Company: IBM
Date: 2011-06-09
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former

Learned a lot+Work/Life Balance but Unreasonable Salary and Evaluation Process
Pros: Brand Recognition:  ID inspires envy
Compensation:  annual performance bonus; medical/dental
Middle Management:  With some of my direct managers, the few times that I was bothered about something, it was addressed.  
Open door policy:  Towards the beginning I felt this, but towards the end it was starting to feel like it's not a priviledge anymore.  My advice is that everyone should make an effort to foster an honest relationship with their managers because they try when they can and deserve the credit.  
Work/Life Balance:  I was never given a difficult time to ask for leaves but I noticed there were some really over-worked people who were.  I think employees must also learn when to push back when they feel they're untreated fairly.  It's just frustrating how other just decide to keep their mouth shut not out of fear but they just can't be bothered.  No one is worked like a horse, or maybe in the departments that I'm more familiar with  Impossibly busy periods are inevitable, happens every so often, but not constantly throughout the year.  If there are some who do, I feel that they can do something about it but just don't to appear that they are capable to do 'everytthing' and get that much-coveted 'Top Talent' title. 
Employees:  Colleagues are brilliant, you will learn a lot if you constantly ask and everyone just did their job.  A few slackers got in though and gets away with murder, middle managers seem oblivious simply because they don't work the same hours. Hehe.
Others:  in-house counselor
Cons: Performance Evaluation:  The use the bell curve,  who still uses that?
Middle Management:  It's a lottery..if you're lucky you get a supportive, knowledgeable and fair boss, otherwise, you get the opposite who credit-grabs to boot.  (I've been lucky half the time, other have it worse so I can't complain.)
Compensation:  This is really the straw that finally broke the camel's back...they offered a salary package lower than what I was getting as a middle school teacher.  My fault too because I didn't do my research.  During the hiring process I was told that annual salary increase was 10-14% depending on my performance.  On my first year, I was a top talent an only got a 9% increase. On my second year, I was a mediocre talent (ha) and didn't get an increase...the catch is NO ONE got an increase except for the ones who were promoted.  This really resulted to a lot of demotivated employees compelling most to leave, including myself.  
Company Structure:  Constant restructuring, I had 4 managers and was with 3 departments in 2 years.  For such a big company who values its brand I didn't understand how it has gotten to the place where it is now.