how Does GE Do Performance Management Today?

When it comes to discussing performance management, it's impossible to skip Jack Welch's"rank-and-yank" review tacticsback in the 1980s. During a time when the economic reality at GE demanded efficiency and operational excellence, the company became well-known for its hard-charging and intense approach to performance reviews.

The company has since undergone much change in their style and performance management process. Today they conduct a more evenly distributed and ongoing review process. The focus is less on rating and ranking and more on developing, connecting, and inspiring employees.

Here is what performance management looks like at GE today.

Performance management at GE

GE rolled out itsnew performance management strategyat the end of 2016, replacing its legendary Employee Management System that was implemented in 1976 and widely emulated by other companies. The change took place largely due to a program launched in 2013 called FastWorks, which introduced skills and processes to make GE a more lean, agile, and customer-centered organization.

Under the new direction of CEO Jeff Immelt, GE began to shift from annual performance reviews to a system that accommodated the lean and innovative methodology of Fastworks. The organization developed a simple, contemporary smartphone app, designed with the sole purpose of facilitating more frequent communication and meaningful conversations between managers and employees.

Theapp, called PD@GE, exchanges voice and text input, attached documents, and even handwritten notes between employees, managers, and teams across the company. The organization's goal was to shift their employee review focus onto continuous dialogue and shared accountability. The app facilitates a constant exchange of feedback year-round; participants can receive suggestions from anyone in their network, including upper management and members of other teams.

In order to continue in the vein of customer-centered growth, GE's IT team developed the app so that managers can hold regular "touchpoints" with employees in order to set goals and update priorities based on customer needs. At its core, the app serves as a platform to define goals for employees and to enable constant improvement for all users.

While many of the headlines and articles detailing the legendary company's migration from annual cycles and stack rankings may lead people to believe it's been a neat and succinct transition, the question begs to be asked: Has GE really gotten rid of annual rankings entirely?

Summary Conversations

As stated previously, one of GE's main aims in their performance review strategy is to facilitate recurring, meaningful conversations between managers and employees. Along with continuous feedback through the PD@GE app, the company also mandates yearlysummary conversationswhere employees and managers finalize and submit a summary document together.

During the meeting, employees and managers reflect upon goals met and impact achieved, while casting vision for future goals to be met. These meetings act as an existing piece of the old EMS structure, and operate just as they did before -- with managers basing compensation, promotion, and development decisions on the input provided.

However, with the introduction of the new performance-development approach, these year-end conversations exist as more of an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-time meeting that is loaded with expectations. This allows the conversations to be more meaningful and future-focused, and informed by more specific data of an employee's contributions and achievements throughout the year.

In a Harvard Business Reviewarticle, GE executives Leonardo Baldassarre and Brian Finken describe GE's new performance-development approach as an attempt to shift the company's focus from "command and control" to "empower and inspire." Judging by the company's latest increase in productivity and significant benefit yield for customers, it's working.

Source:https://www.performyard.com/articles/how-does-ge-do-performance-management-today

Question:

In GE's original performance management system, Jack Welch's famed "Rank and Yank"approach meant that employees were evaluated from best to worst, and the worst performers got fired every year, while the top performers stayed. What type of a performance management system is this?

Question 41 options:

	Determinants Based
	Trait Based
	Comparative
	Absolute

Was GE's original performance management system appropriate?

	No, because it wasn't aligned with their overall corporate strategy
	No, because they lost many good employees simply because they were the lowest performers
	Yes, because it was aligned with their strategy of lean efficiency and need for excellence
	Yes, because it's important to remove your worst performers, even if they are not performing badly

Why did GE change their performance management system?

	Because it was an unpopular approach
	Because employees complained
	Because other businesses called GE out for the practice
	Because the strategy of the business changed

"Theapp, called PD@GE, exchanges voice and text input, attached documents, and even handwritten notes between employees, managers, and teams across the company".

This is an example of:

Question 44 options:

	Essays
	Graphic Rating Scales
	BARS
	Behaviour checklists

Using the app, what type of feedback can employees get?

Question 45 options:

	One Way Feedback
	Downward Feedback
	Upward feedback
	360 Feedback

What are the main purposes of GE's new approach to performance management?

Question 46 options:

	Strategic coordination of paper trails
	Development, Administration, Communication, Documentation
	Communication, Punitive Action, Routine, Legal Adherence
	Documentation for managing people out of the organization

"...one of GE's main aims in their performance review strategy is to facilitate recurring, meaningful conversations between managers and employees." If the managers use these meetings to direct, motivate and reward behaviour, the meetings would be a good opportunity for managers to conduct:

Question 47 options:

	Coaching
	Declarative Knowledge Evaluation
	Trait Evaluation
	Terminations

Based on this article, would managers at GE have the opportunity to demonstrate key coaching behaviors?

Question 48 options:

	Yes
	No

"Judging by the company's latest increase in productivity and significant benefit yield for customers, it's working." This is an example of:

Question 49 options:

	Measuring Accountabilities
	Measuring Competencies
	Measuring Results
	Measuring Behaviours

If you consider the definition of project management that we discussed in class, does GE's new performance management system meet the requirements? Choose the best answer.

Question 50 options:

	No, because it no longer uses rankings, and therefore employees no longer get the feedback that they need to grow and develop.
	Yes, because it enables managers to provide feedback, and make decisions about salary and promotions.
	No, because it no longer aligns with the strategy of the organization, so no mater how technologically advanced it is it won't be successful in the long term.
	Yes, because it is aligned with strategic goals and it involves setting goals, observing job performance, providing ongoing feedback, and evaluation to ensure that employees are meeting their goals