Our Culture
Our culture can be summed up in four words: We are General Motors. "We are GM" is a unified movement throughout our company to be intentional with how we live and work. It reminds us that how we think and behave every day creates a moment, and each moment has a direct impact on our business, co-workers, families and our customers. Learn more about our culture and our behaviors below.
Work Appropriately
GM is committed to moving our culture forward for all employees and becoming the most inclusive company in the world. "Work Appropriately" is a philosophy that enables us to achieve these aspirations. Depending on the nature of their work, our employees have the flexibility to work where they can have the greatest impact to achieve their goals and for their individual success.
Eva Orlang - Product Designer, Customer Experience
Working from home on Kaua'i, Hawaii has it's perks as well as it's own unique challenges. I'm fortunate enough to have a team that supports my schedule. Since my day is shifted down because of the time zone change, I can take the problems my fellow designers have left for the day and further work on them. It is also helpful to bring my morning energy to sleepy afternoon meetings. When someone new joins the team, I like to mention to them to ignore my late-night messages until they start their day. It is important to set boundaries since working from home can blur the lines of personal and professional life.
Charles McClendon Jr. - Sr. Manager, Global Culture Transformation
We may be virtual but we are still a community. Be generous to others and they will have your back when you need help. You cannot do it all, so I leverage my network. When I am there for my people, they are there for me and this includes teachers spending extra time with my 7- and 4- year-old reading books, to team members having my back when I cannot facilitate a session.
Chelsea Zenk - Quality Director, Factory ZERO
This past year has taught me that it's not necessarily where I'm working from, but how I create value that is most important. As we progress through our journey of launching a new product at Factory ZERO, I continue to ask myself, "where do I need to be to create the most value for my project?" Sometimes I need to be at at the plant to welcome new team members, sometimes I'm at PPO reviewing the Hummer EV, but often I'm at home utilizing every inch of my desk and every monitor that I have to get my work done. As big of a change as it has been for me to work from home, I feel as though I get some of my best work done here. It also helps that I get a few snuggles from my pups every now and then!
How we Behave
Be Inclusive
We create moments every day that value backgrounds, opinions and ideas that may be different.
Think Customer
We consider the customers' needs in everything we do.
Innovate Now
We see things not as they are but as they could be.
Look Ahead
We make decisions now with the long-term view in mind and we anticipate what lies ahead.
One Team
We collaborate cross-functionally to achieve enterprise-wide results.
Be Bold
We respectfully speak up, exchange feedback and boldly share ideas without fear.
It's On Me
We take accountability for safety and our own actions, behaviors and results.
Win with Integrity
We have a relentless desire to win and do it with integrity.
“I'm at GM because of its vision for an all-electric future. Everyone is passionate and driving toward a single goal - improving batteries for our customers. It's a one-team culture where we look at what's been done, ask ourselves how we can improve, how we can incorporate new learnings and technologies and work together to design new solutions.”
“It is rare when employees can see eye-to-eye with a CEO's vision at a company of our size - especially when that vision can drastically change people's lives. I feel empowered to think creatively, be innovative and solve problems that impact our customers. Everyone here has a voice and a seat at the table.”
“EVs pull people together around the world. A world with zero emissions is something I think everyone can get behind. When thinking about our vision for a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion, it really energizes me because I know I'm working toward a vision that is truly resonating with a lot of people here at GM, in the industry, and around the globe.”