Awful culture - Anonymous employee ManpowerGroup Employee Review

Where to even begin ... I've held several positions in different teams in IBM in Ballycoolin, and the griefs listed below I've all experienced personally. These are not the result of one rotten apple destroying the morale and work environment in one team, this is the result of the mentality of HR and the management as a whole. I began as a service desk agent at the helpdesk. I did an interview and didn't hear anything for months afterwards. Then suddenly out of the blue I was contacted and Manpower expected me to be able to start a week later. I was moving to Ireland from another country and had informed them that I had to be given a heads up at least one month in advance, but they didn't care. Working at the helpdesk I was expected to magically know how to resolve issues without being given any training in advance. I was put on the line for specific issues/programs without being told, and if I was to receive any training I so desperately needed I first had to screw up so badly the team leader was forced to let me shadow with someone. Breaks were not something I was entitled to. Officially you have one break in the morning and one in the afternoon at 15 min each + a half hour lunch, but management will find a way to rob you of those if they can get away with it. I was called into a meeting with my manager and team lead, because I had gone on breaks and lunch when my team mates were out on their smoking breaks. I was told I could only go when no one else was away. So I frequently had to go the entire day, 8.5 hours, without lunch or a single break. Let me repeat: I had to sit at my desk and take calls, covering for my team mates who were away all the time on smoking breaks, the entire day straight, without eating or drinking. When I finally was off in the afternoon I felt dizzy and ill. Again, Manpower and the management couldn't care less. There is no room for career growth unless you are chummy with the right people. To be given more responsibility and a chance to prove yourself mainly rests on if your team lead likes you or not. If they don't, you're stuck. In the last team I was a part of before I got out of there this was especially apparent. The person HR and the manager had chosen to be team lead had no previous experience in this role. They would constantly yell at the team members they didn't like if we dared to ask a question about how to perform a task. At the same time they would give the more interesting and rewarding roles to their pets in the team. I had to find out on my own how to do my job, and whenever I did a mistake, which was bound to happen when I had no one to guide me, it was all my fault. There was no point going to the manager or HR. They would defend the team lead and when the quality of the work plummeted because we were virtually without any leader, they blamed it on the agents. I was called into several meetings with the team lead and HR because the quality of my work was not "strong enough" and I didn't resolve enough tickets. When I pointed out this was because of the fact there was no one to teach me, it was thrown back at me that I was supposed to know the procedures by now. I was then threatened with disciplinary and PIP. It was never, never the fault of the management. The thing about the management is this: They won't do anything about a toxic working environment unless they are forced to. They appoint people to team leads who they deem "deserves" it, usually only because they've been with IBM for a long time, not because they are suited to the position in any way. When it becomes obvious this person doesn't posses the qualifications for such a role, instead of removing this person and apologize for their mistake, they defend and empower the person and let the rest of the team suffer for it. Not until it becomes obvious to the higher ups in the organisation and the client starts to ask questions will they do something about it. And only because they personally might get in trouble. To put some numbers into this: In the final team I was a part of, just in the first couple of months, at one point 8 people quit in 8 weeks. The trickle of people leaving because of the team lead and lack of responsibility from the management continued steadily. When I at last got out I was the 4th person to leave in a 5 weeks period. So to sum it up: In IBM Ballycoolin, Dublin the team leaders can bully, demean and intimidate employees with the approval of HR and the managers. Instead of losing their jobs they are empowered and promoted, while intelligent, hard working employees leave the moment another opportunity presents itself elsewhere. IBM in Ballycoolin is a place you want to avoid at all cost. I would give this place 0 stars if I could. This place destroys your spirit and makes you lose faith in humanity. Stay away!