In Reply to: New Recruits posted by Keith on 09 March 2006 at 12:58:36:
Keith
You make good points. An additional point worth making is that though IBM HR may boast that it has a good benefits structure, the level of benefits is often low. New recruits need to be warned that though initial salaries and the first two increases are attractive, salaries level off very quickly. The long-term impression that IBM gave of being in the top 10% of employers for pay -- the so-called Criterion Group -- is no longer true. Indeed, average IBM UK pay for many job classes is now below the UK average. Appalling but true.
But actually most people in the IT industry have worked out that IBM is no longer a good employer to stick with. 50% of IBM's employees now have less than five years' service with the company. IBM is nice to have as a line item on your CV, but 2-3 years is quite enough. Anything more looks like an addiction to pain.
It was Gerstner who effectively started the big wave of recruiting from outside. But most mid-career hires don't stay for long because of the complexity of IBM's processes, and because IBM's culture is fine for a successful organisation but hopeless for a company that needs to change -- unless you're in HQ, you just can't say 'This ain't gonna work'. [The non-concur system was one of the first things Gerstner jettisoned in 1993.]
IBM complains that there are not enough women in the company. My belief is that they are just too damned sensible. But don't get me started.
Jo E