Disney’s Cross-U

One of the traditions at the Disney parks is that of utilizing office and “heart of the house” Cast Members out in the parks during peak holiday seasons. It’s called Cross-U (for Utilization), and it offers many advantages:

1. It supports the “heavy lifting” front line Cast Members must carry when there are throngs of Guests out in the parks.

2. It gives those who don’t work with the Guests an opportunity to better appreciate what front line Cast Members have to do.

3. It saves the company money on the bottom line by not having to employ so many seasonal workers.

4. Most importantly, it helps support the Guest experience by having more Cast Members available to help answer questions and direct the experience of the Guests.

Some office Cast Members resent having to do Cross-U, arguing that they have “other deadlines” that they have to attend to. Some see it as “beneath them”. For me, it was fantastic. Some of my greatest memories were working counter service areas or helping out with the parade. In fact, look here at an old MousePlanet article  for a great experience I had working the Liberty Square Bridge.

The message is worthy of any organization. How can you cross utilize your folks? Do some have an attitude that “it’s not my job”? How do you ultimately get people focused on doing what really matters, and not doing just what their job description provides?

And are you a Disney Cast Member working Cross-U this Spring? Tell us what your experience was.