IBM Reviews in Iowa

Former Employee – worked at IBM as an intern for less than a year

Pros – The freedom to work how you want on projects

Cons – none it was a great experience

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at IBM full-time for more than a year

Pros – Elevators, good chairs, good lighting, nice view from upper floors, nice lobby, a little coffee nook to ponder ones escape. It is in the nice little city of Dubuque. IM

Cons – More dysfunctional than most large companies I have worked at.
Leadership provided by "professional managers" with no IT sense.
If you enjoy changing & tracking your passwords youll like it here, not 5 or 6, like 40 constantly expiring.
The 10 accounts you ll be supporting all have different configurations, login procedures, rules
India coworkers are 12 hours away, many that are difficult to understand.
Prepare to give up all of your personal digits to anonymous requests from the many clients across the globe to secure your personal access to their data systems.
Remember you will be fired if you share a id or password, understandable.
High turnover, depressing to see hope fade in the newbies.

Advice to Senior Management – Grab as much money as you can, while you can. Oh.. your already doing that?
Get rid of useless 1st line managers and listen to you team leads.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at IBM full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – The benefits are amazing with 4-5 weeks of vacation time, 6 weeks of full paid sick leave and endless discounts from cell phone to car companies.

Cons – The amount of favoritism at Dubuque IBM is uncalled for. I see this daily as a team lead and management does not care for any employee besides themselves. All managers get a PBC rating of 1 no matter how poorly they do and get to downgrade each employee on the team to get a big bonus. I saw this the past few years and management looks the other way. It is sad to see this center has the worst turnover rate than any others.

The average salary amount is $32,000. We advertise our jobs at $45,000 to $50,000 and rarely offer that rate.

IBM used to be the place to work 10 years ago but with all the cuts in the past few years, I would advise not to work here.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to your employees and communicate with them because your loosing them daily!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at IBM full-time for less than a year

Pros – They hire with litle to no experience in many positions. Prior experience is no necessary. Always positions open.

Cons – Most have not had a raise in years. A lot of behind the scenses job band and title manipulation with no communication to the employee. No logical path to promotions. No ergonomic concerns. Tools inhibit prodicutivity. Computers and software are dated. Management are not here for the long term so no local loyalty. What morale? Management makes no attempt to remedy any issues - they have their own goals and it would not include employee retention.

Advice to Senior Management – Have some compassion and emphathy. Even a good management book would be better than no experience or education when manageing. Stop the micro manageing that went out a long time ago in an office envronment.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at IBM full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Working for the IBM brand has benefits. Excellent benefits, but pay can vary greatly depending on how high value your work is. Services is more low value, margins are low and so are pay scales. That said, there are also some computing areas that are high paying and high value, if you are lucky enough to have earned those skills.

Cons – IBM is an ocean to work in. There is move to relocate work towards global delivery centers and tier 3 cities and away from the work from home model to reduce costs. This means layoffs for those high paying jobs unless you are willing to relocate to these centers. If you are a rock star and perform high value technical work or client facing work that involves intimate knowledge of client domain there is a good chance you will not get RA-ed.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at IBM full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Great management and co-workers, come and go whenever for short breaks, no punch out time cards, hard work and long hours do pay off with recognition, free coffee all day, nice office with great views of Mississippi River, privacy rooms available for small meetings, nice conference rooms for team meetings, great desk set-up, intense but well-worth classes which offer free vouchers to obtain licenses upon completion.

Cons – Managers do change often but not really a con- this is a way to experience a 'fresh' outlook on team building which I suspect is why management does frequently change. If you are not one for adjustments or changes, this type of work force is not for you.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at IBM full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – The ability to learn a lot of different aspects of mainfrane storage and all the capabilities surrounding it, along with a staff the had no egos to deal with and were all willing the help was wonderful, to say the lease.

Cons – Over the past 2 years, IBM has detracted from what is important, the customer, or the stakeholders. Too much emphasis has been placed on overburdening staff with work and not enough resources to handle it. The ability to work overtime to address some issues has gone away, which leaves employees discouraged.

Advice to Senior Management – Advice to Managemengt is to treat employess like the are part of something special, not as a stattistic.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at IBM full-time for more than a year

Pros – There are some genuinely good people there. A lot to learn. Aside from the healthcare, there are good benefits if you take the time to find them. Work-life balance is there, but it's up to you to seek it rather than expect them to give it to you.

Cons – Dead-end position. No opportunities for advancement. Excellent performer, unable to secure raise -- other performers in same group received a 1% raise at the end of PBCs. The only way you could go up is to leave IBM.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay attention to your first-line people. They are the ones who keep the company afloat. Pay them what they're worth. Keep them incentivized to stay. Improve benefits.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at IBM full-time for more than a year

Pros – lots to learn. Most people are nice

Cons – Managers don't care about individuals' growth but trying to get their own asses covered.

Advice to Senior Management – People will keep leaving if you don't pay them fair salaries.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at IBM full-time for less than a year

Pros – Looks good on a resume while you are looking for a job.
Cute downtown location - shops, small restaurants, salons/spas
Daily huddles

Cons – Don't expect to make any better wage than anywhere else in Dubuque or small surrounding communities
Unclear path to moving up
People go years with not a penny raise
Highest turnover rate any GDF Center in North America

Advice to Senior Management – Remember you are also managing real people and not just there to please your management. Focus on building trust and morale - IBM may not allow a dime for overall team building of any kind, but you make much more than 90% of the employees there - so stop being so tight and buy your team a donut and coffee - a gift certificate - your ROI would be huge!!!! Have compassion - ask those you manage how they are doing - and mean it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company