Read full blow by blow article of my 3 months in IBM India Pvt. Ltd. - Manyata if you have the time..
I was exhilarated when I was offered a post as a Sr. Business Analyst in S&D in IBM Manyata. I had always held IBM with a slightly higher esteem than my previous employer (HP).
Before joining date they will give you a ton of forms to fill online so that induction is easy.. What lies.
On the joining day.. They will make you manually write on each sheet.. Details like emp id, dept, I agree.. Etc and sign on each sheet.. Then make 2/3 copies of each and again repeat same procedure.. Overall joining forms took 5 hrs to complete. What a bunch of losers.. So called on-boarding team.. You see... You start off on the wrong footing there itself. Then the brainwashing starts. IBM is #1. I heard that that at the very least 200 times in a single day. And they keep putting down HP, Microsoft and all other major competitors.. - so much that it getrs irritating. When I was in HP and it was doing better than IBM (before 2010) - I was never told HP is #1.The feeling came from within. When you saw ads/articles in the paper/other media sources..
My offer letter promised me at least 1 day work from home. I was staying a good 35km from god-forsaken north b’lore where there is no life or ground water anyways.. Induction was a cheapskate in house affair.. Even HP in recession times was taking new joiners to Leela/Le Meridien etc.
ON joining.. I was given a temporary laptop.. (which had display issues and crashed two times - had to re-image the damn thing once). After joining I found out that I would lead the project. I had an entire testing team from Haryana dotted line reporting to me.. Sending me test reports without test scripts and I had no idea what they were even trying to achieve..
It was a split shift => 11 am -3 pm (in office) .. So I had to leave home at 9 am to be in office by 11 am and then leave by 3:30 to reach home by 6 pm and then login from home till about 11 pm.. Yeah.. 14 hrs a day.. I spent more time reading mags during the journey to and from office than I actually spend concentrating on work!!!!
Later I found myself carrying out 3 roles.. Project Manager/Business Analyst/Test Architect.. Of course only paid for the lowest of the three profiles..
I went to Manyata for almost every day during my little over 3 month tenure there - reason being the other 2 pms with me were in fact doing quite poorly..
My manager’s face resembled a bull terrier.. Always.. Abusive.. Using words like "that’s the bottom line.. Coz I said so.. / I don’t want one more word on this..etc" - true enough one of the pms was incompetent.. Still managers should be more mature/professional. Just coz one of 3 projects is doing bad.. You cant penalize all 3 teams..
I decided to quit that day as I had another offer in hand.. Went about drafting a mail..mgr went on leave.. So mailed him.. Telling him to consider the next day as the first day of notice period.. This fella comes after 1 week. Of leave.. Asks for a meeting wanting to know the reasons for me leaving (although clearly explained in the mail) and then post the meeting says now he can consider the start of my notice period..
I try to politely reason with him.. NO GO.. So then I escalated to HR Partner.. They tell me there is a policy.. Whereby a manager need not accept the email resignation until verbal comm is done.. Asks me how I am not aware of the policy.. I try explaining to the numb skull that no one knows how to go about the resignation process till the time arises when they need to do so.. He threatens not to give my relieving letter.. I threaten him back telling I wont serve notice period then.. Fool backs off.. He thought I would be submissive.. I have 7+ experience in a similar MNC!!!
Then I hear my mgr bark at him telling him not to negotiate with me and his word is final. So I have to serve not 30 days but almost 40 days notice period now.
So I escalate to the second line mgr, who actually interviewed me. Only to find out that my mgr was newly promoted yada yada etc..(btw, this guy will tell you he has worked in whichever company you have worked.. During the interview process) and now I begin to understand why people should become managers before they’re 39..this guy was obviously so frustrated at not becoming one. Before that. He tries to reason with me.. Saying give this new mgr more time.. And that he will mentor him. Fortunately for me.The 3rd line mgr was in town from US.. My 2nd line mgr pushed my case to him.. We three had a conversation and he literally asked me to list all my needs and offered to fulfil them 100%. Goodness me. Hopeless retention strategy..
I flatly tell them my rating/performance still has to come from the guy who makes working hell for me.. And these two will not be involved or may go back to US..etc.. They persist and give me 3 days to think it over.. I tell them the damage has been done and I don’t want to start my IBM career.. With a blot like this one..
IBM maybe a great tech company. Good projects and all.. May still have got a few talented ppl... But you can still end up in shitty team.. Or worse with a "bull terrier" manager...
Other cons.. Pantry size - over 200 sq.ft.. All it contains.. One microwave and a water canister.. No tea/coffee even.. Hopeless.. Cafeteria food is way below par and the food court is exorbitantly priced!!
Hardly any amenities. Most HR and company policies are non-employee oriented and employees are treated like machines. Or numbers on a spreadsheet like non-living things.
No shuttle bus from gate to office (approx 1 km) - you have use manyata shuttle (only once in 20 min) and even in peak of summer. At any given time.This bus which has a max capacity of 20-23 is overloaded with more than 60.. People packed liked sardines. This bus is used by labourers.. Sometimes covered in mud/cement with full sweaty bodies.. No disrespect to them, just trying to point out how much IBM loves its employees (regardless if your band 7/8 or whatever)
For some reason IBM thinks that there is no office suite better than the ultimate crap "Lotus". You even need a special license to get MS Office installed on your system.
Stupid acronyms like TP.. WTH? They make you return your laptop etc.. You have to wait 2-3 days before they give you relieving letter.. Till then you’re filled with suspense.. As to whether you will even get one.. They want you to give the relieving letter from previous organization withing 30 days of joining. But when you leave.. They give your final settlement in 45 working days..hypocrites...
HP may not be performing well.. But sure as hell treats you like a human..sometimes it just comes down to that !!!
On my last day - I get a call from HR.. Saying I am always welcome to join IBM again.. Well.. You had your chance IBM and you screwed it up.. Maybe Domlur or SA.. Never in MTP again.. And still I will have my reservations.. You may be performing well.. But at least I will live with the satisfaction that I do not wish to contribute my skills towards that..
For those of you ibmers who go gaga about IBM.. Well.. You haven’t seen life in other companies probably.. Get on with it => time to grow out of your pampers..