Research in Motion Reviews

Pros

Good salary, exciting industry, good people.

Cons

Lots of silios. Need to know who to go to to get anything done.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the workers once in a while to help steer the company.

Pros

Everything you can think of except a bright future for this company. It has a relax work enviroment, good social events. Management style is very nice.

Cons

The CEO sucks... the share price is going down, so it's better to find another job before getting laid off.

Advice to Senior Management

Please try best to fire the high level managers and VPs, I don't knwo what they are thinking about every day.

Pros

Employees are given room to run with ideas. For the most part current employees are given the opportunity to fill new roles and responsibilities as they arise. Until recently, growth meant young employees were given levels of responsibility not as easily achievable elsewhere.

Cons

There is a very closed and small circle of connected "insiders" who make all decisions and then are very reluctant to share information (yes, not unique to RIM but I think perhaps a shade worse). So while there are a lot of smart people within the organization it is better to focus on politics than collaborating with fellow colleagues. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for all the strategic mistakes. Though, to be fair, there was a bit of a bubble and group think in Waterloo where years of exceptional success led to a corporate town where people know little other than BlackBerry. As a result, perhaps competitive threats did not appear as menacing in such an environment. Either way, this leads to a situation where managers are more interested in simple execution and less concerned about whether the project actually adds value or not (or even destroys it)...i.e., effectiveness rather than efficacy.

Advice to Senior Management

It is probably too late now, but in order to salvage some value recent analyst recommendations suggest splitting the company into 2 parts (a hardware and a network/cloud component) which is an interesting idea. Hardware is basically just a commodity business anyway. But I guess as a start most investors would like the chairman and CEO roles split... But again, they are the ones that created the company in the first place (though later sold most of it so perhaps that is no longer relevant).

Pros

It pays better than most tech sector jobs in Canada. There is mutual respect and fair treatment for all. Great exposure to the industry.

Cons

Little focus on career development. Also negative perception by the North American media. The Playbook failure will hit this company hard.

Advice to Senior Management

It is important to believe in what you sell, but there is a fine line between self-belief and arrogance. Look around you and see how your products compare with some of the other things out in the market.

Pros

- lots of responsibility if you want it
- good benefits
- great people

Cons

- no recognition for job well done, except for more work
- no work life balance
- salary not on par with similar jobs in region
- managers promise promotions and never follow through

Advice to Senior Management

- reward good employees with promotions, not more work

Pros

RIM is a big name -- possibly nice to have on a resume. There doesn't seem to be too much pressure on technical employees.

Cons

The hiring process isn't great, and as a result standards for intelligence aren't too high. It's got a typical big company feel: stuff happens slowly and requires plenty of rubber stamps, the less technical departments are huge, etc.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't hire anyone who doesn't pull their weight. Hire better people (raise salaries/benefits, open shops in other big tech hubs) so that you can be remotely competitive.

Pros

Great industry, amazing technology, room to spread your wings and make a contribution. Customers and partners who care. Headquartered in bedroom community of Kitchener-Waterloo, great mid-sized city ideally placed in Southwestern Ontario.

Cons

Lack of direction. Company doesn't know it's core competences and how to exploit them to its advantage, nor how to address its weaknesses. Too many employees becoming disenfranchised. Some are working on extra-curricular activities on the job - other jobs, degrees, etc.

Pros

- a lot of smart, dedicated people
- a good balance of younger and older employees
- a lot of great energy from some of the recently acquired companies
- good benefits, comparable to other companies

Cons

- little transparency...very few people in the company know what the strategy is and where the company is headed
- you don't get promoted without pushing and pushing hard, it's not based on the quality of your work

Advice to Senior Management

Talk to your employees!! They have great ideas. Please listen!
And hire good marketing firms and let them do their jobs!!! We do have some great products but they're so poorly marketed.

Pros

Good Compensation, Balanced work environment

Cons

Declining company image compared to other Companies. Products are far behind their scheduled release and hence their market image is down.

Advice to Senior Management

Move on to better products. Reduce product portfolio. Improve company structure. Focus more on products that make an immediate impact.

Pros

dedicated workforce strving for excellence

Cons

somewhat departments are run as fiefdom, too much democracy.

Advice to Senior Management

make faster decisions specially in program development stage.