IBM Reviews in Houston, TX Area

Pros

The atmosphere and coworkers were phenominal. Had a Great time here, a nice work pace as well without too much drama.

Cons

At times there could be very little work to be done. This was not a failure of work to be done, but a failure from upper level management to approve said work.

Advice to Senior Management

It does take quite a while to gain approval or permission to get some simple things done. Also there needs to be more communication between departsments to keep tools and equipment in assigned places.

Pros

well, you gotta go with the flow and be a yes man to survive

Cons

Rule 1. The Boss is always right
Rule 2. If you this you are right, suggest that you look up rule 1.

Advice to Senior Management

Try and be flexible in your approach. Rigidity breaks down.

Pros

IBM exp Looks good on resume, there are lot of great people who you can learn a lot on the projects

Cons

too big, lousy internal IBM team

Advice to Senior Management

Compensation is below the market level, need to stay competitive with the market

Pros

A great stock to own

Cons

Big, sometimes a number...but you must pull information, pull career development activities.

Advice to Senior Management

No comment

Pros

Good number of SAP projects...strcutured company....human policies are good...

Cons

Competitiveness in market and the way SAP project are sold are putting too much of pressure on cosultants..

Advice to Senior Management

Change the way you treat employees and concentrate on worklife balance..

Pros

Recognition in marketplace.
All the Computer Base Training you want.

Cons

There is not any "off" time. There is an expectation for additional work and your professional training to be done on your personal time. The tenet of "Respect for Individual" may come from the top but it is mocked by the first line managers in their execution.
Diversity forced down your throat.

Advice to Senior Management

The managers should have an incentive in their compensation structure, validated by their reports, that they are actually supporting the work/life balance. As opposed to the tongue in cheek message that is clearly conveyed.

Pros

Fellow practitioners make IBM a great place to work. The talent is very good and can accomplish anything given the chance.

Cons

The company is being run by accountants. Every year there is something else that is reduced which is affecting morale and productivity. Basic software that my customer has that I can't get. I know many people who buy their own copies of software just to do their job we are asked to do. Education is a big complaint as well. And every employee gets animated when we bring up the subject thanks awards.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to those in the trenches and see what their pain points are. Help us do our job by giving us the tools necessary to be successful. Stop seeing everything as an expenditure to be cut to meet the bottom line.

Pros

great benefits - health care, 401K
good starting salary, hard to get laid off unless there is a recession or the company is doing poorly.

Cons

senior management does not care about your career. They only care if you are billable.
Promotions are hard to comeby. If you don't get the right project and role, you have no chance of moving up. Raises are only 2-3% per year unless they determine you're being underpaid compared to the market. When I left IBM, I was getting paid as much as a new college hire even though I had 2+ years under my belt.

Performance ratings based too much upon utilization. It's not our fault if you can't find a project for us.

Annual Bonuses are lousy, barely 2%

Advice to Senior Management

You need better training and development for collegehires. Don't make them staple papers for the first 3 months or continuously place them in glorified admin roles called project management assistants.

Pros

competitive salary
3+4+5 travel policy
SAP solution delivery leader/ innovator
respected name in IT

Cons

low prospects for salary growth unless it's tied to promotion (refer to headline)
in spite of significant layoffs in each of the past 3 years, too much fat remains in the middle mgt tier
pervasive lack of quality managers
too many business opportunities squandered due to Partner rivalry for sales credit

Advice to Senior Management

IBM GBS is infested with non-productive middle management who either can't produce or don't know how to manage and develop teams. The shortfall of talent in this area is a real concern.

Pros

Solid company with a good reputation. Good benefits including 401k with company match, medical, vision, dental, etc.. Training is generally available but needs to be completed on line. On site training opportunities are rare and limited due to funding issues.

Cons

Work life balance is challenging. Resource actions are becoming more numerous. Too much focus on the cutting costs at the expense of jobs in the US. Global resourcing can result in significant positive impact to the companies bottom line, but for the most part the quality of services provided suffers and results in poor customer satisfaction and a loss of revenue.

Advice to Senior Management

Review and rate employee's based on actual performance and contribution not by who they know.