IBM Reviews in Canada

Pros

There was a great work life balance for interns. They even have a gym at the software lab!
I was assigned fun new projects and learned a lot of interesting technical and management skills. My mentor and project lead listened to all of my suggestions and criticisms with regards to design and provided insightful feedback and suggestions as well!
I came out of my internship learning a lot.

Cons

Some tasks and assignments were a bit tedious.
Too much bureaucracy. I did not like waiting around to be assigned new projects or for the project maintainer to accept our code changes.
The cafeteria had a lot of food, but I didn't enjoy their offerings very much.
The compensation isn't very competitive compared to other tech companies such as Amazon, Google, or Microsoft.

Advice to Senior Management

Get to know your interns. I spoke with my direct manager maybe once a month through my time at IBM.

Pros

Nice facilities including personal work area with doors. Nice common area, and in the suburb so no need to drive download to get to work and pay for expensive parking. There's an onsite gym with free class.

The company is big and offer somewhat stable employment opportunity. There's a big student internship program that offers way to get extra help and also allow you to look for next generation talent for hire.

Cons

It's such a big organization that it makes you feel like you are only a part of something huge.
It's hard to see your impact on the business and there are way too many processes, or "way to do things" that make innovation and simplification difficult. There's also slow pace for compensation increase and career advancement, if you want to have a quick in your career. It's not likely to happen here.

Advice to Senior Management

The compnay needs to stop tightening the belt just to reach the 2015 roadmap. Understanding that our executives made a commitment to the share holders to return profit through a high earning per share, but the working conditions (compensation, work/life balance are really suffering.) Suggest that management need to re-double effort in investing in people and resource to take a bigger share of the market.

Pros

- looks good on resume to external companies
- lots of career paths and options
- very ethical company - focuses on customer success

Cons

- no decision making ability
- lots of process/rules to follow
- no perks
- deceiving incentive plans

Advice to Senior Management

- fix incentive plans

Pros

Flexible working time
Good first line management in general

Cons

Low salary, Slow promotion, Rigid process

Pros

Work/life balance
Benefits
Global reach and opportunities within company
Stability
Advanced Research and Development
Long history of innovation

Cons

Bureaucracy
Process
Off shoring
Bringing advanced tech to market

Advice to Senior Management

Decentralize
Get involved in consumerization of tech

Pros

Impressive for resume to say that work for IBM
Fortunate to have worked on many interesting and diverse projects that have provided excellent work experience - my customer experiences have been excellent (may be looking to them for a job soon...)

Cons

I was hired to work 40 hours per week but because they keep raising the BU targets (almost 90% for 2012 for my particular situation), they expect me to work many hours OT for free just to meet my BU target. This effectively eliminates my vacation benefit of 5 weeks per year and also 2 of the statutory holidays. Either vacation is a benefit or not, you can't give it with one hand and take it back with the other. This BU target is up over 3% from last year. Oh, and that doesn't include any admin activities (training, time reporting, etc.) that they expect you to do on your own time or heaven forbid that you may be sick or on the bench for a day or two. Makes me wonder if they are just raising BU target each year to see when the uprising will come..... For me, it's soon..

Advice to Senior Management

You're burning your employees out. When I started a few years ago, I kept hearing the message about work/life balance but NEVER hear it anymore. I think IBM Management has changed from a culture of caring about their employees longterm because they wished to retain healthy happy productive employees TO pushing employees so hard that they have no work/life balance. Be warned, this is not sustainable, your workforce is becoming increasingly disillusioned with your company.

Pros

Workplace flexability is the best reason to work at IBM... Also it looks good on a resume. Lots of product areas means lots to learn.

Cons

Way too many lofty expectations and lack of compensation when you actually pull of what they want. The management politics and process slows everything. They make 80% of their revenue on 20% of their clients - a huge portion of which is mainframe hardware sales which are declining severely. IBM is a sinking ship that can't innovate.

Advice to Senior Management

Consolidate STG (hardware) and SWG (software) presales to sell more complete solutions rather than pitching products. Pay people what they are worth (ie: what another firm would pay them). Build an innovative approach to selling express solutions into SMB.

Pros

used to be lots of opportunity to learn by moving around within the company
decent salary

Cons

lots of laying off in North America and moving roles to India and Slovakia instead
very demotivating environment to work in

Advice to Senior Management

Don't accept mediocrity from overseas staff when excellence is right under your noses in North America.
Where are our kids going to work? Starbucks for $10 an hour?

Pros

Large company which offers opportunity in many areas.

Cons

Big company, a lot of bureaucracy. Hard to move up.

Pros

steady hours and thus probable income

Cons

minimal pay and thus hard to get by

Advice to Senior Management

promote from within