Disney English Onboarding: Cast Member Arrival at Centers

By Glen Loveland, Assistant HR Manager, Foreign Employee Relations, Disney English

At Disney English, new hires spend the first three weeks “owned” by HR and tend to feel engaged. Then when they ultimately are transferred to their permanent work sites, they sometimes feel disconnected as they are leaving other new hires from their onboarding group. The HR team wrote the following guide for managers reminding them that when these employees come to their centers, they can’t take anything for granted:

What new Cast Members experience in their first days on the job will determine whether their tenure is long or short lived. Seeing new hires not hit the ground running, grow disengaged, and quickly leave can be debilitating to your Center. Keeping in mind that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, your Center should make sure that new Trainers—including transfers—feel welcomed, valued, and prepared for what lies ahead during their first few weeks in-center. Many Trainers have expressed that they leave Academic Training feeling enthusiastic about their new role, but feel somewhat disoriented upon arrival at their permanent Centers.

As a line of business leader, you are defined by your team’s performance. Their accomplishments, adaptability, flexibility, innovation, teamwork, and overall quality are a reflection of you and your leadership. The quality of your team is judged primarily by the experience, expertise, competencies, and personality of each member—followed closely by group cohesion and efficacy.

The following ideas will help you get your newest team members on track, up to speed, and “on board” so they can start contributing to your Center’s success as soon as possible.

• If your Center is difficult to find, offer to meet new trainers at a subway exit or other location to help guide them.
•  Inform FDAs that a new Trainer is expected to arrive at the Center. Ideally from the moment a new employee enters the door, every relevant individual should be fully prepared to enthusiastically greet him or her and represent the brand—just as they would do with any valued client. The FDA will deliver the first impression of your Center, and it’s important that the new Trainer is expected and warmly greeted.
• Learn the correct pronunciation of each new employee’s name.
• ·Study new hires’ resumé in detail before they arrive at the Center. One of the unsung benefits of new hires is the diversity they bring—diversity in perspective, job history, skills, competencies, and expertise. Tapping this new talent data leads to better decisions, but it also validates and affirms new hire value to the company, increasing their engagement and connection to the company. Reiterate the new employee’s qualities or skills that most impressed those who made the hiring decision.
• Capitalize on the excitement of a new job! We are eager when we start new work. We are motivated to learn, to experience, to contribute, and to find out what challenges lay ahead. Employees are most “open” to new ways of doing things at this stage.
• Create an area in the Nest to help familiarize new hires with the Center family tree. Names, hometowns, positions, and the Disney character they are most similar to will help create a smooth transition.
• Consider assigning welcome “buddies” to each new hire, so they can immediately get a feel for the personality of your Center. LLD’s are busy; and so a buddy system is a means to supplement the availability of managers by pairing a new Cast member with a co-worker who can help him or her learn the ropes. The buddy also should be from the Academic department and be able to answer questions, explain policies, and offer encouragement for the first month of a new hire's employment. Buddies can gather fresh, innovative insight from new hires (sometimes referred to as “reverse mentorship”).
• Try to introduce new Trainers to members of their team and other Center members. Also, send an e-mail that announces new arrivals and describes some of their past experience so veteran employees are aware of their skills and background.
• Arriving to a classroom with a fully functional computer, IWB, projection wall, Audacity equipment, TG’s, and other supplies is meaningful for new arrivals. Explain the procedure for reporting technical problems in the classroom.
• Confer with the CM about having new arrivals prepare a PowerPoint presentation about them for the next Center meeting. This process can give important details about Trainers to other members of the team—for example, CC’s often are asked questions by parents about a Trainer’s education and work history. This process also can ease Trainers into the parent orientation presentations they will be required to do in the future.
• Build some fun into the first few days. A welcome meal with team members is a fun way to greet new employees. Be sure to ask new hires about diet preferences and food allergies—for instance, if they are vegetarians—before selecting a venue. Additionally, encourage other key Cast Members to reach out to new hires beyond the first week.
• New Cast Members should be comfortable navigating the Center. Make sure they are familiar with important locations in the building, including bathrooms, and additional entrances and exits. It is also a good idea to show the nearest place to buy phone recharge cards and other necessities.
• Long-term China expats may overlook how challenging living in a foreign country may be. Language and cultural barriers can be overwhelming. It’s important to provide advice about how new arrivals to China can have a smoother transition (e.g., showing which nearby restaurants offer English service). Anticipate their anxieties, as well as their questions.
• Meaningful onboarding happens through the building of connections in the employee’s new organizational network. When new hires are able to review the talent profiles of their co-workers, they make connections with those who have shared skills, roles, interests, or hobbies. Better connections increase stickiness to the organization and reduce turnover rates. Studies have shown that organizational networks that form around non-work related topics provide a crucial backchannel for information sharing and collaboration.
• Review new employees’ job descriptions and explain any additional responsibilities so they understand your expectations. Describe the professional hierarchy within the new employee’s team—for example, who they report to and who reports to them. Discuss procedures such as work hours, lunches, breaks, dress code, Lion Clock, etc. Finally, go over day-to-day operations to help new hires prepare for the first few weeks.
• Don’t expect that new team members are necessarily integrating into the Center just because they are social. For example, many new Trainers have expressed surprise that when eating meals in the Nest the Chinese staff usually chats in Chinese. This can make some Trainers feel alienated. It’s important to explain that English levels within Centers can vary and it not an intentional effort to exclude them.
•  Be sensitive when it comes to inviting new Trainers to events outside the Center. Trainers may not have received their initial bonus and may not have the funds to participate. Additionally, local hires already in China may have commitments in their personal lives and may not need as much support.
• Consider creating a “Welcome” sign in the Trainer’s new classroom that all Center members could sign and personalize. Additionally, asking key Center members to send an initial e-mail welcoming the trainer, explaining what they do in the center, and offering to be a resource in the future would be a nice touch.
• Review building access. Some Trainers will be required to enter their Centers before the shopping Center is open. It’s important that Trainers know how to enter the premises and if they should wear their “Disney English” badge to show to building security.
• If appropriate, consider sending a “Great first week!” e-mail. Summarize what the Trainer has accomplished that week and remind him or her you are here as a resource.
• To gain new hires’ buy-in and commitment, you need to clearly articulate the role they play in the organization and how their goals align with yours and the overall organization’s objectives. They also need to understand the related formal and informal learning opportunities that will help them achieve their goals. Smart managers also will begin employee development during the onboarding process because even the best hires should be continually focused on self-improvement and career planning.
• Develop a relationship with your new Cast members. Show you care. Start by holding conversations with them. Help them build relationships, and they’re more likely to stay. In your early, ongoing conversations, you might ask questions such as:

“What kind of support or direction do you need from me that you aren’t getting?”

“How are you getting along with your fellow Cast Members? What introductions would you like me to make? Are you finding people to go to lunch with? Are you finding people to go to when you need help?”

“How does the job measure up to what we promised so far?”

“How does the work pace and schedule work for you?”

“How is Disney English the same or different from your last employer?”

“How can I help you get more of what you want from our company? We want you to be happy here!”

• Meet with your new hires often: once a week for the first month, once every two weeks for the first quarter, then at least once a month for the rest of the first year. Build your relationship consistently.
• Have an “expectations exchange” with your new (and existing) Cast Members. Clearly define what you expect from them and what they are expecting from you. Help them understand how their work connects to the overall strategies.
• Spend time teaching them about Disney English and your specific Center. Tell stories, share your experiences and knowledge about the culture and history.
• Mentor and find mentors for them as they work to close the inevitable skill gaps.
• Observe them: What do they enjoy the most? What’s easiest or hardest for them to learn?
• Develop a learning plan to ensure they are challenged.
• Ask great questions…on a continual basis!

Glen Loveland is assistant HR manager, Foreign Employee Relations at Disney English, The Walt Disney Company Ltd., in Beijing, China. For more information, visit www.disneyenglish.com.