IBM Reviews in London, UK Area

Pros

Massively successful company
Broad reach in marketplace
Quality strategy
Others come and go, IBM is always there
Looks after wellbeing of employees

Cons

Struggling with paying people going rate
Feeling that execs get all the rewards, not shared out despite success
Corporate nonsense
Weaker managers beaten by the corporate system

Advice to Senior Management

Share some of the spoils of success

Pros

Great work life balance, great at flexible working arrangements, myriad of opportunities if you put your hand up for them

Cons

Salary Increase Program (SIP) is less than inflation. Top talent is identified, but not promoted. Top heavy organisation which leaves no room for advancement and stifles ambition.

Advice to Senior Management

If the strategy is to change IBM from "Ferrari" to "Ford", then great. If we want to retain the legacy of premium IT Products and Services provider, then we need a top quality workforce. This can only be achieved through attrition reducing measures such as best in breed salaries.

Pros

If you are a motivated, career orientated individual and want to be in the same place for many years - IBM is perfect. It provides the clear ladder to the top and has an obvious and simple promotion structure.

Cons

I entered as a graduate hire a couple of years ago. My training was poor to say the least. I was not given any training which was aimed at my particular role but instead I was trained with a group of fellow grads from across IBM (Sales, marketing, HR functions etc...) therefor the training had to be of a "lowest common denomenator" type standard where we learnt how to shake hands and answer a telephone. While I had almost 2 years of work experience and 2 degrees I was treated like a child for the first two years of work. Pay is also poor and the work life balance is fine unless you want to be promoted.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay more and train better. Realise that high utilisation targets may bring short term profitability but do not create an environment in which people want to remain....

Pros

Good oppurtunity to learn & Earn.
good for your career.
learn and move on.
decent money but value is for future.

Cons

Ocean of people, you will be lost.
need to have a god father.
its a people process & papers company.

Advice to Senior Management

please start shairing information with people.
cahange the entire hr they are some useless people thinking asif they have reached peak of there career and any one joining new should kiss there feet.

Pros

Generally treat you well. There is still something about the company that makes you want to stay there.

Cons

Respect from individual managers can vary.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen more to employees

Pros

There are very good people that work at IBM who are passionate about what they do.
IBM has a wide ranging client base which allows opportunities
Being part of IBM is CV enhancing
Access to IBM research

Cons

Pay is far behind the market rate and managent rely on individuals to stay through loyalty rather than through competitive pay and benefits. There seems to be a feeling of low morale amongst a growing number of employees, this is all around lack of value of individual contributions by senior management.

Advice to Senior Management

Start to value the individuals that work for you, if not then the good people will be leaving to take up opportunities that pay market rate.

Pros

Good bunch of people to work with. Good training for recent graduates.

Cons

Ever increasing targets for the amount of unpaid overtime worked with the threat of being put on a 'performance improvement plan' if they are not met. No pay rises for several years. Senior management taking large pay rises while employees get nothing. Very mixed messages coming from the management which makes it difficult to trust them.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop treating your employees as disposable assets. They are the ones who are earning the profits for you.

Pros

Good work life balance. Good level of competence of colleagues. You will be working with very bright individuals. Positive can do approach to work

Cons

bureaucracy (as with most large organisations) . Bottlenecks usually occur when it comes to communication. Base salary is and bonus's not as competitive as other consultancies, though benefit package and consulting 'perks' can make up for this

Advice to Senior Management

communicate more clearly and effectively. Take time out to consult employees before making big decisions that affect many of us.

Pros

Brand, Knowledge of varied Business Operations, Flexibility in Work Place

Cons

Process Overhead, Recognition is precious, Average Pay and timely Promotions

Advice to Senior Management

More People Direction from Leadership team. Recognise Talents. Reduce Process or Operation Overhead.

Pros

1. Low pay compared to other companies.
2. Share price over people
3. Poor development opportunities outside of online learning
4. Focus on utilisation

Cons

1. Good people though many are unhappy
2. Still a good compnay to have on your CV
3. Access to IBM research and resources

Advice to Senior Management

Get back to the idea of people being IBMers, try and re-instill the corporate values and pay people the market rate.