GE’s ‘everyday heroes’ entry lands in the top spot

In spring 2011, General Electric aimed to bring more attention to its manufacturing efforts in the United States. To do so, it looked to what it called its “everyday heroes,” the employees who make the machines that power airplanes and appliances, to explain in short videos what’s great about their jobs.

One of those video profiles grabbed top honors in Ragan’s Employee Communications Awards for 2011 in the Best Interview/Profile (Electronic Publication) category.

Among the 30 or so employees that GE’s team interviewed was Seth Stump, a dad who’s working toward his MBA, owns a tattoo shop, plays in a band, and seems like a really nice fellow. He builds jet engines in GE’s Durham, N.C., plant. In a brief two minutes, you discover just who Seth Stump is and why he loves his job. He was in the military, and he flew on planes with GE engines. He loves the engines he builds; they’re kind of like girlfriends, he says.

You also, without even really realizing it, find out a ton about GE’s jet engine manufacturing. For instance, the factory’s clean, white floor? It’s so bright that anything that gets dropped—a nut, a bolt, a tool—can be located instantly.

Seth’s video was a huge hit. On GE’s intranet portal, it got more than 12,000 views. A YouTube version of the video is approaching 1,000 views. Seth himself went on to appear in some national ads.

To view the winning work please click here.