Mixed feelings. Review on IBM India Pvt Ltd

I joined IBM in a Business Unit called GTS. Let me keep facts and figures straight.

I was not given a window to negotiate and HR straight away gave me my CTC, given the brand value, I accepted it.

Training was spot on, and it had impacted my skills.

Allocation to the project and transition was smooth.

Now my day one, just a day after completion of training, I was thrown into the jungle. Felt like a chicken being set sail on a boat in the big blue ocean. However, I had very supportive seniors and i made it somehow. I was one of the few lucky people whose reporting manager was the People Manager. People Manager is a big shot in IBM, having a plethora of powers in hand. Was lucky that mine was good and supportive. The company has a lot of policies and they are doing a good job in maintaining that.

Work culture was good and an account where your leadership is good, it will make you feel in a comfort zone.

Work life balance - Good till 2018. Then came the change in policy of working hours. It increased to 10 hour shift and work from home becoming scarce.

Pay:

IBM is not a pay master. I will keep the post anonymous, hence I wont violate any policies. IBM has career levels called Bands. My journey in GTS

2012 - Band 3 - 2.8lpa

2013 - Band 3 - 2.96lpa - 6% hike

2014 - Band 4 - 3.75 lpa - 27% Band hike

2015 - Band 4 - 3.76 lpa - 3% annual hike though I aced it in Performance metrics

2016 - Band 5 - 4.6lpa - 22% Band hike

2017 - Band 5 - No hikes

2018 - Band 5 - 4.75 lpa - 3% annual hike

This is the time I got promoted to SME, leading a team in 6years.

2019 - Band 6 - 6.5 lpa - 36% hike and I got promoted to a people manager role after 7 years. The workload became tenfold, so the reviewers who say that People Managers are the worst thing in IBM, I hate to admit it but that is true. Being a people manager, I had seen first hand how people managers or ratyer my colleagues work here. Shrinkage and attrition are my KPI, if I miss utilization by 1% because of a sick leave, I would not get any bonus. If people manager is a human, he does not care about his kpi but that is rarely the case. Then once you become a part of that puddle, you have to get into politics. And that is what made me leave as at the end of the day I was not able to face myself in the mirror.

At this stage, small decisions made great talent go away.

So as you progress through the career ladder, priorities change.

2019 - left IBM as a Deputy Manager after 7 and a half years with peanuts in hands.

Other things:

Cafeteria - Prices of food are exorbitant. A 50ml cup of tea is 10Rs. A sandwich is 40Rs. So only water and tissue paper is free in IBM.

Gym - Available but no time.

Public Holidays - Lucky people will stay at home, unlucky people have to manage alone working overtime.

Onsite opportunity - Nah

Sick Leaves - Unlimited, but IBM doctors only approve if document has big name like Fortis or Appolo

12 days can be carried forward out of 22 annual leaves.

Shift allowance - Different in different BU

Pay - Last working day of the month.

Transport - 7PM to 7AM (diversity employees get 2 way and medical cabs)

Cons:

Micromanagement

Internal Politics

Scuffle between managers

Meagre pay

Little work life balance

Inevitable changes in management and hence policies

Food prices of a star hotel

Favorism

Sorry for keeping it long, but this is the truth.