Disorganized Chaos, lack of structure
Pros
New office amenities? Location? Ability to network and a sense that once you're part of the GE family, there will always be opportunity for you here, as long as you can tolerate all of the below.
Cons
Lack of structure, guidance, and training. You are expected to be a mind reader and "on-call" at all times. They don't tell you during the interview that required OT involves weekends *and* holidays. In over 15 years in accounting and finance, this is the first organization that has required me to work on all major holidays. Work/life balance means we will allow you to recoup your time later, but family and friends are rarely able to wait for a week or two until you can recoup your time to take off and celebrate with them. Almost everyone in the Global Ops Center in downtown Cincinnati is new. This means that very few people really have a solid framework of information about the organization in order to make informed decisions or to inform others in their decisions. I quickly learned to not take other people at their word as most are quick to give the impression that their opinion is correct without considering that the siloed nature of information within this organization makes it nearly impossible for any one person to fundamentally know anything about which they speak if it isn't in reference to their microscopically specific responsibilities. The workspace is touted as a collaborative environment, and yet it does not lend itself well to collaboration among team members without finding a meeting space. Alternatively, there is not privacy or quiet space for thinking unless you grab a phone room. Perhaps workspaces within each group would allow for more active huddling. Functions within the same business are spread out over several different floors and spaces, where having everyone sit together in the same space would make more logical sense from a collaboration standpoint. Departments and functions feel very disjointed. "Change is the only constant" is a favorite phrase around the office, but the momentum of change that is occurring doesn't allow for people to adapt and become experts at anything before moving on to the next shiny system or tool meant to "streamline" processes...that no one has even had an opportunity to establish in the first place. "Not your grandpa's GE" is also another favorite phrase. While I admire progress and innovation, perhaps taking some notes from Grandpa's GE with regards to structure, guidelines and foundational organizational processes would have been beneficial instead of sending Grandpa to the nursing home and essentially writing him off. Bigger is not always better. They lure applicants in with attractive salaries only for them to find out that 60+ work weeks are the norm and the salary isn't that lucrative at all, once you do the math. Benefits are industry norm - nothing to write home about. Employees must pay for their own parking (GE discount).
