Thursday, February 15, 2001
by Kevin Yee
Team Disney Anaheim building, where classes are administered at Disney University
Performance Appraisals for Leads
I promise to get the big course — You Create Happiness — but first let's talk about a more nuts-and-bolts type of class, where leads are taught how to write up the annual evaluation/review of the Cast Members who work with (for?) them.
The appraisal form is consciously not called a review, which implies only past performance. Stress is given in this class on seeing the form for its true value: future performance, ability, and opportunities for growth. The appraisal is designed to be a tool for improvement, not an instrument of punishment or reward.
Let's talk about the categories. Casual-Temporary workers, the kind who only work school holidays, have an abbreviated form with these categories: Disney Courtesy, Appearance, Attitude, Attendance, Working Relationship, and Adaptability. More permanent Cast Members have several more categories, but these will do for now.
Disney Courtesy refers to interaction with both Guests and co-workers. Appearance is mostly a judgment about adherence to the Disney appearance policy — itself a column in my future
Attitude has to do with general job interest and outlook, attendance speaks for itself, and the working relationship bespeaks the CMs ability to integrate into a working culture of varied skills, beliefs, and industriousness. To my mind, one of the most important is the final category, adaptability: how willing is the CM to learn new job responsibilities and to be flexible with assignments?
As you can see, many of these categories overlap (attitude and adaptability come to mind) and often they move in lockstep. Someone with poor attendance is more likely to not adhere to appearance guidelines, for example.
The CM is graded in each category I've mentioned with a scale from 1-4: EXCEEDS Disney standards, MEETS Disney standards, DOES NOT MEET Disney standards, and DISREGARDS Disney standards. As you can imagine, this skewed scale (1 good, 1 neutral, and 2 "bad" grades are possible) results in a lot of neutral grades. The fourth grade, disregarding Disney standards, is akin to an "F" in school and is only used for real problem cases, or to signal a very significant "opportunity for growth" (oh dear I'm talking like a Disnoid again. Shoot me.)
Lastly, there is an area for written comments in prose, which is mostly what this class is about. The actual "grades" are pretty easy to fill in on the chart, since each chart helpfully includes a description of each point on the scale. For instance, under "Attitude," the various grades state:
Able to inspire coworkers...
Has a genuine interest in improving...
Occasionally shows indifference...
Demonstrates little interest in job performance...
So it's pretty easy to judge which grade each CM deserves, since Leads work with the CMs on a daily basis.
When it comes to the written comments, though, Leads have less of an idea what to say. Leads are frequently college students with 1-3 years of experience as a non-Lead CM, so they have no real training in this sort of thing, shy of this class.
The seminar includes pointing out the basics of writing, such as knowing what sorts of questions the CM will have during the review. There are charts of helpful suggestions for adjectives and verbs in the booklet, as well.
One helpful section of the class dealt with the issue of objectivity and subjectivity, for this is most often the area where problems arise. By this I mean that the CMs proper execution of expectations might hinge on the line between objective and subjective reasoning. But I also mean that objective and subjective writing is important for the Leads, when writing the comments. Leads are encouraged to be descriptive, not judgmental. And they should use facts, not inferences, as the basis of their appraisal.
Finally, the class touched on the appraisal meeting itself, when the CM sits down with the Lead to discuss the written appraisal verbally. Such items as the need for privacy, advance notice, and effective listening / interviewing techniques are passed on, since Leads might otherwise not think of such "trivialities."
The course notebook for Performance Appraisals. Artwork © Disney
You Create Happiness
The granddaddy of advanced courses for Leads, this program has presentations, groupwork, and even an operation out in the field (that is, onstage). The idea here is to further educate and develop the Leads into effective, honed and razor-sharp management machines, capable of motivating teamwork and fostering a Disney-fied work atmosphere that brims with productive energy and showmanship.
OK, now that description was a little overdone. But really, that's the general idea.
We Create Happiness, you see. The buck stops here, with the Leads. The first line of defense, so to speak, the leads are the lowest version of management and thus are most in contact with the Cast Members and their performance. Therefore a good Lead understands and seamlessly integrates a whole host of considerations, such as:
What factors influence the CMs sense of motivation?
How can we assist the CM in making his job easier?
How can the CMs job be done more effectively or courteously?
More importantly, how exactly do we go about implementing this change?
The key here seems to be avoidance of top-down management and simple hierarchy: "I'm your boss, so you have to do what I say." That wouldn't make for a very effective manager, and it certainly wouldn't make for very motivated workers. The Captain Bligh approach has its benefits, particularly in the short term, but over the long run really should not form the focus of one's management style.
The emphasis is instead on understanding motivations, and using that knowledge to promote teamwork. A series of miniature lectures and anecdotes really helps drive the point home, and then we broke into small groups with the command to take this box of unwrapped straws and 8-point connectors, and build the largest structure we could with it. Within each group, the members were broken down into assigned units of leader, observer, and workers. As observer, I had to keep my mouth shut and simply make notes on the dynamic between the two sides.
This, too, I failed at.
I made notes all right, copious ones. They were later praised for their clarity and insight. No, what I failed to do was keep my mouth shut. I noticed that the other groups were all building Towers of Babel out of straws, and remembering the exact directions I murmured to our leader that we should be thinking "outside the box" here: a bigger overall structure could be done quicker if simple cubes were constructed next to each other along the ground. Go for area and volume, not height.
Of course, this being a Disney class there was no real winner, though we in fact won. I was chastised for not allowing the exercise to proceed as it should have. I have mixed emotions about that. Yeah, on the one hand I was a snot-nosed brat who competitively insisted on winning and thus cheated, but on the other hand I was creative. Creative solutions lead to better working methods.
It occurs to me that you readers might think I was a miserable failure as a Lead, what with me not doing well in the teamwork exercise here or the mock-Guest-complaint last time. Truth be told, I'm much more careful in real-world situations. And besides, I'm exaggerating how poorly my attempts were received. Dramatic license, and all that.
Other topics covered by the course included safety issues, sexual harassment, crime, Disney appearance guidelines, and a whole range of things. But the primary thumbnail method of summing up Disney management is the Four Keys: Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficiency. We spent quite a bit of time discussing how those Keys interrelate in real-world situations, and it's not as easy as you think. The push for profitability (efficiency) is so strong, that frequently agonized decisions about sacrificing Show take place. How much disruption of the status quo is considered a breach of Show? And so on.
Afterward came the good stuff. We were dressed in business casual, not our normal Costumes that day, so we took off our nametags and set out into Disneyland with the directive to observe certain things being done by Cast Members everywhere. Were they pointing correctly? (not less than two fingers to point in a direction.) Were they rude or disinterested to us? Did they seem bored? How efficient were they, and how did they balance that with Show/Courtesy? How successful were their efforts at balancing them?
A few hours of this and we met up again to compare notes and discuss what we had observed. Naturally we went over the things done right, and more importantly the reason that they were right. When we got to the things done wrong, we were able to make informed suggestions about how to do it differently, and how to suggest to the CM the new changes.
But it's not just all theory and talk. My partner in the walkaround was a supervisor (now they are called Assistant Managers) and we headed over to the camera stand along Small World Way, where we were greeted with rudeness, boredom, and inattention. My partner, nicknamed Big Bird by her crew, decided to take that issue up with the supervisor for Fantasyland Merch when our little exercise was over.
On the whole, the experience was an extremely positive one. I haven't even mentioned that they fed us free lunch that day! Well, maybe that's not so special. But it's a nice touch that they didn't really have to do. And that brings us to the end of the Disney University offerings, at least the ones that I took.
There, wasn't that educational? In a way, the Disney University is just like a real university, with lower and upper division courses. These were the upper division ones, someday I'll have to take you through the lower division ones. And yes, the employee stores do sell Disney University clothing and the caps really do say "DU" on them. Well, some of them do. Or did.
Oh, and the various courses I just finished covering do not really go together as a set, either. I didn't want to give you the impression that you take this whole series. It took me years to do all of them.
The university courses are designed to re-focus Cast Member attention on the Guests. Too often, lethargy sets in after a while at the workplace, and this attempt at re-education combats it fairly well. Besides, since the Leads and Trainers get the special courses, the idea is that their renewed energy and tactics "trickle down" to the other Cast Members. I know that it always worked with me! The classes were a refreshing break then, and they are again now in this column. Now that our batteries are re-charged, we are ready for the Guests again, which is just where we pick up next week.
Next up: Cast Member Hijinks
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Are you a CM or a former CM? I would love to hear and share your stories! E-mail me! Stories and comments you submit become property of and may be published on this site; we normally don't publish last names of current CMs, but if you wish to remain anonymous altogether or do not want me to share your stories, please let me know when you e-mail me. — Shoshana NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in reader-contributed stories do not reflect those of Cast Place or MousePlanet. CM – Cast member; company lingo for “employee.” Empowerment Evolution – The 1995 attempt by newer park management to introduce modern accountability and market forces into the stodgy Disneyland methodology and power hierarchies. The name was meant to “empower” rank and file employees by removing layers of their management, though now there are more managers than ever. TPO – Theme Park Operations; the division of the Disneyland hierarchy that actually works in the theme park itself. TDA – Team Disney Anaheim; the name of the on-site administration building. Area manager – used to be responsible for an entire land, with all business divisions in the area reporting to him. Area supervisor – the immediate boss for location supervisors who divide up a department of intelligently grouped locations. The area supervisors in turn reported to the area manager. Nowadays all supervisors and area supervisors have been replaced by managers and assistant managers — the same idea, but smaller “business units" than a department; usually just one location in fact. RFT – “A” status; a full-time hourly employee. RPT – “B” status; an hourly employee five days a week but just not quite 40 hours usually. CR – “C” status; an hourly employee who works weekends year-round and five days a week during all school holiday periods (including summer and Christmas break). CT – a part-time hourly employee who works five days a week during all school holiday periods (including summer and Christmas break). No seniority, so shifts worked are usually quite short. Locate the employment center to fill out an application, and they will call you for an interview (dress nicely, just shy of an actual suit). Once there, follow these rules, in this order of importance: 1. Smile and be very friendly. They want outgoing people.
2. Do not let the group interview throw you off balance. They want outgoing people who can “perform” a little bit.
3. Do not worry about job (in)experience. They don't care. They want friendly people, not experienced and/or hardened people.
4. Do your best to convince them you already have a Disney attitude: you want to work with people, you're a team player, and you would consider this a dream job (however, don't overdo it on the crazy-Disney-fan side either). Strike a nice balance.
5. Did I mention the importance of a smile? 
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