Ask employees to contribute
Grier says you have to show employees that they are valued members of the organization. At Disneyland, that is done by treating every employee as an individual whose opinions and ideas are respected.
Grier gives employees the opportunity to voice ideas and concerns at “blue-sky sessions.” These meetings are designed to foster innovative thoughts without limits.
“Creativity comes from every aspect of the organization,” he says. “In those sessions, we allow for creative thinking. It’s almost anything goes; any idea is a great idea. And it may spark something we’ve never thought of before. We really embrace that thinking of ideas can come from any place, big or small.”
But beyond formal meetings, Disney’s leaders try to make an effort to be approachable at all times, which encourages employees to provide feedback from their perspective. He blocks off time on his weekly calendar to spend in the parks. By making yourself more approachable, you create an open relationship with your employees, increasing the chance that they will feel comfortable enough with you to give you their honest opinion.
“For me, it’s a very open relationship I have with them,” Grier says. “I am very honest with them. I trust them, and I want them to trust me. Constant feedback is important. I don’t want them to hesitate to tell me anything, even if it’s bad news. So that’s the environment I try to create for them. That way, I’m never surprised and they’re never surprised.”
The people in direct contact with the customers often can provide you with vital insights to make your organization better.
“Our front-line cast members, as we call them — they are out there every day,” he says. “They know the operations best. Many times our staff members have ideas on the operations because they see it every day. So they can tell us about it. Our leaders who are out there know the operation best, so we rely on what they tell us on how we can make improvements. My leaders are very honest with me about what’s working and what’s not.”
Whether it’s through a phone call, e-mail or office visit, Grier says his employees can contact him anytime.
“Certainly we all have busy schedules,” he says. “But if they need time, I make time for them. I make time for them; they’ll make time for me.”
Once Grier has listened to the feedback, he compares it to the resort’s goals and priorities. For instance, if Grier receives a suggestion on how to improve efficiency in a particular section of the organization and the resort’s metrics show that it needs to improve efficiency in that very area, then that suggestion moves to the top of the pile.
Although it is the oldest, the Disneyland Resort is still the second-largest jewel of Walt Disney Co.’s Parks and Resorts segment, which earned revenue of $11.5 billion in 2008 — an increase of 8 percent, or $878 million, from 2007. But if Grier wants to see the results of his work, he doesn’t have to look at a financial report — he can just look out his window.
“I can see Space Mountain, I can see our parade captains getting ready for the parade, warming up, I can see hotels from here, I can see the monorail going,” he says. “All the things that we put into place, all that planning, I can see it. And if I want to, I can walk out my door and actually experience the product. It’s powerful. When I say, ‘Here’s a new parade we created,’ I can see it. ‘Here’s a new attraction,’ I can see it being built. You can really see all of that hard work and planning, not just from me. From our leadership team down to the cast members, you can see it come to life every day.”
How to reach: The Disneyland Resort, (714) 781-4565 or www.disneyland.com
