I had the pleasure of listening to Lee Cockerell, former Operations VP for Walt Disney World Resort, speak at an event that I was speaking at last week in Toronto. At one point he joked that the real motto of Disney is: "It's the happiest place on earth...or else."  Translation: Yes, yes it's a fun, positive atmosphere for employees, but Disney also has extremely high expectations of their employees. (As I've repeatedly said, there's a relationship between high expectations and fun: it's fun to work in a high-performing organization where you know what the expectations are and you know that everyone is pulling their weight. And the higher the expectations are, the more fun you need to have. Sadly, I think many people who don't truly understand this have never worked in a high-performing organization!) 

 

The expectations at Disney are communicated even before employees begin working there. In fact, the expectations are communicated before employees even apply for a job. Potential suitors must answer 132 questions on-line and watch a 20-minute film before they even get a job application, let alone a job interview!  This not only helps Disney hire the right people with the right attitude, it also helps convey their high expectations.

 

Disney's legendary training also involves employees being tested at the end of the training before they ever interact with a real life customer. Yes, they do everything they can to help the new hires pass the test, but simply having a test sends another message about expectations. 

 

No one, after all, wants to see Mickey with his grumpy pants on.