Why are some people dissatisfied even when they are promoted at IBM, that is, do they seem to become even more dissatisfied after being promoted? I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth striving for promotion here at all. My former colleague left just a month after he got a promotion.
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some folks will unconditionally be promoted when they toss in their resignation
except for Whitehurst
Believe it or not, some folks will unconditionally be promoted when they toss in their resignation - whether or not they decide to move forward with the resignation.
Better title means better opportunities outside of IBM. Seems like a no brainer.
I got promoted. i complained that my peers from outside companies were being paid more. IBM responded by saying I was already top of band, so they put me in for a band promotion. I liked my manager but she could only do so much. By the time they moved me up a band, I was very disillusioned and I had already been interviewing outside the company. When the promotion/band upgrade finally came through, the raise was only 5%. So I immediately restarted the interview process and left for a company that pays me 25% more than IBM and is more relevant in the industry. I actually wonder if this was planned "attrition" by IBM, because I know some of my peers within IBM were being paid much more than me - close to the 25% I got by leaving and of course they weren't complaining like me. Sometimes, perhaps more often than not, the squeaky wheel at IBM doesn't get the oil
Frequently promotions are part of IBM's negotiating to keep someone, or in situations where there is a sense someone might be leaving. It is probably not how the system should work, and certainly this is not an IBM-only type of a problem, but tactically, the promotion makes it easier to get someone to a competitive pay, thus less likely to leave. You can go out of cycle and do more on the pay side which may be otherwise system constrained. If you do get promoted, that will make you potentially more valuable to another employer, and more likely to get an offer, as they tend to favor picking up employees that have recent promotions showing.
In the situation described by OP, the former colleague probably had another job lined up ahead of the promotion. Due to vagaries of timing and other circumstances, it can take a couple of months to get over into a new company or position. They may have had an offer on the table that was higher than IBM was willing to go, even with the promotion. Your value to IBM or another employer can vary a lot, based on supply and demand, what work they have for you, so it is not unusual that another company will pay more. The area I worked in had somewhat specialized skills, we lost people to Google, Arm, etc., mostly out of 20-25% above what IBM was willing to go to. IBM eventually reacted, once the brain-drain got too bad, but it is pretty simple supply & demand.
Because they got fired
An IBM promotion is not always good. I have turned down the last promotion offer because it was a lot more work (have to compete with those at that level to get a good performance review), required a few weeks per year with off-shift responsibilities (and all new-to-the-level get a holiday week the first year), and the pay raise would be small. Never mind the promotion.....I will just do my current job for a few more years and then retire.
If they were promoted into management and left, it probably means that they are a compassionate and idealistic individual. It is easier to put up with bad business policies when it only affects you as an individual employee, but when you are promoted into IBM management you are made a "cat's paw" for a human resources organization that is ultimately driven by finance and its earnings-per-share mandates.
Being constantly "at risk" is bearable for good individuals but being asked by the human resources organization to put "others at risk" is unbearable when it is not for performance reasons but just "wrong place, wrong time" or "oops, we have to make our EPS this quarter."
It involves the Golden Rule and puts a good manager into the position of implementing policies that they know are wrong. No really good individual can manage in that environment for very long.
Use it as a negotiation to next step... and... being a manager in IBM is horrible.. really... You make less, at least in sales, and the bullseye is just bigger...
Because at IBM, everyone is looking to leave. Promotion is a gift to negotiate for better job outside.
They're using that promotion to negotiate a better deal with another employer, which is a smart move ... because if you stick around, you'll just be re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.