This past week was very exciting. Last Saturday during our breakout meeting. I along with two of my fellow CP were recognize for our amazing team work. On Sunday February 24 our hotel had a massive amount of checkouts. I had eleven checkout and 18 rooms and finished nearly at five, but instead of going home we went to help the rest of the new hire. It disappointed me to see how the senior housekeepers finish early and left without even asking if we needed help. Between six of us we finished thirteen rooms in an hour. It was stressful especially for our manager because she was going to have to explain why those rooms were not made, but with drive and determination to do a good gob we finished. If more people were like us, Housekeeping would be a little better. It felt really good to be recognize, I didn’t expect that but that’s what happens when you do good. I keep this in mind when I have bad days, because it’s about trying your best and learning from it.
Recognition is a valuable part of “Keeping the Magic Alive”. When working with a large and diverse work force it is not always easy to motivate all workers. I a thrilled that you took the time to help with the remaining rooms, it was the right thing to do personally and professionally.
Let’s take a moment, however, and think about why the full time staff did not stay to help. What are your observations about motivation, the observations of your leaders and Disney faculty as to how and why people put forth effort on the job? What would you have done if you were the manager on duty that day? Were you compensated financially for the extra work you did? If you were or were not financially compensated why did you stay?
Finally, I was motivated when I read your post. To those of you who do not know, Victoria’s leader, Jeannette, is a graduate of City Tech (and a member of this website). When I saw the handwriting on the Guest Fanatic Card I knew I saw it before. Jeannette worked in a very smart manner to plan her education and to start her career with the Walt Disney Company. Remember, through the difficult times that college and work will present to you each of you will find your path and your road to success. It may take time and surely it will take hard work and sacrifice but each of you will be able to use this experience as a spring board to your own professional success.
I feel very lucky to have Jeannette on my team, and i thank her for the recognition it felt really good to know that our managers are watching the good too. She has giving me so much insight in how to be successful in the program, and is example of how far you can go if you work for it. Its also good to have someone know what I’m going trough, Its not easier but it helps. Many reasons come to mind In regards to why the full time staff decided not to stay and help. The first reason might be because they have already pass through this part of housekeeping and have earn their way to go home earlier. My second reason is why many of these persons decide to do housekeeping in the first place, which is the work time. Many have a family and children to go home to and housekeeping allows them a set scheduled to plan their lives around. This being said it comes down to personal decisions. There is alot of pressure coming from our managers, which is understandable at times but some feel that it a bit too much. My managers try and strive for the best. This is the Disney company, the best there is. Many do feel that too much is ask in the time we have and work load. Motivation is a bit hard with the older cast members because they are set in there ways, and this trickles down to the newer employees. If I were the manager that day I would have ask for more support from the staff that finish earlier, but like I said before its a personal choice to help someone else and a manager cant’t make someone do this if their job is done. The key to this job as a manager is building relationships with the cast and gaining there trust, respect and that is something that takes time. As a housekeeper we do get overtime but the compensation I receive was knowing that my rooms and friends rooms were done and we wouldn’t get in trouble or a guest complaint. That day we had a massive check out situation in the hotel and I feel that Jeannette did the best she could and thank us for our efforts. I stayed that day because I have built relationships with these people and I would love it if i would receive the same when I would need help. Some people forget that we are a big team part of an even bigger team and if we work together things might be better.
The challenges faced in housekeeping are numerous, analyzing what you are learning will help you be a better prepared employee now and in the future. Take a moment everyday to think about the standards that you were instructed to follow and what they impact your experience, the experience of our fellow Cast members and that of the guests. Always consider if things are being done in the most efficient way and if a standard can be improved.