Have worked at IBM for over 10 years and saw a continuous deterioration. Utilization (i.e. how many hours you can bill) seems to be the only metric. Morale is horrible,no training, projects are all troubled, lots of focus on global resources and a total disregard for the Canadian employees.

Senior management in Canada has no power, really a bunch of puppets of the US headquarters.

The top...

I have worked for IBM for 23 years and have seen it all. When I started the company motto was actually on every wall...."Respect for the individual". Now there is respect for NOBODY. Soooo sad. Everyone that I know has left or been "packaged" out. There are no salary increases. I kill myself to get 1 or 2+ ratings for nothing. It is really a sad place and the environment is toxic. It used...

I recently left my position at IBM for another opportunity. To be clear: The people I worked with were top notch; they were always helpful and taught me a lot.

Sadly IBM does not give fair cost of living increases to its workers - it seems that you need to be rated on top (i.e., be a PBC 1) to get even a sub-inflation amount. After more than 3 years with good reviews and yet no increases I...

Today is my last day at IBM. It took me one month here to realize the company's business model is taking the more bureaucratic departments back to sweat shops level: impossible load of work, zero investment on education, managers wanting 110% for an average/low pay rate that will never raise, no guarantees that you'll be hired as a permanent employee, no benefits for the first two years working...

I worked at IBM from 1998 to 2009. I was "voluntarily separated" 1 month after the first and only (and undeserved) middling performance review (a three)... This was after a year of meeting and exceeding all my SLA targets. The only thing I can think of that might have put a target on my back was I had taken 20 days of sick time mostly to deal with what turned out to be a severely disabled son,...

Been with ibm a long time. In last 5 years the company has shifted from a great employer with competitive pay to one that simply doesnt care about their employees. The constant TBDM feedback where managers keep reminding you that internal competition is what is making IBM great at your expense, get more results thus consider working evenings/weekends to deliver more than your team mates, not to...

A hideous place to work. Executive management is arrogant and treat employees horribly.

111 rating and only 18 rated above 2 stars. Only 3 of those are 5 stars. So basically that puts IBM at a 83% disapproval rating with less than 3% willing to rate IBM as 5 stars. That should just about sum it up. Many of the negative posts provide specific examples of poor strategies and poor treatment of employees. The couple of positive posts make no specific examples and only offer poor...

I was employed by IBM/Canada from 2001 to 2012 due to an outsourcing agreement. During this time, my manager didn't provide any direction or positive management skills. I heard there is an HR group there but no assistance was provided. With the company's policy to off-shore accounts to take advantage of cheap labour, it's only a matter of time before all clients have had enough of IBM. I think...

I am glad I worked for IBM as my first FT job out of school. It taught me how important it is to set limitations and boundaries with your employer up front, and that companies like this will take as much as you are willing to give them and more. IBM is a horrendously abusive and demotivating company to work for. Employees are sworn at, yelled at, bullied, insulted and sworn at on a daily basis by...

Good luck. This company is so cheap, there is very little advancement. They don't even have free coffee. I know that's silly - but .. IBM thinks they are the best - yet this is the company that brings you Lotus Notes.... They basically buy other companies, suck the life out of them until atrophy sets in, then will fire most of the people. Ask ISS, BigFix, Rational, or anyone that...

They will feed on your soul and suck the life out of you. Unpaid overtime is expected, training is provided by google.com, and there is no room for movement. They push old technology so they don't have to train people and will force unpaid vacations on contractors with 2 day notice. Benefits are the provincial minimum, and stock/share plans are laughable. A technology company that seems stuck...

no life , manager keep asking overtime. and now we got email that we need overtime on Sat for no purpose .. they don't you to training, no salary increase since i joined

As a previous rater mentioned, it is unfortunate that there is not a 0 stars rating for each field. Many of mine would be rated 0. IBM is a deplorable employer, truly deplorable. I will leave it, at that.

The main positive that comes to mind about IBM is allowing the employees to work from home (or used to be), however:

No paid courses/training was ever provided. Career counselling/growth - is really non existent. All it matters is to keep the costs low.

They use the minimum number of peoples possible to get the work done.

Periodically, even if there's already a minimum possible number of...

Worked for SWG Canada DTS for a decade, on constant rolling contracts. Every year (or 6 months) was another massive battle to get my contract renewed because the job I was doing for a decade "wasn't permanent". I was given no benefits, no feedback, no management oversight. I was given notice and then forced to train a contractor who ended up replacing me at probably double the cost to the...

IBM is worse than the worse. Only money counts. They treat their employees like Klenexes, use them ant fire them. If you are over 60 beware. It is never enough yet they do not support you.

Worked for IBM, It was an OKAY experience no chance for advancement here, looks like the same people working there for 25+ years are still in the same positions. Slave labor, the pay is alright. Cafe food is overpriced. They should be hiring more full timers instead of firing just plain damn greedy.

IBM Canada is an awful place to work for. Hate management .. Im surprised we haven't seen a shooting rampage to all second line management. Work environment is poor, gdf sucks and all managers are unqualified white.

Wish you had to option for 0 stars.

IBM "was" a good place to work until the last 4 years. it has been cut after cut,, and they are letting a lot of great ppl go and leaving the suck ups to mgmt stay. I had a colleague that made their # by 300% GP and 250% Rev go because they were not the mgmt fav on the team. Besides the cuts the "smarter" employees are leaving for better paying and better benefits jobs at competitors. IBM...

IBM is a very hard company to work for. it is not for everyone. i have been there 1 year almost - still on probabtion. i dislike some things. but i like many things as well. it's not for the faint of heart.

I disagree that "no employer deserves a single star rating". IBM has earned it and I think I'll quit tomorrow morning. I have had there highest employee rating (a 1) for most of the 10 years that I have been there, but my opinion of them could scarcely be more bleak.

I was assimilated into the entity known as "IBM" in 2010. Our firm employed 1200+ employees throughout Canada, the US, and the UK.

After a lavish, "Welcome to IBM" party at all three locations and several "you don't need to worry about job security" speeches. Within in 3 months, we started losing pre-acquisition staff.

First - ALL Secretaries, Admins, and Security personnel have 30...

Laid Off what Can I say

IBM has changed from a great company into a middling one. The primary factor is lack of respect by management for their employees, exacerbated by focus on stock price and dividends. On paper, everything looks fine. In reality, it sucks. Management has no loyalty downward and obviously doesn't expect any upwards. Real salaries have dropped for years. Raises, recognition and awards are virtually...

I worked in a company IBM bought from an acquisition. So my first and second level managers are those I worked in my previous. They are very competent and, I have to say, very protective over the people from the previous company. I even met some senior managers who worked all along in IBM and assigned to the departments. They are nice and reasonable too. However, I feel they do not have too much...

I am so glad I found this website. To see other negative comments from people who work/worked at IBM Canada is almost comforting. I was hired as a supplemental on a 2 year contract and was "downsized" in less than a year. Why? The person who hired me left and my new manager wanted me out. I wasn't upset to leave. The place was a nightmare. Management yells and screams and expects you into work by...

Working for IBM is a dead end job.

I have been working for IBM Canada lab for the past 8 years and I have just realized that this an abusive and domineering to work for. I have a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Toronto University but they make you feel like you are nothing . Then In crowed just gets promoted while you are dragged behind. I have been getting rating of 2+ and 1 with no promotions....

IBM sucks!!! I worked at IBM Saint John for 3 yrs and getting out was the best decision I've made. They make billions of dollars each year (confirmed by the quarterly reports they send out) but they wont offer their employess basic health and dental benefits. WTF?? They hire people as Long Term Supplementals which basically means that after 5 yrs of using you, they let your ass go. So really,...

Worked in the Ottawa (Cognos acquisition) location. It was beyond horrible. Got out. I would not recommend IBM to my worst enemy. (I would have given zero stars, but was not sure how the system would have handled that.)

I have worked at IBM for 9 years. I came to IBM through acquisition of another company. I now work in the Global Business Services division (that would be their management consultants). I immediately saw the predatory nature of IBM as the management spoke of going after the competition. What took me some time to realize was that this predatory nature and drive for financial success was at...

IBM will destroy your career and try to destroy your soul. An employee union is desperately needed before every single job is moved to India/China. Have I written enough yet?

I've been working a dead-end contract job at IBM Markham for about 5 months now and I can barely stand coming in to work anymore. I never wanted to work there in the first place, as their reputation as an abusive employer is well known, but after over a year trying to find ANY basic tech job after graduating with Bachelor of IT, this was the only one besides the job I already had while attending...

9 years of employment in US and Canada. IBM continually got worse. Management is incompetent and the company has a culture of using people. Just walk into their offices and you will be reminded of sweat shops with the way foreign workers are treated...

I worked at IBM for 3 years... 3 years of my life i can never get back...management was horrible... one manager would constantly yell at employees for no reason... it was embarrassing being on the phone with a user and having your manager yell at the team for calls being in the queue... everybody did their best but it was never enough... I did 99% of my work without error and the 1% that did...

I have worked for BP as a contractor for over 10 years. BP has been notorious to getting different companies to bid for IT Support Contract. This time around the winner was IBM. All I have heard were lies from the moment I spoke to a representative. If I did not have to take care of a family I would of elected to collect unemployment. This year IBM has issued furloughs backt to back 3rd and...

I worked at IBM for one year. My employment there was a result of an outsourcing agreement from the company I previously worked at. I was excited to work at IBM from the start. As my year went on, i became less thrilled about working there. For starters we where told we had to charge the client 44 hours per week. We then had to find the time on top of this for training and career development....

Never ever join . Worst experience as tech. sales.

A toxic environment of fear and intimidation mixed with managerial psychological abuse. It takes about a year to recover from the experience of having worked there. Much like post tramatic stress disorder.

I work at the Canada Lab in Markham, and can say without reservation that the once wonderful company no longer exists. Shame on the corporate pig-snouts for imbuing an atmosphere of fear and treating employees like disposable diapers. Shame on those in upper management that take the path of least resistance. Shame on government and business for not demanding more of whom they transact with. And...

I work for a Canadian company that IBM bought. Things went quickly downhill. Many of my colleagues have left or are planning to leave. Don't waste your time or career on them. Any of the benefits that IBM may have brought to the table are being slowly removed.

IBM was a pleasure to work for. I greatly enjoyed my time there. Can't recommend them enough.

IBM is a good company to if your parents left house for you, you won't be able to feed your family and mortage at the same time with the salary IBM offers, and yet they want maximum out of you. Very louzy Management!

the rating and key indicator rankings speak for themselves.

If his driver gets into a fender-bender, he does not go through insurance...he sues his driver to recover costs.

If only they had better compensation and benefits.....

I work with IBM through an agency in a two years contract non renewable in Montreal on an entry level job.In the end, I decided to leave even though I enjoyed my job and have no issue with coworker or my team lead. The name is good on my resume but i have to redo it again I won't.

Work life balance is unbearable and your schedule is done in the US.We started by doing 40h and it was cut to 36h...

My first job as a software developer after graduation was with IBM Canada, and I left the company in 2007 after six years. My hat off to people who are still working at the company. It was a great experience when I just graduated from university, but after a few years, I was burnt out. There was no life but work. I worked as a slave without or very little recognition. The year before I left the...

I want to add my 2 cents worth. You do have to filter the gripes from those who just felt they were treated unfairly (e.g. conflict with bosses/co-workers/personal life., etc) vs. those that just outline the corporate work environment in general. From my personal experience (10+ years, Band 9) split between Canada HQ and an office nearby I can suggest that IBM in all likelihood is no different...

The company is on a multi-year road of steady improvement in business and employee satisfaction. i just wish i could give 5 stars but it doesnt let me do it? Please change it. Thank you.

I used to work within the ITD (Information Technology Delivery) group. I must say that division is the arm pit of the organization eating the scraps of whatever is left from the choice divisions such as SWG (Software Group).

The budget to get anything is tiny. A person spends a lot of their time trying to find free applications down-loadable from the internet to help with their work. There is...

IBM USED to be a world class employer. When I started working for them a number of years ago, I was proud to say I worked at IBM. I felt I finally arrived. For the last 5 years IBM has reduced OT from 1.5 to 1.0, then a couple years later removed OT, cut back on pager pay, reduced the amount of money they put in our pensions, laid off significant amount of workers EVERY year, laid off contractors...

Avoid to join IBM ...

The company is on a multi-year road of steady improvement in business and employee satisfaction. i just wish i could give 5 stars but it doesnt let me do it? Please change it. Than k you.

Company is on a multi-year road of steady decline in employee satisfaction. Annual mass firings ("Resource Actions"), decreased new hiring, increased workload, yearly shaving down of employee benefits, and increased stress contribute to a hostile work environment that make this company an undesirable and untrustworthy employer.

i was very surprised to find out that ibm is breeding a workplace culture of fear. bad place to work. get out while you can still recognize the abuse. i worked there 6 months. i feel confident that my skills were beyond expectation. but it is not work ethic, skills or customer service that is valued in this work space, instead it is a buddy's club. and only a few buddies are allowed. too bad for...

IBM - GBS: Global Business Services. That is a good place to start your career but then get away...The corporate model simply exists for shareholder profit. Budget for training is always frozen, managers do not support you, you are viewed as 'disposable'. They make more money out of contractors, so if you are a permanent employee they will treat you like a kleenex. They offer good pay to start...

A truly, truly awful place to work. I've worked for six IT / tech companies in my career, the past nine years at IBM. IBM is BY FAR the worst employer I have ever worked for. Working for IBM is like being in an abusive relationship. You try to love your partner and do everything to make them happy. You do everything they ask of you and more. Despite all your efforts your partner tells you...

Worked there as a Contractor at Steeles office for 2 1/2 years. Lied to in the interview about the job. Ended up in a situation where the PM was verbally abusive and threatened with job loss. Basically forced to work 18hr shifts. Full timers treat you like sh*t even if you are more qualified and experienced than they are. Very toxic environment between contractors and full timers. Foot in the...

I've been here 9yrs now. It's a culture of fear. Layoffs are common for no particular reason, the only ones who get anything beyond a 1-2% raise have a C before their title, and it's common knowledge that most of the work is being sent to India. I'm just biding my time, having them pay for my education and waiting for the right opportunity.

I can honestly say that this is the worst place I have ever worked at. There was probably a time when IBM took care of its employees but those days have long gone. Managers are poorly trained, the enviorment is highly political, (...).

I will not recommned for anyone to work at IBM.

After working for IBM for 10 years I discovered that contrary to the employee handbook I qualified for 7 days of annual vacation, to qualify for the 4 weeks of vacation time that the handbook claims I am entitled to I would need to work at least 104 hours of uncompensated overtime. This may be good for the bottom line but makes you wonder when management will start telling the truth and follow...

IBM Canada @ 3600 steeles avenue is absolutely horrendous!!! The IBM campus is a planet of multicultural apes..non whites are doing menial jobs while the white folks are in management roles and have been in IBM for thousands of years, so it seems!!! Unappreciative, demanding, stressful and absolutely thankless managers leading teams. I have seen most male managers act as puppets to women in their...

Avoid unless you want to be treated like a cubicle slave

If you end up in a car accident and you've used sick time.. forget help from IBM. The lack of benefits was very mediocre for such a highly rated company as IBM. A lot of internal quarrels and social groupings caused for a very tense atmosphere to work at.

The website's recommendation of not putting a one for anything is unfair...clearly the person who put that line in likes their job and gets proper compensation and recognition for it. Working in the Philips/DAP warranty customer service department, you are given a contract; this means no benefits, no holidays, no consideration for your talents, and you are basically treated as less than human....

IBM only exists and is run for 1 purpose - Sam Palmisano's $25 million salary.

IBM is a sweatshop and generally a crap place to work. Pay raises are non existant unless you are exceptional and still you only receive 1-2%!!!

Every benefit has been cut - pager pay halved, no more paid overtime, 44 hour working week all whilst we see the Senior Management getting rich, declaring huge profits...

Everyday it becomes more like a sweat shop. They work you to the bone and say it is not enough. Asking you to work weekends and extra long hours is everyday practice.

Would not recommend to anyone. If this is the only job you find maybe stick to it until you find something better but find another one fast before your soul is crushed.

Okay as an entry point for your career - but not where you want to gain ethics or advance yourself (personally & professionally)...

IBM Saint John, N.B is an awful place to work. Worse job I've ever had. Do not apply there not unless you want to be treated like a grunt , do many jobs , no training , and back biting managers

I worked at IBM Saint John, NB and it is the worst call center in the city. I have never seen anything like it in my life�I watch a friend almost get her face punch because of poor mismanagement, then the girl was fired for being negative. The girl that almost punched my friend then was promoted, and giving employee of the month. Not a good place to work�

As most large corporate entities the real focus is on the bottom line. If you get in the way of that you get steam rolled over. Their rating system for employees is a joke. They constantly take something that is working well and change it with no consideration for the employees or the customer because the top execs need something to do.

IBM CANADA. WHERE THEY WORK U TOO THE BONE AND U DON'T GET ANY THANKS FOR IT ANYMORE. THEY TAKE AWAY YOUR PERSONALITY. NO PICTURES, PENS/PAPER. VERY TIGHT SHIP NOW. NO BENEFITS. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE STATS. SET UP ON A CONTRACT FOR AT LEAST 2 YRS. DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A JOB AFTER 2 YRS UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. THE MONEY ISN'T TOO BAD. U GET MORE IF YOU SPEAK FRENCH. WHICH IS UNFAIR.

I work for IBM, Canada , Saint John

Believe me, Everything the above caller mentioned about Ibm is the " God honest Truth"

IBM is a sweat shop and they care more about the rugs on the floor then they do about employees

To the caller above:

I couldn't explain it any better then you have - Believe me, every employee at Ibm Saint John Center feels the same way you do ... !!!

To remain competitive in the marketplace, IBM has had to change some of their business strategies that result in it being a less favourable place to work than it was in past years. Having said that, IBM still has a strong culture of diversity, respect for the individual and doing the right things for its customers. When compared side-by-side with other customer contact centres, IBM holds up...

Overall great place to build a career. The overall economic environment is causing some additional work load and stress but I believe this would be true in most organizations.

I legitimately went through and read the questions and answered how i felt and it says " no employer deserves a single star rating, please review", well you clearly haven worked for this company.. i can put 5 stars for one thing.. and that is feedback is given regularly.. but its all negative, you could be a star empolyee but your still not good enough.. so whats the point in trying??

I've worked in the IBM contact centre in Saint John, NB, and I dare say it's one of the worst workplaces I have ever seen in my entire life. It's simply mindboggling.

Like other reviews mention, IBM LOVES 2 year contracts. No benefits...or sick time....or holidays! You are a treated as not a employee, but as a tool to be exploited....and dare I say as less than a human being in some...

I am working for IBM for the last 20 years, trying to do my job, the emphasis are made on IBM Security Audit, and compliance. Never on how can we do a better delivery, the processes are more important then anything else.

If you want bureaucracy over bureaucracy, without efficiency do not hesitate to make your career at IBM.

Within the Criteria "Values and ....", I certainly adhere to the...

IBM is about Quantity and not Quality. IBM is sacrificing everything for their bottom dollar. There are cuts everywhere from awards to employment. Very depressing

I was with IBM dot com Canada for 3 years. Being a regular employee I found it absolutely impossible to move up or move out of my role inspite of being the top 3 performers in the sales team for 3 years. I had to live through false promises made by my manager for 2 whole years, endless lies and no appreciation whatsoever for what I contributed to the team. There was no cooperation from my...

I have 6 years at IBM and globalization and LEAN makes this the #1 employer to stay away from. More changes are coming which will effect GBS devision. The company is very system driven ie everything is available on w3, there is no training budget, and you are expected to maintain a high utilization. My experience is with Global Business Solutions, so other businesses may be better. The...

I honestly would only recommend working for IBM's accounts receivable department to be able to put the name on your CV. I would not recommend working their as a career or longer than a year, unless you like to be miserable, and have coworkers treat you like a second class citizen, while under "contract" status. They won't even give you a reference, and you have to follow up everyday for a month...

One's experience at IBM is dependent on the role and the manager. With a good manager (quite rare these days), a professional can have a very rewarding experience. With the more common poor manager, one's professional experience is slave to the manager's whims.

IBM has a prevailing culture of fear. In these economic times, the fear stick is the favorite motivator for the typical manager. Did...

Would never recommend IBM as a place for a professional, committed person to work. You are treated like dirt, undermined and made to feel totally worthless. There is a predominant feeling of fear that is used to drive people to work longer and longer hours. Working at IBM was a lifelong dream that turned into a battle for survival and self esteem. Suffered from post traumatic stress for a year...

Worked as a contractor. Manager has no management skills and team lead has even less (except for yelling and getting other people to do his work) I would have given them a less than one rating if it was possible. The IBM regulars were incompetent and lazy. Worst work experience I had in thirty years.

Stay away if your a contractor they look at you as scum of the earth (its a corporate mindset).

I worked for IBM from 1999 to 2007 when I was offered a packaged, along with many others affected by the LEAN program (google it). It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't recommend IBM to anyone, and like many others mentioned, in 1999 things were VERY different than they are today. Ask anyone who has left IBM if they would go back, I think the majority would say "no". No...

Had a very positive experience working the R&D; lab. People are friendly and helpful. Very little politics going on. Being such a big company it is unrealistic to expect any sort of promotion. But it is a stable job that pays enough to feed my family.

These guys do a slick job of selling you promises of a great place to work. They lie to you during the hiring process. They intimidate employees by making them feel stupid and worthless during performance reviews (this is done behind closed doors). Training and career advancement - lies. You need to be friends with right managers and graduate from the right colleges to get anywhere. These...

I worked for IBM Canada for 9 years. In those years, I was trained for many new positions but not enough for any on position or promotion. I was literally trained in to a corner. After 9 years, I requested a transfer for another Ontario office and was denied because they couldnt find a position I was suitable or trained to do. They "specialized" me so much, I had no where I could go because I...

I dont know if its Ibm canada or just IBM overall but I always wanted to work for ibm. After 3 years of working in a pretty high position I have decided to join CGI. IBM is a good company but sadly upper management is crowded by lesser qualified people who in turn promote others like themselves. If you want to succeed in this corporate jungle you have to leave and then come back in a few years in...

I worked at IBM from 1999-2006. I was there long enough to see it

change from a mediocre company when i started, but fairly decent (in 1999)

to a sweat-shop indistinguishable from any other Big 500.

The corporate model simply exists for shareholder profit. They don't care

about employee satisfaction anymore - they cut overtime and pager-pay way

back in 2002, and you can be expected...

One has to consider the following: when freelancers do not want to work for IBM anymore, there must be something wrong. The amount of work is always underestimated, there is no real contact between people aside from email and conferences. Alsi, the book of procedures has become so huge: on the last contract we will have, we will make no money, fulfill all forms adequately and the time requested...

I worked at IBM for over a decade. I stayed 5 years too long. It was a great place to learn the technology but pretty soon you hit a level (I was a band 8) that's very tough to advance from. And management really doesn't support advancement because of all the relics that this company contains. 25+ year IBM'ers are not moving unless they retire. The younger generation languishes behind them. ...

Spent 3 years in an environment where there is no recognition, lots of false promises, and many managers who don't care about you. They set team goals so high it's almost impossible to reach and you never get your annual bonus unless you are in management. They'll promise you promotion if you work hard, but it seems like a ploy to just string you along until you smarten up.

There seemed to...

IBM in Montreal was good to me. But not IBM in Edmonton. The manager had no experience and paid no attention to his employees. Anytime we tried to talk to him about how to improve things, he ignored us and did nothing about it. The Team Leader was also the worst! He had no communication skills and he yelled at employees when he got nervous.

Compensation was very low in comparison to other IT...

These reviews are not very relevant for companies like IBM because they are too big. There are so many distinct divisions inside IBM, I think each one should be rated independently.

However, taking everything into account IBM Canada is just a bit above average, 3.5 maybe 4 stars.

IBM is a serious company, but drags along lots of lugage being a very large organization with a complex business model. In IT and IS services they have the largest and most complex business of profit centres, sales channels and routes to market.

You can change jobs ever 2 years for the rest of your career and never work in the same unit twice and never have to leave IBM. That is not always a...

IBM? whats IBM? ANYBODY KNOWS WHAT IBM IS?

Despite these criteria to evaluate the company, IBM is a company that always innovate and put all the energy required for the succes of its customers...and this is an important criteria of satisfaction when you expect to do a long career with such an employer.