Research in Motion Reviews in Waterloo, ON (Canada)

Pros

Big name and flexible work hours

Cons

Low morale and like to hire incompetent employees from other distress telecom companies

Pros

Good pay, free blackberry, good vacation and benefits

Cons

Many managers at RIM8 are english or scottish, ex motorola, and they have a management style not suitable for Canada.
Also, you know all those kids we knew growing up who are used to getting their way, never been told no, never denied what they wanted, spoilt by their parents? Well, they all went to university and then were hired by RIM. No other work experience in any other manufacturing environment. Also, the rapid growth of the company propelled these inexperienced kids with attitude into positions of responsibility.
You can guess the rest. The "Con's" stated here and at ratemyemployer sum it up.

I swear some days it's like a british boarding school head mistress attitude and other days it's a kindergarten playground.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the older workers once in a while.

Pros

Compensation, vacation, ability work from home when needed

Cons

Bad management, inadequate performance review

Pros

A lot of opportunity. Promotions, raises, recognition all around - if you're actually good at what you do.

Cons

Management does not communicate to all employees on the same level.

Pros

Salary is fine;
Company reputation is fine;

Cons

Some people are rude in manufacturer(RIM8);
Very bad managers, directors, and VP in RIM8;
Creative spirit is Not encouraged;
Poor office facility;
Terrible business sense;
No team work and sharing spirit;
Ignorance company culture just like a small company;

Advice to Senior Management

To hire more professional people less students.

Pros

Good work-life balance
Good benefits
Good office space

Cons

Too much of gang mentally. You need to belong to a gang or cow boys club in order to advance. Senior management is very unprofessional

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to those that work under you and help them to grow in their career

Pros

free blackberry, high-end innovation, flexible work hours, balance between personal and career lives, gaining lots of experience since it is still a growing company

Cons

commute to Waterloo, engineering evironment, slow salary increases and promotions, dull buildings with no windows, too dynamic changes in org structure

Pros

High concentration of very bright people that are very passionate about what they do. Many opportunities to learn. Very generous budgets for professional development. Many internal career opportunities.

Cons

Politics and quarrels between internal fifedoms is putting a damper on everything from the simplest initiative to complex strategic projects. Most senior staff is either utterly demoralized or part of the problem. Some execs are brilliant, others are without any question incompetent. I have never seen a company so distracted by its inability to govern itself. Members of the HR department (OD in RIM speak) are typically not well respected and generally avoided at all costs by members of other groups of the company. An astonishing level of arrogance and complacency is common among the 'old guard'. This is hard on the morale of new recruits who are eager to work hard and improve things.

Advice to Senior Management

Wake up and get ready to make some hard decisions before someone else does it for you.

Pros

Great co-op students working, support from the full time employees working there.

Cons

If you work in a place with not many co-ops then you will feel lonely sometimes.

Advice to Senior Management

More attention from manager to the co-op students.

Pros

They have a successful product at the moment and are trying to be a modern company and stay relevant. They sponsor fun things like concerts and have ice-cream days in summer for employees.

Cons

Poor management with terrible people skills. It appears they just got promoted because there was no choice and they did not have the savvy or people skills sadly. Without knowing me or my experience well, one manager told me in my first week that I was just a number there and I could easily be replaced and they wanted to see immediate results. I worked there on contract for 1 year and never received a Blackberry. I was told that Contract employees are not entitled to have one, which was an unequally applied rule as every other contract employee seemed to have one at the request of their manager. There appeared to be terrible communication skills and a lack of goals and vision. Strategic planning sessions seemed blind as there was no higher level mission statement or goals to align too. The worst part of my experience though was being made to feel like a nobody from the Team Leader if my area. It was a very impersonal environment which is a pity because I'm not sure if that is the vision the CEO's have for their creation.

Advice to Senior Management

Ensure that people in management and Team Lead positions have people skills and know how to do their jobs. Allow all staff (contract and employees) to rate Team Leads and Managers anonymously and have the result taken into serious consideration by OD, senior management and Employee Training. Allow long term contract employees to have a Blackberry as it reflects badly on the company when people ask to see the product and there is nothing to show. People were puzzled as to why RIM would not allow long term contract employees to have a device and it led to questions as to whether the company was cheap or could not afford it. Make sure there are clear company goals and that it is on the web site and management know what to align to and what to be guided by when setting department goals. I felt unappreciated and a bit used but have no regrets as I did an amazing job, gave my best and improved things in my area while there. If you open branches in London Ontario I may consider working there again but I did not like Waterloo at all based on the experiences there.