IBM Reviews in New York City, NY Area

Pros

Work life balance, small groups people work in which helps a lot with learning esp. for an RCG like me who wanted to learn about not only process development but also integration and device.

Cons

Very limited scope of growth. Even the highest PBC rating of 1 does not mean much for variable pay and raises.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more transparent in how variable pay and raises are calculated. Also help employees develop career advancement plans. IDP's should mean something.

Pros

develop future leaders
more opportunity to switch jobs
everyone is more than happy to help you
work with smartest people in the world

Cons

too big, matrix organization
move slow, efficiency is low
food is not free
vacation is not enough
salary is not high

Pros

Good work life balance
Decent salary and benefits

Cons

Growth opportunities can be limited, often managers are slow in accommodating desire for career change
Too much time spent on refining process
Not a very open environment for management feedback

Advice to Senior Management

Try to create an environment where employees can provide feedback to management openly.
Try to create a better office environment, such as a lounge or exercise facility etc

Pros

freedom to choose projects, smart people

Cons

salary not consistent with google and other rapid growth companies

Pros

Great, knowlegable colleagues
Very professional workplace climate
Feels good to be associated with the global leader in our sector (technology services)
Smart management

Cons

Low morale and declining engagement (so much so, HR killed the engagement survey)
If you're in a staff position in the US or any G-7 country, i.e., Finance, HR, IT, Marketing, etc., your job is going to China or India this year or next

Advice to Senior Management

Remember that 79% of your revenue still comes from major markets

Pros

Good corporate culture: Not expected to work weekends/holidays/etc. Managers and other employees are respectful and courteous, even when there are disagreements.
Excellent work life balance. I can work from home any time I want to, work fairly flexible hours, and take time off when I need to for personal reasons.

Cons

Huge company bureaucracy makes it difficult sometimes to get things done, or even find out what decision was made about a key issue. Interfacing with development partners can be challenging. Pay is poor -- my salary has not even kept up with inflation since I started working here -- and advancement opportunity is limited. There is no reward for working hard or going "above and beyond"; everyone gets pretty much the same (small) profit sharing every year.

Advice to Senior Management

Reward employees for doing an excellent job. Pay competitively to retain key talent.

Pros

Work life balance is great but to get ahead you need to put in the extra hours. The finance arm is full of smart, very analytic, process driven people. The company structure was designed by very smart people so there can be trust in these processes. The company is very gracious with it's benefits including luncheons, after hours, and discounts on the services IBM buys from other companies. There are seminars that give different success stories within the company showing the different ways to become successful given all the opportunities that are available, this makes career guidance easier. IBM also puts a lot of trust in it's employees weighting them with a lot of responsibility but giving the flexibility to try new things. Internal development programs are great, though they must be done at your own fruition.

Cons

Overall company structure can be confusing, it is not so much a matrix as a 'pyramid'. Your experience can vary greatly based on your management but based on experiences of my colleagues it is fair to say that feedback is poor and needs to be beaten out of your superiors and when you do get it, it is vague and you feel like they are holding back real thoughts. Also communication between arms is very tough, constant follow up is needed with anyone outside of your division and frequently you are put off or given the wrong answers/data. I had to frequently escalate my communication to my superiors to obtain basic information. Basically if you can't show up at someones office to get it it will be a while before you do. It is a 'sink or swim' environment as an intern so if you do not go out and actively ask for projects you are unlikely to get much challenging work and therefore not an offer. Unfortunately IBM has produced little revenue growth so 'resource actions' aka layoffs, have been common and only the toughest survive.

Advice to Senior Management

The company is massive and treats it's other arms as totally separate companies, though I have no direct advice as to how to address this it is a serious concern if you want to obtain the synergies necessary to justify to shareholders the size and vary varied services and processes the company has.

Pros

Good Teamwork
Allowed to Work from Home

Cons

Bad Manager and salary raise is not sufficient

Pros

flexibility on where the work should be done. work from home is generally allowed

Cons

low paid, not much bonus. intensive work load

Pros

Opportunities exist if you are aggressive in managing you career

Cons

Big company and the personal relationship with the firm is deminishing

Advice to Senior Management

Make the work experience personal. Conference calls only go so far