Franchise Management Review

The overall placement was truly incomparable. Through hearing multiple friends disappointment with their internship roles and how other businesses manage their placements, I feel very lucky to have been given the chance to work for such a unique and welcoming company that is Disney. If you enjoy responsibility and the feeling of possessing a true purpose in your work, then Disney is the epitome of a placement.

From the very first week you feel part of the team, not once did I feel looked down upon for being an intern, and was very much valued as an asset and an equal within the team.

Guidance from management was definitely given when needed. They would always put in time to support you where necessary, and if there are ever any queries or troubles with your tasks. Although due to the given responsibility it is often up to you to seek this support, teaching you how to manage your own time and expectations.

Everyday you will attend various meetings for your franchises, and get to work on exciting initiatives that cover multiple territories over UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. There will always be ongoing projects for you to personally manage and master, among admin and daily requests.

You are given various projects to personally manage, allowing you to work alongside other lines of businesses, which not only benefits your networking, but your overall understanding of the company. You are given the freedom to explore, add and develop any additional areas on insights into your franchise reviews and brand health summaries (for example) to support the team.

Everyday you are invited to multiple meetings where you get to see how every aspect of the organisation works and synergies together. The experiences from this can be applied to my Business degree in having an actual understanding of the way in which initiatives are developed and activated. While many of the systems and skills used where Disney specific, the overall interpersonal and team skills you develop will stay with you forever.

There was not a single day I did not look forward to going to work. I quickly became friends with my colleagues, you are able to have lunch at a time that suits you, and are able to utilise the kitchen and coffee machine whenever you like (including LOTS of mochas). You are seated close to your team and questions are very much encouraged.

Mainly during the start of the placement there was lots of support on a weekly basis to catch up with your managers to discuss the tasks at hand. You are invited to health & safety talks early on which are a great opportunity to meet other interns. As the responsibility grows it becomes harder for your managers to always know what tasks you are working on through multiple franchises and requests from other departments, so it is important to keep them in the loop to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

Disney has various tools to train you throughout the year, as well as resources that help answer Disney-specific system questions. Your managers are keen to support you and ensure you gain the most from the placement, and will often ask if there is any projects you would like to work on that you haven't done before.

Although there is no graduate scheme, I found that many of the employees were once interns themselves. There are many different departments and roles within Disney with potential growth opportunities.

There are interns on every floor and department for you to quickly become friends with, go lunch and socialise after work with.

As you could imagine living in London is quite expensive, and the drinks in the local pubs are also very expensive, which may be a shock from University life!

Hammersmith has lots of bars and pubs with many social events such as quiz nights and Karaoke, clubs are usually a tube ride away, but nothing too far.

There were irregular events such as volunteering opportunities and supporting at Comic Con, which are great fun and provide lots of experience. Depending on your team there will be various quiz nights, team lunches and other social activities to get involved with.