliefs, and values reinforce employee culture and expected behavior through bond creation, empowerment, and social interaction.
HR strategies of managing through socialization and innovation strengthens the sense of belonging and commitment to Disney which increases motivation to achieve business goals.
Walt Disney culture fosters a sense of pride among all employees regardless of role [1]. This is achieved through a culture that make employees feel special. They are part of something bigger than themselves, and each one of them is reminded how important they are to the success of Disney.
Walt Disney made it clear he believed ‘people’ make dreams a reality. Disney Corporation keeps that belief alive by investing in its greatest investment; its employees.
References
[1] G. Yemen and L. A. Isabella, "The Wonderful World of Human Resources at Disney," The Darden Business Publishing at University of Virginia, 2013.
[2] J. A. Chatman and S. Eunyoung Cha, "Leading by Leveraging Culture," California Review Management, 2003.
