Company: IBM
Date: 2012-10-08
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Senior

IBM overall is a great place to work
Pros: IBM are good at ratings and feedback to provide the employee with knowledge about how they are performing and how they could improve.  This system will root out those not suited to being an IBMer and they tend to leave the company, which raises the average calibre of staff.  Training is excellent and support is always available.  High standards of working practice and managerial behaviour keeps employees happy and retains staff.  True work life balance can be achieved at IBM and senior banded employees diarise their own time to work around personal commitments.
Cons: Salary is an issue and I have seen many excellent IBMers leave the company because they can achieve significantly higher salaries elsewhere.  Also, there is no pro-active 121 help with career advancement and I have lost count of the number of times a manager has told me that it is the individual's responsibility to further their own career, but this is very difficult in a company the size of IBM, since you need help from other people to advance. If you are female and planning to take time out to have a family, be prepared for your career to stagnate, there is no mechanism in IBM to give women returning to work a leap forward and this can be very demoralising.