Walt Disney World College Program

In the hospitality field, employee turnover is extremely high for many reasons, especially in food and beverage. Employee turnover can be a major challenge for the hospitality industry and therefore it’s significant for companies to reduce their turnover rate. In the article, Walsh and Taylor stated that “turnover was one of the main challenges to the hospitality industry and reported that turnover caused a significant loss in productivity due to the drain of experienced employees (Self and Dewald).”

There are many reasons people choose to self-term due to them at first having a positive mindset in the beginning and then once they encounter negative experiences with guests, their coworkers and leaders then they start to second guess everything. Before starting my Disney College Program, I already came in with a strong positive mindset and I was thrilled to work for a company that dreams really do become true and it’s one of the happiest places in the world. Within already having three months into my program I still attempt to keep a positive mindset no matter what negative experiences I have encountered. In my location, Port Orleans Riverside has been very interesting and challenging at the same time and still to this day it keeps me going with a smile on my face. Everyone I work within the mornings and at night treats me the same and I get along with everyone. They treat me with respect and I work well with everyone so far. When I first started CP’s, part-timers and full-timers that been in my location longer than I have told me, this job can be difficult and stressful at times, the people you work with make it more entertaining and worth it to be here. Although, they may encounter rude guests I’ve noticed everyone doesn’t allow that situation to affect their whole day or even their position. I was originally supposed to finish my program in January, but I decided to extend my program until July. Personally, I am over food and beverage and this experience has proved to me this will be the last time I encounter dealing with a food and beverage position. I am beyond grateful for this experience, but I rather experience a newer position with Disney instead which is merchandise. When the fall program is over I will miss the people, I gained my experience with, but I know I can’t stay in a position that my mind is already done with for a long period of time. I love to gain many new experiences with different people and learning about it.

Disney keeps the magic alive by having their cast members feel special by providing tremendous benefits for them and their families as well. Cast members can elevate and progress within the Disney company. Disney now helps cast members pay for their college tuition while working at the same time. Cast members who have stayed with the Disney company for many years appreciate everything they provide for them, even us CP’s that stay for a short period of time.

Staying positive and having high moral daily at any job can be a true struggle. I myself however have found so many ways with the Walt Disney Company in keeping it fun, and I find myself enjoying each and everyday I come to work. Being a part and employed by the Walt Disney Company is truly an amazing reward in its self. To have the ability to say to others that I work for “the Walt Disney Company” and have such a positive reaction, just shows the true high standards and reputation of the Company.

The Walt Disney Company has many repetitive roles that are performed by Cast Members. Wether it is working the same attraction each day, or preparing the same type of food each day, these roles are extremely vital to the success of the company. As Disney Management it is a major responsible to create a safe and positive work environment that allows their full time Cast Members to work their forty plus hours a week. A major way that Disney accomplishes this task is by making guests compliments a special and monotones occasion. Hearing positive feedback about job performance is a huge moral buster and encouragement tactic. Explored in the article “Why do employees stay? A Qualitative Exploration of Employee Tenure” by John T. Self and Ben Dewald, they heavily stress on the fact of giving employees incentive to stay as a huge turnover reducer for employers. Disney has many offers that continue to encourage Cast Members to strive and remain with the Company. These include monthly drawings for “4 Keys Cards” to win prizes, placing all guest compliments on a Cast Members “Record Card” for employment long documentation, and posting recognition in common areas for other Cast Members to see.

The Walt Disney Company is a very large and respected company that truly strives to make a difference all the way down to its front line employees. The dedication to that, is a clear example of The Walt Disney Company values. These values are a staple for its employees to continue employment and be a part of this prestigious company.

The article “Why do employees stay? A Qualitative Exploration of Employee Tenure” by John T. Self and Ben Dewald explore the various reasons for why employee turnover is so high in the hospitality management specifically in food and beverage. They wanted to explore and issue that is important in the industry and decided that the best way to draw conclusions would be to interview people who have managed to stay in a job for longer than a year. The different arguments for lowering the employee turnover include making job descriptions more realistic, hiring more mature people, and hiring people who have responsibilities, and or friends that work. The best way to lower employee turnover is by giving employees an incentive to stay and most of the times they come from external factors. The authors explain that if an employee has bills it pay, they are more likely to stay in the job in comparison to someone who has a job for fun. The argument that I agree with the most is that most of the times employees leave a job because they are “dissatisfaction with the job and relationships with supervisors.” For the most part, people are less likely to want to be in a place of hostility, therefore if they don’t get along with their coworkers, or they don’t feel a line of connection with their superiors, they are less likely to want to be in the job in the first place.

My initial Disney College Program was only supposed to last until January but I ended up extending my program until July. The reason why I was so keen on staying for a longer program was because of the work environment. While working at my location can tend to be difficult, because we are either closing or opening a shift which tends to be stressful, but the one thing that makes it all worth it is the people. When it comes to getting through a shift, I don’t think I would be able to if it weren’t for my coworkers. Whether it is having a casual conversation in the workroom, making plans outside of work, or making sure a station is cleaned up on time for closing, having people next to you going through the same thing is comforting. At the same time, having leaders who are understanding, are willing to help, and are easy to talk to makes everything more doable. It seems that the reason why people have stayed in Port Orleans French Quarters is because of the people. For the most part, everyone gets along pretty well, and because people work better with each other, they are more likely to get things done in an efficient manner. Personally, I prefer working at night because there are more CP’s and because we all want to get done at the same time, we constantly push to help each other out. That work dynamic is enjoyable. In my program, about half of the CP’s have extended which comes to show that something is being done well.

In terms of keeping the magic alive, I’ve noticed that disney makes a point of making cast members feel special. For part time workers, there are parties held that celebrate the amount of times cast workers have worked. They also make a point of celebrating birthdays and overall making people feel like individuals rather than just workers. Lastly, to add to the arguments made, financial responsibility is a huge reason for people staying in the company. When I speak to cast members who have been with the company for a while, they have mentioned wanting to buy a house or paying for college. This is one of the major reasons for people staying with disney. This is especially true now that the company is making a point of paying for college tuition for full time workers. Now cast members are willing to stay in the company and earn a degree at the same time. All in all, disney does a great job of keeping their cast members because they seem to care about their progression not only in the company but as individuals.

“Walsh and Taylor (2007) noted that turnover was one of the main challenges to the hospitality industry and reported that turnover caused a significant loss in productivity due to the drain of experienced employees (Self and Dewald).”

We had at least two CPs self term within a month at my location (rumor is going around that a third one is quitting) so I understand the messages this article was trying to convey. And after working here for four months, I can understand why CPs would self term.

I think reminding myself that at the end of the day this is still a job and I don’t want to give up inspires me to keep the magic alive. Before arriving to Disney World, I was under the impression that guests would be crazy and racist and rude but that hasn’t really been the case. A lot of guests at my resort are real down to earth and understanding and I’ve shared lots of laugh with some of them and that definitely helps keep the magic alive. Going to the parks as a guest and refreshing also helps keep my “magic” alive too. I think we have more CPs than full time permanent employees so I’m not sure how they feel about working here but I’m guessing most of them stay for the benefits and the relationships they have developed and even for financial reasons.

I do notice that leaders/coordinators will play music for CPs so that they can dance and relieve stress. Sometimes, culinary will leave out food for us at the end of the day. There are also housing events for CPSs and cast members get to take backstage tours of the parks. November 29th is our tour of the Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom. And of course we’ll have cast appreciation efforts.

On page 69 of the article, it mentions how unrealistic job descriptions can cause harm to the employee-employer relationship (Self and Dewald). It took us CPs a while to accept that just because our schedule reads that we end work at 1:30am, it does not mean that we will actually go home at 1:30am.

I think working in Food and Beverage in general is not the most exciting but a Disney quick service restaurant definitely has something extra to it that is contagious.