Most organizations spend time on value statements, ending up with words such as trust, integrity, honesty, fairness, and so on. The problem is, while these are simple, they are not clear. People don’t automatically associate these words with their daily actions, nor will these words help when they need to make a quick decision. In other words, it doesn’t focus them toward correct action. And remember, we must achieve simplicity, clarity, and focus to be effective.
Disney has the right idea. In training progams at the Disney Institute, a consistent theme is that successful organizational cultures are pre-defined, goal-oriented, and clear to all. People do not have to stop and think about the culture. It’s ingrained.
To help with this, Disney uses something they call prioritized service quality standards in all their theme parks.
In some organizations, this could end up being an exhaustive list of hundreds of items that one must think about and digest. But not at Disney. Disney knows that nobody would remember any of that in the heat of the action. Instead, Disney has four service standards, in priority order:
- Safety
- Courtesy
- Show (e.g., guest experience, themes, costumes)
- Efficiency
Efficiency, while still important, comes after the others. Above all comes Safety. Nothing trumps safety. Then it’s important to be courteous, but again, never at the expense of safety. After that, comes Show. It’s vital to uphold the Disney image and maintain character integrity, but not at the expense of courtesy or safety. Indeed, it’s OK to break some rules if it’s necessary to address a guest’s issue or a safety concern. Finally, we have efficiency. It’s important to be efficient, but Walt Disney never wanted to sacrifice safety, courtesy, or even show, for the sake of efficiency.
In their training programs, Disney reinforces these principles with stories and examples. For instance, one training facilitator told of a story where a Disney cast member was helping someone with directions (courtesy), but noticed a child playing on the edge of a stage, so they immediately ran over to caution them (safety). Afterward, the cast member, went into a shop and grabbed a free gift for the child, and the person they were helping (courtesy and show).
With these simple standards, at any service decision point it is clear to each cast member what criteria should be used for making the right decision. As Roy Disney said, “When values are clear, decisions are easy.”
