Disney executives have come up with the answer to rock bottom Cast Member morale

[Lilofan]

The only reason I'm still there is that I'm almost 14 years in and finding something paying as much or more than what I'm making at the start is almost impossible.

You just described a typical tourism worker ( as an example ) with many years of service that does not like what is going on.

 

[skypilot2922]

Thats not a solution.

the point is predicated behavior - not horse trading between companies.

if you were known to be a hardass against exec pay and bod comp why would those in power bring you in?

boards are stacked with people they can easily convince to play along… or do so to build that iou roladex for later

True, but the interlocked boards are a big part of the problem because of the you scratch my back and ill scratch yours it’s especially prevalent when board members are members of multiple compensation committees.

Seems like you didn't file a complaint on your issue and just formed an opinion.

Not at all a college friend who went into HR and is now head of a large corporate HR department said our function is to protect the company from liability and by extension the management. our co-primary function is to provide a pool of labor to meet the companies current and future labor needs.

Individual non-mangement, non protected class employees are on their own as they are seen as interchangeable and disposable.

HR is an instrument of policy enforcement they do not make policy.

short version keep your complaining to yourself and find a different job if current assignment untenable.

 

[skypilot2922]

Ok why then are people taking $10 an hour jobs when they know first hand it don't pay the bills? If you look online there are no experience warehouse jobs starting between $17-20 dollars an hour in the Orlando area so if you want a job at Disney or for some odd reason a front desk hotel job for $10 an hour then the blame falls directly on the person applying.

Enough with the excuses or feeling of entitlement. If people want to work for Disney you get paid what they pay you, just because Iger or whomever makes more in a year then the entire staff of Disney World does not mean those workers are entitled to more pay because of it, the CEO of Disney like it or not has a harder job than the person pointing two fingers towards the restroom when asked.

People need to take stock in themselves to pursue a better life and to make things happen. Disney World was built by a guy with a dream and that is lost on the hapless masses punching a clock complaining about how little they make or that they have to listen to a belief statement.

there is a huge disconnect between the level of skill required for most customer facing WDW jobs (and the concomitant compensation) vs what senior management thinks the skills required are. The typical US ‘a good manager can manage anything’ hubris, the part forgotten is ‘that they understand’ the Europeans and Asian companies know this, And its why they did not do stupid stuff like the most American major airlines did in firing most of their pilots they figured they could hire them back later at a lower wage. - not understanding that when they were not flying planes or simulators they would lose currency and type ratings effectively busting them back legally to private pilot with instrument/complex/multi engine rating so they had to go BACK to flight school to requalify. Management a pilot is a pilot forever we’ll just hire back later but since management in most us airlines do not hold even a private pilot license they don’t understand the strict use it or lose it policy the FAA manages pilot privileges with.

 

[Disorbust]

IMHO Disney has a problem that there is no clear career ladder wether you are in corporate or in the parks. I have one daughter now at a big 4 firm and yes she works like a dog but she knows if she performs she will be senior in 2 years and manager in 4-5 years. The other daughter at Disney has co-workers who are in the same role as she is and have been in that role for 20 years or longer, she is the youngest on her team and also works like a dog but doesn't see much of a career ladder. She loves her job, which I told her, is rare but if you don't "love" you job and your talented I doubt your going to stick around for long when there are many other companies to go to. So they lose talent.

In the parks they had pre-covid their management professional internships that last a year. Instead of creating more leadership roles, they hire PIs, that have no applicable degree or experience to manage CMs that have experience. I don't know if it is a way to work around the union or what but people stay because they LOVE Disney, however IMHO covid and furoughs have changed that love.

I also have to give Disney props for ASPIRE. It does give you an opportunity to gain the degree/skills for advancement. But it is very difficult to work full time and finish a degree. My daughters friend in guest relations did ASPIRE and left the company for a better job so Aspire helped her but I don't think Disney benefited from it.

 

[eliza61nyc]

True, but the interlocked boards are a big part of the problem because of the you scratch my back and ill scratch yours it’s especially prevalent when board members are members of multiple compensation committees.



Not at all a college friend who went into HR and is now head of a large corporate HR department said our function is to protect the company from liability and by extension the management. our co-primary function is to provide a pool of labor to meet the companies current and future labor needs.

Individual non-mangement, non protected class employees are on their own as they are seen as interchangeable and disposable.

HR is an instrument of policy enforcement they do not make policy.

short version keep your complaining to yourself and find a different job if current assignment untenable.

but HR does have some responsibility to the employee. legally (or at least in Delaware and Pa) they have to take all complaints of abuse seriously and independently, a lot of companies are setting up independent hotlines. If an employee walks in and complains of sexual harassments sorry policy or no they are absolutely required to do something about it .

No way no how could my company even remotely think that short answer. In today's environment with everyone screaming an "ism", BLM and Me too? not to mention that every 10 seconds there is a commercial on TV advertising for a lawyer who is all to willing to take on a case.

Ask Walmart how that ended for them?

 

[Lilofan]

IMHO Disney has a problem that there is no clear career ladder wether you are in corporate or in the parks. I have one daughter now at a big 4 firm and yes she works like a dog but she knows if she performs she will be senior in 2 years and manager in 4-5 years. The other daughter at Disney has co-workers who are in the same role as she is and have been in that role for 20 years or longer, she is the youngest on her team and also works like a dog but doesn't see much of a career ladder. She loves her job, which I told her, is rare but if you don't "love" you job and your talented I doubt your going to stick around for long when there are many other companies to go to. So they lose talent.

In the parks they had pre-covid their management professional internships that last a year. Instead of creating more leadership roles, they hire PIs, that have no applicable degree or experience to manage CMs that have experience. I don't know if it is a way to work around the union or what but people stay because they LOVE Disney, however IMHO covid and furoughs have changed that love.

I also have to give Disney props for ASPIRE. It does give you an opportunity to gain the degree/skills for advancement. But it is very difficult to work full time and finish a degree. My daughters friend in guest relations did ASPIRE and left the company for a better job so Aspire helped her but I don't think Disney benefited from it.

Have you heard of George Kalogridis? He started as a busboy in the Contemporary in the early 1970s and rose all the way to be WDW President.

 

[skypilot2922]

Have you heard of George Kalogridis? He started as a busboy in the Contemporary in the early 1970s and rose all the way to be WDW President.

that was a different pre-Iger Disney

 

[skypilot2922]

but HR does have some responsibility to the employee. legally (or at least in Delaware and Pa) they have to take all complaints of abuse seriously and independently, a lot of companies are setting up independent hotlines. If an employee walks in and complains of sexual harassments sorry policy or no they are absolutely required to do something about it .

No way no how could my company even remotely think that short answer. In today's environment with everyone screaming an "ism", BLM and Me too? not to mention that every 10 seconds there is a commercial on TV advertising for a lawyer who is all to willing to take on a case.

Ask Walmart how that ended for them?

WalMart’s HR dept acted exactly as my friend described and well the results speak for themselves. The whole ‘me too’ movement came out of the same behavior from major entertainment companies.

Heck i left my job at a major university when we got a new senior manager who was in short a pig from Wall St. Comments like did you see the “” on somebody. I complained to HR their comment was you might be happier elsewhere. My manager and I subsequently left for a startup.

So what’s legally required doesnt always happen in the real world

 

[Lilofan]

that was a different pre-Iger Disney

The four all female VPs of each respective theme park at WDW just didn't get the job overnight. Each rose up in the food chain. Your argument there is no clear ladder to rise up is not accurate.

 

[larryz]

Not at all a college friend who went into HR and is now head of a large corporate HR department said our function is to protect the company from liability and by extension the management. our co-primary function is to provide a pool of labor to meet the companies current and future labor needs.

Individual non-mangement, non protected class employees are on their own as they are seen as interchangeable and disposable.

HR is an instrument of policy enforcement they do not make policy.

short version keep your complaining to yourself and find a different job if current assignment untenable.

But here's a piece of advice -- when your company outsources their HR division, it's time to look for another job.

 

[skypilot2922]

But here's a piece of advice -- when your company outsources their HR division, it's time to look for another job.

a great bit of advice

 

[Lilofan]

But here's a piece of advice -- when your company outsources their HR division, it's time to look for another job.

While looking, take advantage of your current employers health insurance ( ie medical and dental procedures ).

 

[draybook]

HR is there to protect managment, they are NOT your friends at most companies. At a large company recruiting is probably the ‘best friend’ to have as they know where the jobs are.

Exactly. I reached out to our ACC department with documentation and they shrugged it off and said they would be changing the "language" of the policies I was in contact about. They weren't taking me seriously until I initiated the EEOC charge that I actively have. Their response to my charge was riddled with so many holes, I almost felt bad responding to it with documentation and proof. HR is never there for the actual workers, not from my experiences.

 

[skypilot2922]

The four all female VPs of each respective theme park at WDW just didn't get the job overnight. Each rose up in the food chain. Your argument there is no clear ladder to rise up is not accurate.

once again - none have been appointed recently a different Disney.

Women tend to care more for the overall health of the organization than the quarterly financials which for many executives take the place of locker room comparisons.

Toxic masculinity is indeed a thing and its most often manifested on ‘Mahogany Row’ and its led to all the recent financial crises. And goes with a ‘smartest guys in the room’ mentality.

That said many of my friends and colleagues have multiple advanced degrees and they dont think of themselves as ‘the smartest guys in the’ room. Though objectively they probably are….

 

[Lilofan]

once again - none have been appointed recently a different Disney.

Women tend to care more for the overall health of the organization than the quarterly financials which for many executives take the place of locker room comparisons.

Toxic masculinity is indeed a thing and its most often manifested on ‘Mahogany Row’ and its led to all the recent financial crises. And goes with a ‘smartest guys in the room’ mentality.

That said many of my friends and colleagues have multiple advanced degrees and they dont think of themselves as ‘the smartest guys in the’ room. Though objectively they probably are….

I worked with what some thought were the smartest guys in the room with mixed reviews. I recently saw the true life story movie of the late SCOTUS Ruth Bader Ginsberg. It was interesting what people thought of women and minorities in the 1960s but that was a different time and surely a different mindset.

 

[skypilot2922]

I worked with what some thought were the smartest guys in the room with mixed reviews. I recently saw the true life story movie of the late SCOTUS Ruth Bader Ginsberg. It was interesting what people thought of women and minorities in the 1960s but that was a different time and surely a different mindset.

Now Ruth Bader Ginsberg truly deserved the title of ‘smartest in the room’ as did RADM Grace Hopper and the women of color who did the computational work for the first moonshots

 

[matt9112]

Your a lot more credible if you're usage is at least as correct as you're opinion.

Sounds like society is just awfully judgey but who am i.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I worked at Disney for a few years in the 2010s. Never in my life, even til this day have I ever worked under the most incompetent management than at Disney. Hiring management straight out of college with no experience over long time experienced cast members without degrees does not work in that business. I witnessed a 20 year tenured cm get screamed and belittled over something really stupid by a 23 year old. That’s widespread in the company and long story short

I only worked briefly for one of their restaurant properties in the lat 90s. It was terrible. We were treated like it was the military, low pay and we had to pay for our uniforms and we're expected to have them dry cleaned.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Genuinely curious, is it all CMs who have low morale? Just front line CMs? Is it low pay? Long hours? Basically, who is mad and why? What are some legitimate responses WDW could do to fix the issue? Keep in mind, in an operation with 75,000 plus employees pre pandemic, it is entirely possible that no one really knows the mood of the whole workforce. It could be too diverse to generalize.

 

[Lilofan]

Genuinely curious, is it all CMs who have low morale? Just front line CMs? Is it low pay? Long hours? Basically, who is mad and why? What are some legitimate responses WDW could do to fix the issue? Keep in mind, in an operation with 75,000 plus employees pre pandemic, it is entirely possible that no one really knows the mood of the whole workforce. It could be too diverse to generalize.

Doesn't a huge company like Disney have employee surveys to see the feedback and move on from there?