Universal fires another shot over Disney's bow

[Peter Pirate 2]

Universal continued their aggressive posture today when they announced plans to hire more than 1,000 seasonal workers at a 50 cent increase in pay to 7.75 per hour up to 10.75 for more specialized workers.

Disney and Sea World announce seasonal hiring as well but offered nothing on pay.

Personal note: Looks to me like they're trying to pull the cream of the crop right off the bat by being aggressive.

 

[tjkraz]

How do the benefits compare?

 

[Cricket2]

Personal note: Looks to me like they're trying to pull the cream of the crop right off the bat by being aggressive.

If .50 steals an employee that easily, they aren't exactly the cream of the crop to begin with.

 

[coloneldebugger]

If .50 steals an employee that easily, they aren't exactly the cream of the crop to begin with.

it is 6% for what it's worth. but it is on seasonal employees. so it's not likely for any real high profile type jobs.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

it is 6% for what it's worth. but it is on seasonal employees. so it's not likely for any real high profile type jobs.

Thanks. That's the point, this is the seasonal hiring but WDW has always been slow to up the ante.

 

[Cricket2]

It's almost 7% and my point still stands.

People (hopefully good employees) choose to work at Disney. Ask 100 of them their # 1 reason for working @ WDW over ______ and I'm betting the fact that "It's Disney" is chosen more often than the $ in many cases. They won't lose those employees all too easily over 6.9%.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

It's almost 7% and my point still stands.

People (hopefully good employees) choose to work at Disney. Ask 100 of them their # 1 reason for working @ WDW over ______ and I'm betting the fact that "It's Disney" is chosen more often than the $ in many cases. They won't lose those employees all too easily over 6.9%.

I think the CM's have been hearing a lot about TM's bonuses and raises as of late, don't you? Further, the cache of working for the mouse is way down from where it once was, IMO.

 

[Cricket2]

...Further, the cache of working for the mouse is way down from where it once was, IMO.

I sadly can't argue with that. I wish I could. Even the long haul employees are getting burned out so much they aren't themselves anymore.

What is a TM?

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I sadly can't argue with that. I wish I could. Even the long haul employees are getting burned out so much they aren't themselves anymore.

What is a TM?

TM = Team Member, the Universal employee.

 

[Cricket2]

TM = Team Member, the Universal employee.

Ahhh, they work as a team over there. I get it.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Ahhh, they work as a team over there. I get it.

LOL, as opposed to being part of the 'cast', I guess.

 

[4tinkerbe]

Well if fifty cents is all it takes to steal employees, the they can't be all that loyal in the first place

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Well if fifty cents is all it takes to steal employees, the they can't be all that loyal in the first place

Steal? These are new seasonal hires.

 

[zulemara]

many many people work at Disney because "It's a job" why there over universal? It could have been at the time Universal wasn't really hiring or whatever.

Sadly, I think if you truly polled WDW CMs, you would find most(read: 51% or greater) do not give a darn about the Disney legacy. That is what is wrong with the company, but that's a whole topic in and of itself.

 

[TisBit]

In order to really figure out if this is relevant you have to actually compare the wages to begin with. If Disney already paid a similar employee .75 to a dollar more than Universal, Universals .50 raise is still behind Disney, but just closer in the hopes of being competitive.

If they were the same wage to begin with, than yes, Universal might have an edge in salary, but wage alone does not guarantee a good employee. If you hire someone for $6 and hour and the next year you hire the same seasonal employee back at $7 an hour, you still have the same employee and the same work habits. Wages do not ever define performance. You can double a bad employees salary and they will still be a bad employee and you can cut a good employees salary and they will continue to work to their personal standard (although you might lose them to another company if the salary is not competitive, but that company has to recognize they are a good employee).

Good Human Resources department that can weed out bad candidates is far more important than a salary...the salary can get more candidates, but a bad HR cannot figure which ones to hire.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

In order to really figure out if this is relevant you have to actually compare the wages to begin with. If Disney already paid a similar employee .75 to a dollar more than Universal, Universals .50 raise is still behind Disney, but just closer in the hopes of being competitive.

If they were the same wage to begin with, than yes, Universal might have an edge in salary, but wage alone does not guarantee a good employee. If you hire someone for $6 and hour and the next year you hire the same seasonal employee back at $7 an hour, you still have the same employee and the same work habits. Wages do not ever define performance. You can double a bad employees salary and they will still be a bad employee and you can cut a good employees salary and they will continue to work to their personal standard (although you might lose them to another company if the salary is not competitive, but that company has to recognize they are a good employee).

Good Human Resources department that can weed out bad candidates is far more important than a salary...the salary can get more candidates, but a bad HR cannot figure which ones to hire.

Agreed. As far as I know, and someone will ultimately confirm, the parks always pay the seasonal employees the same. In this case I suspect WDW and SW will follow suit. My POINT is it was Universal who acted first.

As for HR. Again agreed. But I'm sure, in this case, Universal's HR are just as professional as WDW's.

 

[XGrumpy1]

$7.75 an hour? Are you kidding? I hope they are still living with mom and dad at those wages,.

 

[nytimez]

$7.75 an hour? Are you kidding? I hope they are still living with mom and dad at those wages,.

That's just it. Even in a lousy economy, there's only a limited number of people who can work for those wages... especially for a short-term position with no benefits.

Universal needs more warm bodies this summer than it did in the past... so they're hoping the extra 50 cents will help push more of that limited pool towards them this summer than Disney.

It's not about being especially generous... cuz it ain't. Let's face it, none of the parks are known for that -- and not just at these lower levels.

 

[Killer Fish]

.50 is nothing...and will not matter

I agree with the person that talked about HR being the key.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

The real key point and why I posted this is that it is Universal grabbing the headline in Orlando. From the beginning it has always been WDW leading the way with the wanna be's following suit as they've really had no say so. It just appears to me that Universal is the one feeling confident right now and setting the standard (as NYTimez says, based on their own need).

Many of you seem to want to defend Disney on any level. I agree this isn't earth shaking, huge or even indicative of things to come but don't you think it's at least an interesting and relevant development?