Star Wars, Disney, and Recognizing Your People

This year Disney has been creating a new attraction at their parks – Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is scheduled to open next year at their Orlando and Anaheim locations. One of the long-standing traditions at Disney is to invite cast members to sign their names on the last piece of steel that will go on the top of the attraction. For the Star Wars attraction, this “topping-out ceremony” took place in July.

A blog from Disney Institute explains the importance of this:

“When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in 2019, thousands of Cast Members will look skyward and know they are part of this immersive, intergalactic world – literally.

“At Disney, we’ve learned genuine care is everyone’s responsibility, and it occurs every day. As in this case, it can sometimes be as simple as signing your name! But, what this seemingly simple act communicates is something far more impactful. By inviting our Cast to be a part of this extremely exciting new endeavor, leaders demonstrated how truly important everyone is to our continued growth and expansion.

“As we’ve learned over our many years of training business professionals, leaders sometimes get hung up on the idea of recognition – believing that to recognize their people they have to spend lots of money and time. But, that’s not the case! With a little creativity and thought, you can demonstrate in a meaningful way how important each person is to your organization.”

In something as simple as signing a piece of steel, Cast Members are now forever a part of this new attraction. What are some simple ways you can recognize your team members? I’ve found that something as simple as a handwritten note can go a long way to make an employee feel valued. As the Disney blog said, it doesn’t have to cost a lot to recognize people’s efforts and their value, but even the simplest acts can go a long way in recognizing our people, which increases their engagement.