GE aims to prepare next generation of #innovators
Students from SMK Seri Desa, Tanjung Karang and SMK Bandar Baru Ampang paid a visit to GE Engine Services Malaysia’s (GEESM) premises and Petrosains, respectively. The tours, organised by General Electric (GE) were held in conjunction with the second phase of Teach For Malaysia (TFM) Week recently. This was aimed at inspiring students through workplace visits by motivating them to gain insight into real-life work experiences.
Read more at The Star Online.
Reading the “Comments” posted creates more confusion than the announcement about discontinuation of coverage related to “post-65″ salaried employees. The announcement includes a specific reference to those already enrolled: that they are not affected by the cessation of coverage as described. Unfortunately, many of the comments are from people who apparently are covered; and, that they see the announcement as a warning about cessation of coverage for them. I also do not see a comment reiterating the maintenance of coverage, reinforcing the statement that currently enrolled post-65 retirees are still to be covered. ??????????
Hi John,
Many of the comments are from retirees who are unsure how the changes affect them. The absolute best way to understand how these changes affect you is to email HR.RetInquiries@ge.com or call the GE Pension Benefit Inquiry Center at 1-800-432-3450, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern time. There are several different scenarios depending on your existing coverage, so the best way to find out how the changes affect you is to discuss the changes with a benefits specialist who can address your individual situation.
Hope that’s helpful!
Are you also eliminating coverage for medicine as well as hospital and doctor benefits for retirees who worked so hard for GE sacrificing time with heir families and dedicated their lives to make it a better company and a successful company only to have their lives torn apart in their retirement when they needed help the most. Just exactly what is the the full impact GE is planning for its loyal retirees.
I would suggest that GE develop a very detailed, very well thought out communique that addresses the many various issues that have been commented upon here, and communique to everyone via a detailed live presentation with live Q/A session to address issues that are brought up by those viewing the presentation. Having everyone with questions call the Pension Benefit Inquiry Center will cost the company additional funds, and quite possibly provide conflicting or ambiguous answers.
One might conclude after working for the company for the past many years, that the use of 6 Sigma, DMAIC, CTQs, KPI, based on “Customer” (those affected by this change) would be appropriate. Go out and get Voice of the Customer, and address the concerns. Do some Retiree, employee Surveys to get the Questions out in the open and grouped by categories, and then address these issues en masse.
Using this BLOG tool to communicate this complicated issue effectively is like trying to kill a bear with a fly swatter. Please follow GE’s own processes and the tools we all learned in our careers… it will be well worth your effort, and help end the confusion.
Town hall meetings usually have been held in the past, to deal with things 1/4th as complex as this, and necessarily so, to eliminate the continued confusion that will grow as the Jan. 1, 2015 date approaches.
Just a suggestion… use the tools GE taught us, please.
Charlie
Charlie
Sorry.. please do not DELETE the post requested above. I posted my comment, intended for the Medical Benefit article, but this LEAVE A COMMENT section appeared only under the article entitled “GE aims to prepare next generation of #innovators”, so no comments are allowed for the prior article. Please delete this post, the prior post, and keep the initial post regarding comments on communication technique for Medical Benefits changes.
Charlie.
(p.s. Maybe this blog could be modified to make it easier to comment on intended articles… I see comments here also related to Medical issues… so it is unclear to users how to properly post. Thoughts?)
Hi Nicholas,
Please share your questions and concerns on our LinkedIn group where we have resources to help answer your questions: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4378545&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
Thanks!
Hi Charlie,
Your suggestions make a lot of sense and are currently planned. There is still time between now and 2015.
That said, there are many different variations in how the plan affects retirees, so the best way to address the variance is through a direct exchange with a benefits expert. We have in fact grouped responses to the announcement in a FAQ that was appended to the original post.
We agree that using the blog exclusively to communicate with retirees is inadequate, which is why we are directing all traffic to our Retiree LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4378545
Please join and share your thoughts there.
Hi Charlie,
As we indicated in the previous post, this blog is not really meant for a back-and-forth dialogue, so we are directing all comments to our LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4378545
Please join and share your thoughts there.
Recommended reading
Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers
By Ellen E. Schultz
It explains GE’s approach to dealing with their retirees.