Thread regarding IBM layoffs

So why not even COLA (Cost of Living)? None of my colleagues, nor extended colleagues, nor even boss, have gotten even COLA in 5+ years.

I’ve gotten a raise and bonus every year the past 18 years, except recent when no one in the company did. You guys must be old boomers with no skillz.
If you’re wondering where the money is… it’s going to bruhz like me.

5. 5 years at IBM. Not a single raise. Not even COLA. Boss gets enough to give ONE PERSON a COLA raise - and so he does "to not pi-s the rest of us off". Which ...

Bonuses and such are restricted to the very absolute top 1++ rating performers.

I get, somewhat, that I'm band 9, and most of the team are, and Band 10/STSM is far rarer, but not even COLA. I even get "a lean year" but not 5+ years of nothing.

At NTAP I at least got COLA every year while moving up and always a bonus. Even an average joe rating would get something. The 1's at NTAP paid me well - but the same at IBM is a 3 which is far from 1+++ in getting anything.

I don't get their "competitive analysis" as NTAP is 5 miles away and IBM certainly isn't competitive with them. Nor CISCO (also 4-5 miles away). Nor ...

My quandry is I want to retire in ~ 3 years. Access to IBM health care is all I'd get in "retirement" but at least isn't open-market. But 3 more years would also be quite painful. I'm really trying NOT to "retire in place" but IBM is so de-motivating .

ibm india salary structure band 8?

If you love not knowing if you will have a job in the next 5 minutes IBM is the place for you. Also if you love age discrimination you can't find a better employer.

Any updates here?

I worked at IBM for 2 years, my mentor left my first week because he saw I was making significantly more than he. He had 15 years with the company, a top performer in our division. I left IBM when I too realized no matter how hard I worked, how much of the mandatory overtime I did with a "smile" on my face, the only raise I was going to get was the amount of overtime they were going to push on me. My bonus was a joke, how do you receive the highest rating possible and your bonus in low. IBM treats you like they own you, they are inconsiderate of PTO, and your days off. My manager actually called me while I was on vacation at Disney world with my family on my personal phone. Mind you I sent him a detailed email prior to going on vacation and updated the status on all my jobs. There was no need to reach out to me. I made great life long friends while with IBM but I would never work for them again.

Happy@IBM, congratulations on your success. But with all due respect don't expect it to continue. Successes like you are just as likely to be laid off tomorrow as anyone else. There is no logic or fairness to the RA process. Outstanding performers get cut all the time.

I'm not sure how average the performers are that post about IBM bands, salary increases, etc. But I can tell you that if you are a true leader, a true performer, basically rock-star status in your brand, you can excel in IBM. You need to drive your own future, drive your own increases, build yourself a brand that is exposed to executives 3-4+ levels higher that you and then drive your career. IBM will not help you do this.

For example. I'm a 2012 new hire at IBM. Band 7 @ $100K base. By driving my career and excelling at everything I do, I have managed to move up to Band 9 @ $165k base in only 6 years.

Best of luck to everyone!

Another interesting point about salary ranges I discovered when I was told I was over penetrated in my salary range for a couple of years is that the high end of my salary range was shifted down. So even though I had received no raises for as couple of years I was moving up in their salary range.

As they say figures do not lie but liars know how to figure.

Thank you @wku this was very useful

I've been band 9 since 2009. When I was Band 8 prior to that I was at something like 125% of the midpoint for that band. Since becoming band 9, I have drifted steadily lower (due to tiny or no increases) until I am now right at the midpoint for the band and that is a base of just under 129k per year. I'm not in sales so my bonus when there is one is usually less than $1,000. This is in Canada where you can also ask your manager for a printout showing where you are in your pay range.

I was a band 10 sales exec when I left, my base was $150k with on target earnings of $225k. My best year with accelerators was $750k. The next year, I had nothing left to sell to my thee customers and they wanted to put me on a PIP, so I left and found a new gig.

I am Band 9, SWG (or what is left of it!), 17 years at IBM, making 150K base salary. No need to talk about bonuses... There are none anymore!

Please share your own comp.

The law protects your right to share your salary information with coworkers. There is nothing IBM can do to prevent it.

most in the US get a paper printout anytime you get a bonus or raise that lists where you are in the salary band, as well as top and bottom limits to your band. You are considered to be 'fully compensated' when you're at the 50th percentile, and it's basically impossible in the IBM system to get a raise in your band after that point because you will go above the average market rate for your band.

HR and your manager know the details behind this but they are not allowed by policy to tell you any of the deets.

As far as actually getting a raise goes, each manager is given a very specific pile of money to allocate at raise time. Your manager, no matter how great you are, is unable to give you a raise larger than that pile of money. Your manager also has to split that money across everyone in the department, so giving the whole thing to one employee probably takes very specific effort and justification from the manager.

From what I have personally seen, salary bands aren't necessarily related to a salary cap. As others have mentioned, if you get to 50% of that range, it makes it very hard to get a pay raise. For example, when I started I was told that my band had a salary range of $50,000 - $250,000 and it was explained that since IBM doesn't have a definitive career path system, it's possible to stay within your same salary band for years or maybe your whole career. So, let's say you're an administrative assistant. In other organizations you might be an Admin Asst I at the low end of the payscale and after a year or two you can be promoted to Admin Asst II and take on more responsibilities. There may be a path for Admin Asst III and IV and then up to Senior Admin Asst or Executive Assistant. Lots of jobs have those sorts of growth paths within the same realm - you take on more responsibility, you get a pay increase and a title change. But IBM doesn't really do that. You're either a worker, a manager, director, VP, Pres, etc. with nothing in between. So there is wiggle room for increased pay to offset the fact your title will be 'flat' for years/decades.

Some of the bands aren't necessarily capped by salary - in theory, you can make 6 figures at a low band number - but instead they cap the job responsibilities. Using the admin example, your duties might be defined as ordering supplies, organizing calendars, maintaining meeting rooms, etc. and even if you actually do more than that, your job description doesn't say those things, so "on paper" you don't do those things. So let's say that an admin in band 4 actually takes on a ton of organizational work and would be great as a project manager, that person may not be eligible to apply for a job that is listed as a band 7. They may have the skills and experience, but their band level prevents them from being considered. THAT is where the band system falls apart. I have seen lots of people in lower bands who grow their skills and want to move "up" but they're not eligible to apply and so they get frustrated and leave IBM. I'm sure this is deliberate. If you're hired in at certain band levels, it's not about pay but rather future growth. IBM would rather you leave after a few years and replace you with someone less expensive.

Also, as others have said: raises are VERY hard to get. Regardless of how much your job grows and your skills expand and your excellent reviews, it is difficult. I had a manager start the process (someone I trusted and was actually looking out for me) and since I hadn't gotten a pay increase in a few years the proposal was for a 10% increase (which is still way behind inflation, etc.) and it took about 18 months and in the end I got a 3% increase. My manager was disappointed and the worst part is that now that I was given 'something' I won't be eligible for anything more for probably another 18-24 months.