By Theresa Witham
All new employees (or Cast Members) at Walt Disney World in
Every new cast member starts his or her Disney job at this class, no matter what job they are hired to do. When Michael Eisner became CEO of the company in 1984, he was in class with everyone else starting that day: monorail drivers, housekeeping staff, waiters, etc. Because like the others, it was his first day as a Disney employee.
What a great way to start a job! Credit unions should steal this idea. Yes, on any given day Disney has more new employees than your credit union. But each credit union has a deep history and distinct mission, not unlike Disney. Maybe it’s not a whole day program. Maybe it’s only an hour as part of orientation.
But don’t just drone on about how the CU was formed in 1954 to serve employees of blah, blah, blah. You might not have a snazzy Disney-produced video, but you can use photos. Or interview early board members about their experience as members. Get a good story. People respond to stories. People connect to stories.
If your story is compelling, your new employee will share it. After work she’ll tell someone, “Guess what I learned about the credit union today …” As long as you’ve got a great story, you might as well share it with members, too. They’re people. They’ll also respond and connect to the story.
And, yes, make the new CEO go through the course, too.
Theresa Witham, a CUES editor, attended a behind-the-scenes tour at Walt Disney World as part of CUES Annual Convention last month.
