What's it like working in ISM (an IBM subsidiary)? For long term workers it's a three part recipe. One part survivor syndrome, one part hating your job, and the final part is looking for a better job. ISM management are always after new ways to get rid of workers, they don't even try to hide it anymore. ISM management absolutely hate the union and blame it for all their problems, even though the union wages and benefits are the only thing that keeps workers staying there. ISM pay about 10-15% more than what their clients pay their equivalent workers. Even with the pay premium there are a lot of ISMers jumping ship to work for their clients giving up their seniority and vacation benefits because the working conditions are so much worse in ISM.


The slightly higher pay also drives up the wages for management indirectly, without the union the average manager in ISM would earn less than $70,000 a year. Any ISM manager should compare their pay checks with what an IBM manager earns. They should also compare the average age of an IBM manager against the average age of an ISM manager for some real insight on how the parent company they worship at the feet of would really treat them.


ISM isn't an easy company to get accepted for a job. You need to have to have the strongest skills highest qualifications and the interview process can be very difficult depending on what you apply for. ISM want the best people to work for them and make it tough for non professionals to join, yet complain at how much professionals cost. Once you’re hired they destroy your productivity with terrible tools and scapegoating. There is absolutely no support from management when there are problems. Management’s first job when an issue arises is to discipline the worker. The organization structure is a silo mentality. Workers do talk among themselves but quietly and away from the watchful eye of management who believe that all information should be vetted and controlled by them, everything is “need to know”. Recently ISM management have eliminated all career paths for workers by removing the Supervisor and Team Lead positions. I fully support this move because it will make leaving ISM for equivalent leadership positions with their own clients that much easier. Unfortunately for ISM, there are no former ISMers who have anything good to say about the company after they leave. I wonder if they even know how much their poor treatment of staff has negatively affected their chances at contract renewal.


I hate this place.

Posted on 16 April 2016 by Rater #48 | Flag as inappropriate

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