What's the company culture at GE?

Every business has it's own style. What is the office environment and culture like at GE?

Are people dressed in business casual, jeans and t-shirts, or full-on suits? Do folks get together for Friday happy hours and friendly get-togethers?

What is a typical day in the life of an employee at GE?

This compay sucks, they buy up other companies wreck the customer base and refuse to take responsibility for it. If your not a GE imbred your not wanted and they make that very clear

Host said: Every business has it's own style. What is the office environment and culture like at GE?

Are people dressed in business casual, jeans and t-shirts, or full-on suits? Do folks get together for Friday happy hours and friendly get-togethers?

What is a typical day in the life of an employee at GE?

GE Healthcare in Burlington has a "business casual" policy, but like most places in Vermont, they allow blue jeans. Pretty much anything goes as long as you are clean, neat & presentable. They do get strict when meeting with clients & suggest a very firm business casual dress code. I've heard that going to other GE offices they are very strict about dress code but I think it's regional.

I happen to agree with Joe in Alparetta about GE as a company. They were way too intense for me & if you're not willing to dedicate your life to the company then it's hard to move up. I personally love my family & am not willing to make those sacrifices.

Answering whether a company is good or not is subject to career goals, etc.

I left after several years at GE. When I gave my two weeks notice, I was surprised when several long time employees (15+ years) came up and either said they were unhappy, were looking for other work too, and/or envious I was leaving. For each of them, however, I am certain there are others conversely pleased with what GE has to offer.

They expect results from employees (not a bad thing). They adaquately provide the tools necessary to get the job done. At Healthcare, you are working to improve the lives of others - that is rewarding. It's rewarding work in an innovative field.

Though a stated goal, quality takes a distant second to meeting schedule. The development process is a farse. Requirements gathering and actually designing your work....... well because schedules are so tight, there is little time for that. I saw no effort in R&D for nearterm projects. These factors would explain why the projects I participated on did not meet their schedules. Kinda funny..

But, I didn't leave for those reasons, though they were contributors. Their performance review process is scary. Yearly goals were tpyically received in mid summer. Yet, it didn't really matter because performance review time is vastly subjective. One year I really made signifiacant contributions to the GE product, but recevied a poor review. The next year I did my job but did not make any signifiant contributions to help the customer, improve quality, etc. But, I received a really good review. The difference was that in the second year, I learned how to play their performance review game.

My guess is that there are worse companies. And, as I have found, much better ones. I thought GE would offer job security if I did a good job. I learned that is not what matters there.

Very good overview, Tom.

I particularly am keen on your observations giving quality short shrift. A GE Healtcare unit in Aurora, Ohio found out what it was like to feel the rath of the FDA in a warning letter dated 2/22/07. In a nutshell, this facility shipped product before finishing all required testing. A big no-no. It can be implied from this that schedule was more important than meeting any/all requirements. If interested in reading the warning letter in its entirety, visit www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/

Regards,

Q

You must be willing to live GE. Your family, your community, your health ... all secondary to the company. Additionally, not all GE locations are GLBT friendly places to work.

QOptimal in Chandler, Arizona said: Very good overview, Tom.

I particularly am keen on your observations giving quality short shrift. A GE Healtcare unit in Aurora, Ohio found out what it was like to feel the rath of the FDA in a warning letter dated 2/22/07. In a nutshell, this facility shipped product before finishing all required testing. A big no-no. It can be implied from this that schedule was more important than meeting any/all requirements. If interested in reading the warning letter in its entirety, visit www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/

Regards,

Q

That's odd - I heard that just about anywhere in the GE conglomerate that Six Sigma rules supreme. Maybe it's not been adopted for development.....

Several years ago, I took the Six Sigma DMAIC/DFSS Green Belt training. I found the education very rewarding.

At the time, GE mandated that Green Belts submit a project on an annual basis. Typically you found a large portion of the engineering population working on the projects for whatever they could justify during the month of December.

While the tools are great for improving quality, GE's schedule-centric development process left little time for building quality into product. Hence, Six Sigma was not an integral set of tools used within the development process.

With that said, I did see some encouraging progress with the use of Lean Six Sigma as my time with GE came to a close.

What you hear and what actually happens are two different things. I was part of another company's efforts to win the Malcolm Baldrige quality award. What the company offered was a lot of smoke and mirrors to the Baldridge judges panel. The company used it's achievement as marketing hype. Overall, nothing changed in their development process.

My experience with GE Healthcare demonstrates that they squeeze out the necessary quality through elongated test->development->retest->redevelopment sub cycles instead of actually designing solutions. Is this better? At GE there was constant pressure by upper management to demonstrate progress. Design documents do not demonstrate progress, but proof-of-concept code that is later product-ized, does.

With that said, also keep in mind that GE is structured such that the delivery of bad news is not a good thing. There is constant jockeying to ensure that you and your team is not delivering bad news. And, the freedom to voice opposition is not accepted - in my experience.

Regards...

Absolutely!!!

I want to share this story.....

After graduating from college, I started working for a great company. I enjoyed my work, it was rewarding, I was establishing credibility, and I was willing to work many additional hours.

I was sent off for 10 weeks of corporate computer programming training. During hte first five weeks, I the training required 90-110 hours of weekly effort. The instructor was always available - day or night - literally.

During the second half of the course, we had a different instructor. He was readily available until 5:00pm, but after that he firmly instructed us to rely on teaching assistants. He was not available.

During the 7th week, a bunch of us were taking the elevator down to the cafeteria. One of the students asked the instructor why he did not care about our success in passing because he did not make himself available during off-hours.

His response was, "If something was to happen to me tonight, say I was killed in an auto accident, you might not have class tomorrow, but at the minimum you would be back in class the day after. The company would adjust and survive with no major impact to their business. On the other hand, my family would be devastated. My wife would be a widow. My three children would not have a father. They would loose their primary means of support. Which one should be the priority in my life?"

I've never forgotten that. I am loyal to my employer. I am willing to work extra hours when it is genuinely necessary. But my family will always, always, always be the most important part of my life.

Men especially, create their identity by who they are at work and what they accomplish. Some can rise about that and see success as the achievement of raising their children to be fine your men and women.

previous post was in response to anonymous in Austin Texas.

Tom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin said:
Men especially, create their identity by who they are at work and what they accomplish. Some can rise about that and see success as the achievement of raising their children to be fine your men and women.

I disagree with this statement; it's not gender based or biased one bit these days. I know plenty of women who also piggy-back their identity and self-worth base upon their career and career achievements. And not everyone has children.

[QUOTE]

Tom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin said:
Men especially, create their identity by who they are at work and what they accomplish. Some can rise about that and see success as the achievement of raising their children to be fine your men and women.

Kay in Louisville, Colorado said: I disagree with this statement; it's not gender based or biased one bit these days. I know plenty of women who also piggy-back their identity and self-worth base upon their career and career achievements. And not everyone has children.

I agree that plenty of women also share a sense of self-worth through their careers and accomplishments. Still, research shows that self-worth through careers and accomplishments is especially true of men. I never said these traits were void in women.

But I really don’t want to argue this point. It isn’t the essence of my posting.

My comments were in response to the post:

Anonymous in Austin, Texas said: You must be willing to live GE. Your family, your community, your health ... all secondary to the company. Additionally, not all GE locations are GLBT friendly places to work.

I wholeheartedly agree with Anonymous. There is a price to pay for the climb up the GE corporate ladder (or to even stay on the ladder). For some, the personal sacrifices of that climb are worth it. I’ve personally witnessed broken relationships and failed health from those people climbing.

I work hard and I am successful at what I do. In the grand scheme of things, lines of code, patents created, and career achievements mean very little in comparison to my health, family, and friends. I maintain balance.

In my GE experience, you’re nothing more than a grain of sand on the beach. You’re an expendable commodity.

I wanted to let you folks know that if you are unhappy and want assistance into other companies then give me a call.
James Grimes
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Ge in greenville is great and pays well.

James in Plano, Texas said: I wanted to let you folks know that if you are unhappy and want assistance into other companies then give me a call.
James Grimes
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Can you really help?

I used to work at GE's corporate research center in Schenectady, NY. There were some inefficiencies and bureaucratic hassles, but in general people had a very positive attitude and often got together socially outside of work. Typical work weeks were 40-50 hours, and the wages were good relative to the geographical area. I've worked in factories that paid better but forced a lot of overtime. I've also worked in places that paid worse - and treated people worse.

Hi,
I was wondering if anybody here has any experience with the GE plant in Salem, VA (near Roanoke)?

Thanks!

My husband is an engineer at GE Healthcare in Aurora, OH. He works literally 70-80 hours EVERY WEEK and WEEKEND! We recently married, so it's extra heart-breaking for me. Our first few months of marriage were nothing but arguements because he worked, worked, worked. I've tried to explain that if he walked out tomorrow, they wouldn't blink for a second. Life will go on there, but our marriage may not. I knew something was bound to give. I fear my worst nightmare is coming true....divorce. IT's not solely GE's fault, but it definitely didnt' make a great start to this marriage. It's hard to do it alone. Anyone else out there that works for GE understand what I'm saying? If so, how do I get him to realize, yeah it sounds great to say you work for GE and the perks at times are great, but isn't your family (starting one was never going to happen should he keep these hours) more important?

Andrea,

I used to work in Salem (7 years ago). At that time it was a tough enviroment to be in as most of the building was either being sold to Toshiba (AC/DC Drives), and the other 1/2 was in the downswing of the power systems slump.

From what i've heard though, the power systems controls business is picking up and it's not a bad place to work.

In general, I have to agree with most of Tom's statements. I too recently left GE Healthcare, but there are a lot of things I miss... it was a heck of an execution focused company. If you're thinking of getting into IT or Process (lean six sigma), you may want to think again... GE has a lot of the late 1990's IT boom people (aka, i have the word computer in my degree) running their IT department. I can elaborate more if you are interested.

Tom,

I'm curious what modality you worked for... I recently left as well for various reasons, but overall agree with your assessment.

Overall GE is a great company, but it is about the perception of the work you do, not actually what you get done. If you're in IT or a process area of the business it can be very frustrating because it's a very matrixed and cross functional business... it's sometimes impossible to make most obvious business case heard.

C.M. in Manassas, Virginia said: I used to work at GE's corporate research center in Schenectady, NY. There were some inefficiencies and bureaucratic hassles, but in general people had a very positive attitude and often got together socially outside of work. Typical work weeks were 40-50 hours, and the wages were good relative to the geographical area. I've worked in factories that paid better but forced a lot of overtime. I've also worked in places that paid worse - and treated people worse.

I'm about to fly there to interview for engineering (turbine/fluid dynamics) I'm used to working a full time job and going to school full time with a full time family, so the schedule is nothing new to us. What did you find inefficient? Also, I'm hearing perceived work is better than actual results. Is this the case for New York as well? Any advice for interviewing/salary? Thanks!

Host said: Every business has it's own style. What is the office environment and culture like at GE?

Are people dressed in business casual, jeans and t-shirts, or full-on suits? Do folks get together for Friday happy hours and friendly get-togethers?

What is a typical day in the life of an employee at GE?

work, work, work, work, work, sleep (but not too long), work

I am considering joining GE Healthcare's HQs in Milwaukee WI (in accounting/finance). I am a career driven person and know all about long hours. However, I have a new daughter and am very keen on having a good balance, which I would consider averaging about 45 hour work weeks. Can any one speak to what the HQ culture is like in acctg/finance? Are my expectations reasonable or will I get slaughtered? They have a reputation as a demanding culture. Any help is appreciated...

"They were way too intense for me & if you're not willing to dedicate your life to the company then it's hard to move up. I personally love my family & am not willing to make those sacrifices."

Agreed.

We have been part of the GE Healthcare culture for approximately 20 years. GE has been extremely good to us in every way possible and beyond that and I can be a cheerleader for GE. I can be a grumpy spouse, but at least my spouse gets paychecks that don't bounce and gets benefits not available otherwise. Be loyal with them and generally they will be good to you. Every location is different and has different needs and issues. The employee's spouse needs to understand that life with GE can be stressful and the employee may not get to the special nights out (don't buy tickets to anything and you won't be disappointed), kid's sports games, etc., but you cannot beat the GE benefits.

We have lived with and without GE, and with GE is definitely better. In this day and age you can't argue with that. You also have to understand that it is healthcare and people who could be your family members could be in an ER department waiting for the x-ray, heart equipment or CT machine to get repaired in order to have an emergency taken care of. You have to understand that and realize your spouse may have to work "doctors' hours." Will there be frustrations? Yes, but you have a good job in a high tech niche and you can take care of your family. My spouse wants to work for as long as possible and not retire.

GE is a joke to work for. They hire and promote strictly on diversity goals, not merit. If you are not in the "circle" then you don't stand a chance of moving up or getting decent pay raises. EMS performance reviews are a JOKE, 100% subjective, not based on quantitative metrics. You report management for abuse and nothing is done.

GE stresses integrity, but they are far from it. Most of my fellow teammates, including me, have been looking for other jobs for some time. GE is also notorious for paying less than the competition. At first it feels good to say you work for "GE", but that wears off quickly when you are not treated fairly. Look elsewhere before working for GE, trust me.

rva in Richmond, Virginia said: We have been part of the GE Healthcare culture for approximately 20 years. GE has been extremely good to us in every way possible and beyond that and I can be a cheerleader for GE. I can be a grumpy spouse, but at least my spouse gets paychecks that don't bounce and gets benefits not available otherwise. Be loyal with them and generally they will be good to you. Every location is different and has different needs and issues. The employee's spouse needs to understand that life with GE can be stressful and the employee may not get to the special nights out (don't buy tickets to anything and you won't be disappointed), kid's sports games, etc., but you cannot beat the GE benefits.

We have lived with and without GE, and with GE is definitely better. In this day and age you can't argue with that. You also have to understand that it is healthcare and people who could be your family members could be in an ER department waiting for the x-ray, heart equipment or CT machine to get repaired in order to have an emergency taken care of. You have to understand that and realize your spouse may have to work "doctors' hours." Will there be frustrations? Yes, but you have a good job in a high tech niche and you can take care of your family. My spouse wants to work for as long as possible and not retire.