Training and Development - The GE Way

GE had started implementing on-line training way back in the year 1998. While it was analyzing the return on investment for one of its courses at GE Aircraft Engineering , the company discovered that the three-day course cost the company $47 an hour in terms of productivity loss per customer and $1,500 for travel and living expenses incurred on participants who had to be flown in from various locations to GE Transportation's Cincinnati headquarters.

The existing training facility also needed a revamp and was estimated to cost $4.5 million. It was at this point that the company decided to implement an online course instead.

Experts pointed out that another key benefit of GE's focus on training was that it brought global consistency to all its businesses. As Rick Kennedy, manager, media relations, GE Aircraft Engines, remarked, "Despite the company's size, everyone has a common set of objectives to work from and it's very effective." GE had been able to use its diversity to transform itself into a learning organization where employees could develop themselves continuously. The on-the-job rotational assignments that the company offered enabled employees to get tremendous exposure across its varied business segments and divisions and gave them unmatched practical exposure to sharpen their managerial capabilities...