On Duty: What the CEO of Herschend Learned from Going “Undercover”

A clean-shaven executive by day, Joel Manby, president and CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE), recently donned an experimental scruffy beard and horn-rimmed glasses for an episode of CBS’ “Undercover Boss” (see his before and after photos below). The reality show places company executives in frontline positions alongside unsuspecting employees and lets the cameras roll.

Manby, whose episode airs this Sunday, March 28, at 9 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central, took on jobs at Silver Dollar City and Showboat Branson Belle in Branson, Missouri, Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, and Ride The Ducks at Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, Georgia. I had the chance to talk with Manby about his experience.

What background did you have with the job positions you portrayed on the show? Manby: I did not have any experience because I came to work from Herschend directly from the automotive business. So I took the opportunity because I hadn’t worked the frontline jobs before and wanted to see what it was like.
Certainly the jobs were hard—you’re dressed with heavy clothing and standing in the sun as a Showboat operator … and you’re getting up at 3:30 a.m. to wash the streets of Silver Dollar City. But it was the level of connection I had with the employees and their stories that surprised me the most and made it a really compelling experience.

What did you learn from the experience about your employees or facilities?
While I certainly learned of things we could tweak at all the properties, what I was most unaware of going into it were the employee’s personal stories.

One of the people I met along the way was Richard, a maintenance worker at Silver Dollar City. I was washing streets with him and found out he had experienced a catastrophic event in his life and was going through financial troubles but hadn’t told anyone.

Then at Adventure Aquarium, I worked with a fantastic young lady named Mercedes who has an amazing story. She and her son Carl were homeless and living in a temporary shelter. She looked for a job for nine months before the Adventure Aquarium hired her. Since then, she’s done a great job and has been promoted a few times. During the show, I also met Jennifer, another single mother and a server on the Showboat. Through these women, I learned the tremendous needs of single parents in our company.

Signing on for this was potentially a risky decision—going into an uncontrolled environment and not knowing what you were going to find out.
Exactly! You’re completely unable to control the outcome. The show chooses where you’re working and who you’re working with, and they edit it in any way they want. You sign off on it from the very beginning. But I had such a belief in our folks, that I was comfortable doing it.
We did not do it for PR reasons. Our brands are all regional, and while there may be a marginal affect from the publicity, I don’t think the show will grow our national audience much. As far as the quality of our employees, I knew what I would find when I went out there, so I knew I could take the risk. One of our big missions is to create a culture of “servant leadership,” and I wanted to see if that was alive and well at the front lines like we say it is.

This experience was also about reinforcing to our hosts that they work for a great family and a good company that cares about them. The Herschend family has always run this organization well, and there’s a real balance between the guest experience and how we treat our employees.

What did you learn about being attuned to the needs of employees?
As a company, I learned there are programs HFE has available to people that they weren’t taking advantage of. There were some things we should be providing them that we were not.

I also realized that I personally withdrew a bit during the recession. We were making so many difficult decisions that no one enjoys making—like pay cuts—and I care so much about our folks. I withdrew into my office too much when making those difficult decisions.

The show forced me back out to the front lines and totally re-energized me to be the cheerleader for our workers. During this recession, there’s so much pain out there; it’s all of our responsibilities to get involved.

As far as internal operations go, the show reaffirmed what we all know—that leadership needs to always over-communicate. Any leader who wants to do a good job, needs to make sure everyone understands where the company’s headed—have a clear vision you believe in and constantly communicate it to your staff so they understand where you’re trying to take the company. Show them a realistic plan to get there; hire and surround yourself with great people who can execute that plan; and then let them go and do a great job. They’ll do anything for the company as long as they know where it’s headed and that they’ll contribute to its success.

Would you recommend the same opportunity to other park leaders?
If anyone gets a chance to work the frontline jobs without the employees knowing you’re the CEO, it’s a great gift. You can certainly still learn as much about the guest experience without being incognito, but going undercover gives you some anonymity. When you’re in a higher position of leadership, you’re treated differently whether you want to be or not. In this case, I was just another person to them—I got some of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Don’t do it if you’re just looking for the publicity. But if you want the truth and to learn about your company and yourself, and you’re willing to take some risk—do it.

Watch a preview of Sunday's episode here. And check back on the IAAPA blog on Monday to hear how the show had a lasting effect on HFE and its employees.
All photos courtesy of Herschend Family Entertainment.

Health Care Reform Update: Final Language Released

The language of the final health care bill was released yesterday afternoon. This bill is actually an amendment which makes changes to the legislation the Senate passed on Christmas Eve, so to see what the entire law says, you have to go back and forth between the two bills (and existing U.S. Code). For now, the House appears to be sticking to its promise to give legislators and the public 72 hours to read the bill before the House votes on it. The vote is currently scheduled for Sunday.

Throughout the health care debate, IAAPA has primarily been concerned with how the bill will treat the part-time and seasonal workers upon which the attraction industry relies heavily. Here are the provisions that relate to those employees:

• Employers are not required to provide coverage for employees who work fewer than 30 hours per week.

• Employers of 50 or more full-time equivalents will be considered a “large employer” and will be subject to penalties for not offering qualifying coverage to full-time employees. A full-time equivalent is determined by dividing the aggregate number of hours of service of employees who are not full-time employees for the month by 120. That number is added to the number of full-time employees. If the number is greater than or equal to 50, a business is considered to be a “large employer.” For example, if your business employs 18 full-time employees and 50 part-time employees who work 20 hours a week (or 80 hours a month), you will be considered a "large employer".

• If you have fewer than 50 full-time equivalents, you are not subject to penalties for not providing coverage. If you are a very small business, you may be eligible for tax credits.

• A new provision disregards the first 30 workers employed by the employer in calculating the amount of the penalty.

• If you are a “large employer” and do not offer health care coverage AND you have at least one full-time employee who receives a premium tax credit or cost-sharing subsidy, you will be assessed a penalty of $2,000 per full-time employee. However, you may subtract 30 from the number of full-time employees and only pay the penalty for the remaining number of employees (e.g., if you have met the definition of “large employer” above and you have 32 full-time employees, you will only pay the penalty for two of them).

• If you are a “large employer,” do not offer “affordable” coverage, and you have at least one full-time employee who receives a premium tax credit to purchase coverage in an exchange, you will be assessed a penalty of $3,000 per employee who receives a credit.

• Employers have 90 days to enroll full-time workers in a health care plan before the penalties begin.

IAAPA is part of a seasonal worker coalition that has worked diligently to secure a fix for temporary and seasonal workers. We consider the 90-day delay a small victory. However, we would still like to see a clarification of full-time employment as 390 hours in a calendar quarter. We will explore the possibility of clarifying this further in the regulatory process if this bill is passed.

For the health care legislation to become law, the House will first pass (or "deem and pass") the health care bill the Senate passed in December. That bill will go to President Obama for his signature.

Then the House will pass a second bill, which will be the final language of the health care bill (referenced above). The Senate would have to vote on the second bill. If the Senate parliamentarian agrees the amendments are appropriate to be considered under the reconciliation process, the Senate will operate under special rules where only 51 votes are needed for final passage. The second bill will essentially replace the original Senate bill, which by that point will be law. The actual changes the legislation makes will not be effective for three years, during which time they will go through the regulatory process and be considered by different agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service.

If you would like to voice your opinion on this legislation to your elected officials, we encourage you to use our grassroots action center.

Space (Allocation): The Final Deadline Is Near

Tomorrow is your last chance to submit an exhibiting contract in time for IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 Space Allocation. Any company that doesn't get in under Friday's deadline will have to wait until after the allocation meeting, March 29-30, and take remaining space on a first-come, first-served basis.

For those who may not be familiar with this whole Space Allocation thing, here's how it works: Companies who submit their contracts for Expo ahead of time are ranked according to seniority; those who have been participating in our shows the longest get first dibs at booth space for this year's trade show floor in Orlando.

Booths are assigned by the IAAPA Space Allocation Committee, which is made up of companies from all different segments of the industry—everything from ticketing systems to redemption games to themed design to roller coaster manufacture. Over the course of two days, the committee places every company who submitted a contract prior to the meeting, which this year will probably be more than 500.

If you'd like to learn more about the process, you can check out my coverage of the meeting from last year in Las Vegas. This year we'll be going live again here at In the Queue, so you can follow along and keep tabs on when your booth is due to come up.

More to come as we get close to two of the fastest-paced days of the Expo calendar. For now, check out the official Space Allocation page for all the basic info you need for the meeting.

The CPSC's Focus for 2010: CPSIA and VGB

Over the past few weeks we’ve attended several meetings regarding the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and garnered some valuable information for IAAPA members.

Since 2008, the main focus of the CPSC has been implementing the Consumer Product Safety Improvements Act (CPSIA) and the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB). As IAAPA members know, both laws have had a sweeping impact on the attraction industry in the United States.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s activities will continue to present a number of challenges for IAAPA members and many other industries this year. The CPSC has published 41 Federal Register notices (essentially 41 rules) concerning the CPSIA, and will publish 12 more rules in the next few weeks, including a revision of the definition of “children’s products,” and a rule on testing for children’s products. The Commission is also looking at cadmium limits under the CPSIA.

In 2010, the agency will turn from implementation of the laws to enforcement. The proposed FY2011 budget (which will take effect in October 2010) includes requests for additional compliance officers, field investigators, technical specialists, attorneys, and a coordinator for state and local authorities. The agency has also requested an additional 16 employees for import surveillance, and $100,000 for the destruction of goods refused at ports of entry by CPSC.

One of the most significant issues that will occur in FY2011 is the creation of the public database under CPSIA. This will allow reports by consumers, health care providers, and safety officials. Manufacturers will have an opportunity to comment on items in the database. CPSC will prioritize safety issues within the database. Potential problems with this database include duplicate submissions, misidentifications, malicious reports from competitors, and other misuse.

VGB Update for Waterparks
Another piece of legislation that has had a big impact on IAAPA members is the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB). The CPSC is also wrapping up implementation on this piece of legislation and shifting priorities to education and enforcement.

On March 1, CPSC Commissioners cast a series of votes on the implementation of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. We’ve uploaded details on the votes and statements from Chairman Tenenbaum and Commissioners Moore, Adler, and Northup to our Waterpark Safety Page and encourage waterpark members to read them.

The CPSC’s FY2011 budget contains an additional $1 million for pool and spa safety education, to bring the total amount to $8.1 million since the law was enacted. The CPSC is expected to roll out its grant program to help states and municipalities enact model pool legislation and educate citizens about pool safety.

The CPSC will vote on the state grant program and the model legislation in the coming weeks. IAAPA waterpark members should watch their e-mail boxes for a notice when those votes take place.

Health Care Reform: Getting Close to a Final Bill

As Congressional leadership and the White House wrap up discussions on the final health care reform bill, details about the treatment of part-time and seasonal workers are starting to surface.

The White House fully supports a 90-day delay in auto-enrollment, meaning employers have about three months to sign their employees up for their health insurance plan. For now, that provision has made it into the final bill.

As far as part-time workers are concerned, Inside Health Policy (subscription required) is reporting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has secured a concession to include part-time workers in the soon-to-be-released health reform bill. The extent to which part-time workers are included is still unclear: there is a rumor that employers would be required to provide health insurance benefits, but we’ve also heard that part-time workers will be added together to count towards the 50 full-time employee threshold that defines small employers. For example, two part-time employees who work 20 hours a week would count as one full-time employee.

Since part-time workers are also critical to the attractions industry, we are now working to exempt part-time workers from any insurance mandate. Friday, IAAPA partnered with 18 like-minded industries to send a letter to Speaker Pelosi, reiterating our concern with including part-time workers under the employer mandate.

It is widely assumed that when the President called for an “up or down vote” in his speech on Wednesday, he was telling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring the health care bill to the floor under budget reconciliation rules. To do this, Speaker Pelosi will bring the Senate bill to the House, amend it with the White House package of amendments and pass the amended bill with a simple majority. Then the Senate would take up the amended bill under reconciliation, where filibusters and amendments are not allowed and the bill only needs a 51-vote majority to pass. Since both chambers passed identical bills, there would be no need for a conference committee and the bill could go straight to the president.

President Obama has said he would like to pass a health care bill before Congress goes to Easter Recess on April 6. IAAPA members should watch their e-mail boxes for Action Alerts as the situation unfolds.

Another Way to Connect: Mentoring Program

One of the key benefits to IAAPA membership is the opportunity to connect with peers, colleagues, and friends through a variety of ways such as trade shows and networking events. Over the past year, the association added a dimension to that for the small parks and attractions (e.g., standalone attractions) community: the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program. This member benefit is a formal way of opening the door for peers to share ideas, contacts, and advice.
John Norris (Seabreeze Park, Rochester, New York), a member of the IAAPA Small Parks and Attractions Committee, shares a few thoughts on this important opportunity.
For those who might not be familiar with it, please explain the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program.
It’s an opportunity for a small park or attraction member to have an ongoing dialogue with a mentor in the small parks and attractions community. Mentors can share their experiences, contacts, and knowledge about the industry, and they can act as a sounding board to bounce ideas off. Mentors can help point mentees in the right direction when they are looking for help from consultants, suppliers, and other industry services. Mentors and mentees enter into a written agreement that they’re going to work together, and the relationship lasts as long as both parties agree.

How did the program come about?
It’s a pilot project. During our Small Parks and Attractions Committee meeting last winter, one of the goals we had for the coming year was to continue to have open lines of communication with our constituency. My thought was that I really wanted to make sure members know if they ever have any questions or comments—about public relations, a supplier, a marketing idea, safety issue, anything at all—they can always feel free to e-mail or call any one of the committee members. And if we don’t have the answer, we’ll help point them in the right direction. So we discussed that concept, and it developed even further into this mentor program. And it really ties in well with IAAPA’s goal of “The Power of Partnership” program.

Why is this new program so important for small or independent parks and attractions in particular?
As a committee, we’re trying to fill the needs of the constituency. There may be some park owners out there or attractions that are looking to expand their business. They might already have a facility and they’re looking to get into a new angle, like an attraction that is looking to add rides or water—those types of things. Or they are fairly new to the business and are looking for some guidance going forward.

What level of park employee is this program best suited for and why?
There’s a group called Young Professionals in the association, and they might want to look at the mentoring program. Also, owners of parks and senior-level managers might be expanding their facilities or looking for more input.

What can participants expect to take away from the experience?
I think they’ll gain both personal growth and growth for their facilities, and over time they’re going to develop stronger relationships with people in the industry—get to know more people, more contacts. That’s really what the association is all about: bringing people together who are in a like profession and can share ideas and goals as a whole industry. For mentors, over the years they’ve received a lot of support and generated a great number of contacts and information from people in our association as they grew in the industry. Now it’s a chance for them to turn around and provide that for younger people growing up in the business. The mentees today will be mentors down the road, helping the next person along. We are not only looking for mentees—we’re looking for volunteer mentors as well. 

For more information and to sign up for the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program, click here , or contact Heidi Aulakh at +1 703/836-4800 or haulakh@IAAPA.org.

To view this article on the FUNWORLD digital edition, click here.

Photo courtesy John Norris

Gearing up for the 3rd Annual Middle East Safety Institute

I recently conducted an e-mail interview with Richard A. Carroll (otherwise known as "RAC") regarding his participation as a speaker at the upcoming 3rd Annual Middle East Safety Institute in Abu Dhabi. Excerpts from our e-mail are below:

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at Jeff Ellis and Associates (E&A).
My role as SR.VP/COO encompasses oversight and direction of all E&A services. As a senior consultant for the firm I lead a team of six client managers to deliver quality programs and client services to more than 450 facilities participating in the one-of-a-kind Comprehensive Aquatic Risk Management Program worldwide. E&A also provides aquatic safety consulting, accident investigation, litigation support, and site plan reviews within the consulting framework.

What can attendees expect to learn from your session on waterpark safety?
Attendees can expect information on foundational waterpark safety and best practices for lifeguards, lifeguards operations, and facility management of lifeguards.

This is IAAPA’s third safety conference in the Middle East. Why do you feel this program is important for the industry in that part of the world?
The emerging growth and establishment of the Middle East as an amusement and tourism hub underlines the importance of foundational safety and operational best practices. In order for the region to grow as an amusement destination, safety and effective operations must be a hallmark of all facilities.

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To learn more about the Middle East Safety Institute, visit our web site. Here are the basics: March 15, 2010, at the Radisson Blu Yas Island Hotel Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Institute will cover best safety practices and allow attendees to share their own experiences through a combination of roundtable discussions, lectures, and networking opportunities. The cost is US$99 and includes lunch and an exclusive tour of Ferrari World. To register, complete this form and return to Angela Kernan (Fax: +1 703/738-7409) or register online.