FastWorks is a GE program initiated in 2013
FastWorks is a GE program initiated in 2013. Its goal was to introduce skill sets and processes that would enable GE to be more customer-centric, lean, and agile (International Institute for Management Development, 2018). The significant part of the program was that the project teams were to repeatedly engage with consumers, develop hypotheses and empirically test assumptions in rapid iterations to determine whether to preserve with an existing idea or to develop a new one. There was also the Employee Management System, which has been with the company for over four decades, and it is based on an annual cycle. According to the system, the employee and direct supervisor set goals at the beginning of the year (International Institute for Management Development, 2018). The performance of the employee is evaluated at the end of the year against the objectives that had been agreed upon. However, after some of the employees working in the project, it became increasingly clear that the Employee Management System was no longer suited for a faster and agile GE. Therefore, the company needed to adopt a new performance management system or modify the existing policy.
The Employee Management system was developed during an era when the economic conditions demanded GE have efficiency and operational excellence. When it was initially developed, the company became widely known for its hard-charging and intense approach to performance appraisals (“How Does GE Do Performance Management Today?”, 2019). GE has undergone so much change in their style and performance management process over the years. A new performance management system is best suited for the FastWorks project as GE seeks to be an agile, customer-centered, and leaner organization. Under the new performance management system, the company has shifted from its structure that has yearly performance reviews to a structure that has accommodated the lean and innovative project of FastWorks (“How Does GE Do Performance Management Today?”, 2019). The corporation has created a simple, modern smartphone application whose purpose is to make sure there is a constant and meaningful conversation between the management and the firm’s staff.
The application is known as PD@GE, and it can exchange voice and text input, exchange handwritten notes, between teams, employees and managers across the firm and attach documents (“How Does GE Do Performance Management Today?”, 2019). The primary objective of the organization for introducing the new performance management system was to shift from personnel reviews and focus on constant communication and shared accountability. Unlike the previous performance management system that only reviewed the objectives once yearly, the current system makes sure there is a continuous exchange of feedback throughout the year. The employees can get suggestions from anyone in their network, including members of other teams and the management. Further, to attain its customer-centered objective, the GE information technology department has created an application in which the managers and employees frequently engage to set goals and update their priorities about the needs of the consumers. More importantly, the app serves as a platform that describes goals for staff to ensure they continuously improve so that they can better serve the customers.
According to GE executives, the modern performance management approach is an attempt by the company to move from command and control to empowering and inspiring the employees (Cappelli & Tavis, 2016). The system is better than the previous one since it will help enhance productivity and augment the customer experience. GE is a large and complex organization. It has a daily challenge of making sure that their staff work together as a team and make quick and effective decisions while at the same time providing the customers with the high-quality products and services that they require (Cappelli & Tavis, 2016). The teams and department at GE tend to focus on siloed conduct that leads to frustrations and threatens to derail the attainment of organizational objectives. Since performance management is vital for the survival of GE, the company sought to have a performance management system that would help reduce the conflict between the management and employees while ensuring that the employees offer their best. More importantly, the performance management system was to make sure customers are satisfied and get value for their money.
In conclusion, the primary question that still lingers is if GE has completely removed its annual employment reviews when it comes to performance management. Presently, the performance review strategy of the company is to make sure that the performance management supports a faster, agile, and more customer-centered GE. The present system facilitates meaningful communication between the managers and employees and makes sure that there is essential feedback that will motivate the employees and encourage them to improve.
Also, the employees and managers meet frequently to reflect upon the performance goals, if they have been met, and their impact in the organization. Human resources experts argue that the meetings are a modified version of the old Employee Management Structure since they operate the same. In both, managers base their decisions on promotion, development decisions on the input offered, and compensation. However, the current performance management approach encourages frequent dialogues instead o just year-end conversations. Therefore, unlike EMS, the present method is more meaningful, future-focused, and informed by more specific information about an employee’s contributions and achievements throughout the year.