IBM reviews

3.9

78% would recommend to a friend

(8,978 total reviews)
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Arvind Krishna

76% approve of CEO

67% positive business outlook

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9K reviews

Reviews about "Culture"

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1.0
Oct 10, 2017

Not recommended

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great team spirit, valuable people

Cons

Constant cost-cutting and organizational realignment, employees are treated as numbers. I would not recommend this company to anyone who has high standards and looks for career opportunities, as IBM is not as it used to be. The corporate strategy is vague and leadership is just fighting to keep their position, while there's less and less valuable workforce.

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IBM Response
8y
Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry you had a bad experience. We will do what we can to improve the situation.
2.0
Oct 9, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits with low premiums if only insuring self. The work culture is good if employees are willing to be located at one of the strategic work locations, but work/life balance and flexibility is starting to decrease from what it was 10 or 20 years ago.

Cons

The company has fostered a culture of employees constantly looking over their shoulders to see if they will be next on the current round of layoffs. Layoffs (or "Resource Actions" as IBM likes to so eloquently phrase it) occur two to three times a year for the past 8 years. The company's overall business strategy is unclear and constantly changing, and it is hard to pinpoint just what service or product receives clear priority in their strategy. Base pay increases (raises) from year to year are very low at 1% to 2% and bonuses (when an employee gets them) are usually no more than about 1% to 2%.

3.0
Oct 9, 2017

Great stepping stone, just don't stick around...

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Looks amazing on a resume -Once you establish yourself, you can travel anywhere and have a job -Working for a company that won't likely fail or be purchased in the near future is great. -Great benefits if you can get out of being a contractor and hired as a full time employee. -The pay is pretty good, hence why I stuck around.

Cons

-Massive layoffs during 4th quarter means your Christmas gift from the company is usually unemployment (if they haven't screwed you out of that opportunity already) -This company loves to outsource, why pay you a livable wage when they can get someone in a 3rd world country to do it for 1/5 the cost? -Watson the quantum computer will probably take your job if it hasn't been outsourced already as mentioned above. -Sweat shop work day, scheduled breaks, no down time, using the bathroom counts to your break, so you actually get about 10 minutes of your 30 for actual break, the rest is restroom/getting water. -No communication between the sales end and service end resulting in goals/agreements by the sales team that that cannot be met by the service providers. -More middle management then any other company of its size, so the money you earn the company is paying for 3 people to watch you do your job. -Most employees are contractors, thus allowing IBM to have a full time worker without having to pay benefits, give vacation and anything else you'd expect to be given as a full time employee.

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