News Disney updates its legendary Four Keys model to include a fifth key

[Tom Morrow]

My guess would be between Courtesy and Show.

This would mean that it's okay to not be inclusive in the name of safety, if the situation demands it.

See? This is why this doesn't belong in the Four Keys. They only added it to them because the Four Keys are widely known and they can publicize this.

 

[Chi84]

This would mean that it's okay to not be inclusive in the name of safety, if the situation demands it.

See? This is why this doesn't belong in the Four Keys. They only added it to them because the Four Keys are widely known and they can publicize this.

If it’s okay not to be courteous in the name of safety, why wouldn’t it be okay not to be inclusive in the name of safety? Seems safety trumps everything, as it should.

 

[Brer Oswald]

If it’s okay not to be courteous in the name of safety, why wouldn’t it be okay not to be inclusive in the name of safety? Seems safety trumps everything, as it should.

But that’s implying you can exclude certain people while trying to keep people safe. That doesn’t make any sense? Inclusivity should be something incorporated in all the other keys.

 

[Chi84]

But that’s implying you can exclude certain people while trying to keep people safe. That doesn’t make any sense? Inclusivity should be something incorporated in all the other keys.

It implies no such thing. That’s quite a stretch at interpreting inclusiveness. Inclusiveness is aimed at making people feel welcomed. It doesn’t mean people are being literally, physically excluded.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

But that’s implying you can exclude certain people while trying to keep people safe. That doesn’t make any sense? Inclusivity should be something incorporated in all the other keys.

Maybe they should've made Inclusivity a metaphorical key ring to represent it holding all the keys together, if they had to include it as part of the 4 keys?

 

[Brer Oswald]

It implies no such thing. That’s quite a stretch at interpreting inclusiveness. Inclusiveness is aimed at making people feel welcomed. It doesn’t mean people are being literally, physically excluded.

No. That would be courtesy...I’m pretty sure.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Maybe they should've made Inclusivity a metaphorical key ring to represent it holding all the keys together, if they had to include it as part of the 4 keys?

I hope they’re reading this because that’s a great idea!

 

[Jon81uk]

Are you completely unbiased?

No, but by knowing what to look for, such as the example of associating certain types of people with a name, one can become aware of things that may lead to bias and do something about it, or catch the bias before it happens.

 

[Jon81uk]

But that’s implying you can exclude certain people while trying to keep people safe. That doesn’t make any sense? Inclusivity should be something incorporated in all the other keys.

They already do exclude people for safety, due to height, weight or mobility restrictions.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

They already do exclude people for safety, due to height, weight or mobility restrictions.

They also exclude people who don't have $130 bucks to walk thru the gate. So...

 

[Joel]

You are implying that Disney is proactively championing large scale societal changes (LSSC). I doubt this. Their response is reactive. Nothing more.

They're reacting to a political climate where people are calling for such change. Whether Disney leadership earnestly supports this movement or is just pandering to it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

In 2020, where literally everything is political whether you like it or not, this somehow isn't even the slightest bit? Laughable.

 

[_caleb]

This would mean that it's okay to not be inclusive in the name of safety, if the situation demands it.

See? This is why this doesn't belong in the Four Keys. They only added it to them because the Four Keys are widely known and they can publicize this.

I’m not sure what posts are left in this thread since @The Mom snapped her gauntleted fingers, but we discussed this.

The 4 Keys were meant to provide CMs with prioritized categories that cover most areas of customer service. It appears that Disney doesn’t think the 4 Keys provide enough guidance for CMs to adequately emphasize “inclusion.” The addition of the new key will allow Disney to provide more specialized training for CMs (and implement new policies in support of inclusion).

The fact that Disney might promote the new Key does not automatically put it in the category of “pure substance-free marketing.”

 

[Brer Oswald]

Why do we care so much? Lol.

 

[Ldno]

For those people they offer a low-interest teaser rate Disney Visa card application.

I feel attacked

 

[SirWillow]

Former CM, as most of you know. Read through most of the discussion with interest. I'm not opposed to or offended by the new 5th key. But I am certainly confused by it.

The Keys are for CM's to use as guidelines in how they do their job, and how they treat and relate to guests. They aren't for guests. They aren't for marketing. They aren't company mission statements. They are reminders of what you should keep in mind, keep as priority, and what is important as you go through your day.

Safety is always first. Always.

Then Courtesy. In my mind the only ways I can figure out what "Inclusion" would be for a CM in the parks would all fall under Courtesy. For the life of me I can't think of an example that wouldn't- and I couldn't find any in all 12 pages of the thread either. The only things I can come up with for Inclusion are failures to properly execute Courtesy.

Keep in mind, the keys are in how CM's relate to guests, not vice versa. Guests aren't employees and you can't control how they treat others.

The only potential example I can come up with generally revolved around the annual Gay Day events, and similar subjects. Where those who don't like gays for whatever reason treat them discourteously, or those that don't like those that don't like gays treat them discourteously. And it would pop up more that I saw during Gay Days, for obvious reasons. But again, those are failures of Courtesy.

While it's good to have inclusion and sensitivity training, and some need it, I just don't see or understand how making it a Key is going to actually change anything, how it fits, or how you would do it that isn't already covered by Courtesy.

Maybe someone can help me.

Again, I'm not saying I disagree, hate it, etc. Personally I think it's something that a lot of companies need to work on. I just don't understand it as a Key along with Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency.

 

[Chi84]

Didn’t Disney create the Keys? They aren’t some sort of theme park industry standard, are they?

 

[GeoffR]

While reading this, I was wondering about people with weight/size issues and getting on attractions. If someone is too large for an attraction, how does inclusion work? It's clearly a safety thing, which comes first, but why even add inclusion in the first place? Nothing a CM could do could physically make things like that work. Any thoughts?

 

[Jon81uk]

While reading this, I was wondering about people with weight/size issues and getting on attractions. If someone is too large for an attraction, how does inclusion work? It's clearly a safety thing, which comes first, but why even add inclusion in the first place? Nothing a CM could do could physically make things like that work. Any thoughts?

As has been said, the current four keys come in order of priority, so safety always takes precedent.

In that example, I doubt further focus on inclusion is really need as most aspects should be dealt with as courtesy. We hope that CMs aren't saying, "come on fatso, don't be stupid you will never fit on that ride".

But there will be areas where more focus on inclusion is needed and where additional training is needed. Disney is known for going above and beyond (look at how they deal with special diets for example) and I would expect they have plans on how they can go further in other areas too.

 

[_caleb]

Former CM, as most of you know. Read through most of the discussion with interest. I'm not opposed to or offended by the new 5th key. But I am certainly confused by it.

The Keys are for CM's to use as guidelines in how they do their job, and how they treat and relate to guests. They aren't for guests. They aren't for marketing. They aren't company mission statements. They are reminders of what you should keep in mind, keep as priority, and what is important as you go through your day.

Safety is always first. Always.

Then Courtesy. In my mind the only ways I can figure out what "Inclusion" would be for a CM in the parks would all fall under Courtesy. For the life of me I can't think of an example that wouldn't- and I couldn't find any in all 12 pages of the thread either. The only things I can come up with for Inclusion are failures to properly execute Courtesy.

Keep in mind, the keys are in how CM's relate to guests, not vice versa. Guests aren't employees and you can't control how they treat others.

The only potential example I can come up with generally revolved around the annual Gay Day events, and similar subjects. Where those who don't like gays for whatever reason treat them discourteously, or those that don't like those that don't like gays treat them discourteously. And it would pop up more that I saw during Gay Days, for obvious reasons. But again, those are failures of Courtesy.

While it's good to have inclusion and sensitivity training, and some need it, I just don't see or understand how making it a Key is going to actually change anything, how it fits, or how you would do it that isn't already covered by Courtesy.

Maybe someone can help me.

Again, I'm not saying I disagree, hate it, etc. Personally I think it's something that a lot of companies need to work on. I just don't understand it as a Key along with Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency.

Keep in mind that the Four Keys have always been a training device for CMs. They are high-level categories that help CMs prioritize their application of park policy as they interact with guests. Someone at Disney seems to think that "Inclusion" was not being adequately addressed within the framework of the Four Keys and warranted being promoted out of the "Courtesy" category and into its own Key. We're not sure exactly why, but we've speculated that either Disney is aware of issues that need to be addressed, that this is a PR move to try to show that Disney is part of the social dialog, or (most likely) some combination of these. Certainly the global social landscape has changed since the 4 Keys were developed in the mid-1960s.

Making Inclusion a Key indicates a substantial change for Disney. From a training perspective, making "Inclusion" a standalone Key allows them to add additional training content to the prioritized categories. This would likely include: sensitivity training, cross-cultural training, empathy training, etc. There wasn't much of this in the (ever-shortening) Traditions Class. Specifically, I would expect:

I said it before, but CMs will probably be trained not to refer to a guest as “sir” or “ma’am,” and not to assume gender pronouns. Inclusion will also include further training about implicit bias and how that might result in some guests being excluded.

Also, (as @Jon81uk has mentioned) training re: implicit bias, cultural sensitivity (beyond just "don't point with one finger"), and even more about interacting with guests who have special needs might be in order.

While Disney has not yet specified where in the priority list "Inclusion" will fall, I expect it to come between ahead of "Courtesy," for all the reasons @natatomic outlined here:

A parent is furious their child is a fraction of an inch too short for an attraction - the “courteous” thing to do (in the eyes of the parents) would be to let the child on to make the parent happy since they “paid so much money” and “you let on a little girl who is shorter but was wearing 2 inch platform sandals!“ (Things guest have actually said, and the thing about the shoes is a very valid point).
To the parent, it would NOT be courteous to say, “Sorry, no, he can’t ride.”
BUT, that is why safety is first and separate from courtesy. I get what you’re saying, that being safe IS being courteous, but that’s, kind of, subjective. That parent did not feel like they were being treated courteously, even though the CM followed the rules and followed safety.

Anyway, I’m not saying I agree with the parent in this example (I’m of the “rules are rules” type who doesn’t like to argue with someone doing their job correctly), but I’m just showing how the lines can be blurred a bit when we try to figure out what is courteous in the eyes of the guest and what isn’t.

For many guests, not being referred to as "sir" or "ma'am" could be seen as discourteous. But Inclusion (if it comes ahead of Courtesy) would dictate that CMs address guests in other ways. They may also be further training in regard to things like guest uses of gendered restroom facilities, religious practices, and political expression, as these are increasingly common issues CMs might face.

Keep in mind that this move could be just one part of a broader effort.

"Inclusion" takes on an entirely different dynamic in the Asian parks, where discrimination against ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities is practiced by the government. Disney may well be setting themselves up to push back against this by elevating Inclusion to be one of the Keys.

Finally, the reason this is a bigger deal than just a change to CM training and operations is that Disney sells this training to service-oriented businesses around the world. It's held up as a model for how to train frontline workers and build successful customer service. The 5th Key could very well be intended to address an identified training need broader than just park CMs.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Keep in mind that the Four Keys have always been a training device for CMs. They are high-level categories that help CMs prioritize their application of park policy as they interact with guests. Someone at Disney seems to think that "Inclusion" was not being adequately addressed within the framework of the Four Keys and warranted being promoted out of the "Courtesy" category and into its own Key. We're not sure exactly why, but we've speculated that either Disney is aware of issues that need to be addressed, that this is a PR move to try to show that Disney is part of the social dialog, or (most likely) some combination of these. Certainly the global social landscape has changed since the 4 Keys were developed in the mid-1960s.

Making Inclusion a Key indicates a substantial change for Disney. From a training perspective, making "Inclusion" a standalone Key allows them to add additional training content to the prioritized categories. This would likely include: sensitivity training, cross-cultural training, empathy training, etc. There wasn't much of this in the (ever-shortening) Traditions Class. Specifically, I would expect:

Also, (as @Jon81uk has mentioned) training re: implicit bias, cultural sensitivity (beyond just "don't point with one finger"), and even more about interacting with guests who have special needs might be in order.

While Disney has not yet specified where in the priority list "Inclusion" will fall, I expect it to come between ahead of "Courtesy," for all the reasons @natatomic outlined here:

For many guests, not being referred to as "sir" or "ma'am" could be seen as discourteous. But Inclusion (if it comes ahead of Courtesy) would dictate that CMs address guests in other ways. They may also be further training in regard to things like guest uses of gendered restroom facilities, religious practices, and political expression, as these are increasingly common issues CMs might face.

Keep in mind that this move could be just one part of a broader effort.

"Inclusion" takes on an entirely different dynamic in the Asian parks, where discrimination against ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities is practiced by the government. Disney may well be setting themselves up to push back against this by elevating Inclusion to be one of the Keys.

Finally, the reason this is a bigger deal than just a change to CM training and operations is that Disney sells this training to service-oriented businesses around the world. It's held up as a model for how to train frontline workers and build successful customer service. The 5th Key could very well be intended to address an identified training need broader than just park CMs.

It’s mostly a PR move, but I didn’t think of the last point you made, and that definitely could be a significant factor of the decision to announce it.