Beyond the Bench

Circa 1999: The CEO and HR head of a leading software development company are

locked in a serious discussion. It is about the high attrition rate witnessed by

the company in recent times. There is a lengthy discussion on how difficult it

is to manage client expectations and hire the ‘perfect combination of IT

skills’ at short notice. The HR head is asked to hire a bunch of fresh MCA’s

and B Tech’s and schedule them for project-oriented training.

Skills that Sell

ERP/CRM/SCM: SAP, PeopleSoft, and functional experts.

Internet: J2EE, WebSphere, and Weblogic

Mainframes: IBM S/390, Web enabling existing MF applications and maintenance

RDBMS: Oracle 9i and 11i, embedded software and Linux

Circa 2001: The CEO and the HR head are caught up in a discussion again. This

time though, the HR head is told to trim the workforce by 50%.

Circa 2002: The CEO and the HR head meet again. The mood is still somber, but

there is hope on the horizon. Projects have begun to trickle in and the company

needs people again. However, the largesse of the IT boom is missing. The CEO’s

command of "Go out and get the best, whatever it takes," has been

replaced by "Hire people as we need them. ROI is crucial".

The job market has had its highs and lows and ironical situations like the

one described above are being played in companies across the IT industry. For IT

professionals across the world, the slowdown has indeed been a learning

experience. And for far too many Indian whiz kids, the American dream ended as a

nightmare. With the baggage of bruised egos and broken careers,

homecoming was not easy. The smart ones consoled themselves and began ‘to

explore their roots’ as ‘they wanted do something to India’. Too

proud to return to India without a job, others stuck on in the US, hoping

something would work out, somewhere. Still others shed the erstwhile arrogance

about ‘accepting assignments only in the US, nowhere else’ and moved to

projects in Germany, Italy, Malaysia or even Dubai. And finally, a good many

simply caught the next flight to India. Now, finally, the gloom seems to be

lifting. The IT job market is showing certain signs of revival. This could well

be the end of being on the ‘bench’.

Is IT happening?



Is IT recruitment really picking up? "Not on a very large scale, but it

is happening very slowly," says Rajan Bhatnagar, MD and CEO, Jobcurry.com.

"The positions that have been open for several months are gradually being

filled now. Most companies that had put recruitment on hold are closing the

positions. For instance, we have placed over 30 candidates in the last three

months on assignments in India and abroad. However, placements abroad have

become tougher, because candidates are more conscious about job security these

days and are unwilling to leave their current jobs in India for ones abroad.

"This factor has increased the domestic demand and we expect this trend to

continue," adds Bhatnagar.

 Agrees Cognizant Technology Solutions senior vice president R

Chandrasekaran, "We do not find any new momentum in the recruitment

activities of IT organizations. The focus of organizations in the last couple of

months has been to review their existing work force and to deal with new campus

recruits. As most organizations had built a significant buffer earlier, there

seems to be no need for large-scale recruitment," says Chandrasekaran.

Does that mean recruitment is not happening at all? No, the situation is not

that bleak. The slowdown has clearly changed recruiting patterns. For instance,

companies are realigning their processes towards the offshore model and this is

where recruitment happens in India. For instance, American Megatrends, a US

based leader in storage software and computer utilities has set up a 20,000

square feet development facility near Chennai recently. The company, which has

recruited around 200 professionals, will add more than 1000 staffers in a

two-year period when the facility becomes fully operational.

Comments Sruthi Sagar Ananthachari, VP, international operations and HR,

Covansys India, "Today, companies are moving a bulk of activities offshore,

as it is economically viable. Considering the value proposition of the offshore

model, European and US companies view India as an ideal destination."

Covansys, which currently employs around 1,500, has plans to expand its offshore

activities. In fact, the company evidently has plans to triple its work force in

order to increase its offshore revenues from 25 % to 40%. TCS meanwhile, has

spruced up its offshore IT infrastructure at its Sholinganallur facility near

Chennai. The company has laid out an ambitious roadmap for Linux based services

in alliance with IBM. Like TCS, many IT companies are exploring Linux, an area

that will see recruitment happening in the coming days. For instance, Oracle

Corporation has decided to run its whole business on Linux. Oracle is replacing

three of its UNIX servers that currently run the major part of its business in

US with a cluster of Intel based servers running Linux. According to analysts,

this move by Oracle will give a major fillip to Linux based services worldwide.

Demand drivers



With global majors like IBM and Oracle going the Linux way, it becomes

evident that Linux based skill sets will be sought by companies in the coming

days. Infosys Technologies senior vice president HRD Hema Ravichander says,

"Recruitment has always been active for specific roles and technology

areas. Companies are still interested in capable people." Today, a software

professional has to be agile and willing to learn new technologies in a short

span of time. "At Infosys, we have always focused on recruiting employees

who demonstrate the ability to derive knowledge from specific experiences and

apply the same to new situations," adds Hema.

While the demand for skilled workers is still there, the slowdown has ushered

in a change in perception. For instance, competence is the key deciding factor

today. Gone are the days when a candidate could find a place in an IT company

based on a mere professional degree. While this has become the base

qualification, to be on the payrolls one needs to have strong domain expertise.

Observes E Balaji, GM, selection and quality, MaFoi Management Consultants,

"Companies that are recruiting right now are quite particular about the

quality of the personnel, unlike in the past when anybody who had a basic

training in IT could land a job. Today employers are looking for people with

domain experience in live projects."

Given that, what kind of people are companies looking at right now? "ERP

and CRM related skills such as implementation specialists and database

administrators will continue to be in demand. High-end Internet technologies

like J2EE, Web logic, and WebSphere will be sought after as the economy gains

momentum. In fact, in areas like Linux and embedded software, I see a shortage

of skilled personnel down the line," says Bhatnagar.

ERP is one area to watch out for. For instance, SAP skill sets are very much

in demand now. Says Balaji, "We see a clear resurgence of SAP, mainly

because of its flexibility. It was among the first ERP vendors to foray into SCM

and CRM solutions and created the market demand." ERP, which was written

off a couple of years ago, is back. The reason– the competitive advantage it

brings to the enterprise. Also, there is a growing realization that a successful

enterprise should have a healthy mix of legacy systems and new technologies.

Reflecting on this, Sailesh Menezes, manager, strategic resourcing, Wipro

Technologies says, "Large corporate houses are consolidating existing

systems and processes. The primary drivers that will help bring about this

transformation are ERP, SCM and CRM technologies, which will be in demand in the

future."

Verticals in focus



While ERP is poised for big times ahead, the next major market movers will

be banking, finance, and the insurance sector. While this sector is recruiting

IT talent extensively, there are other verticals like pharmaceuticals, telecom

and manufacturing, which are also generating good interest. The government is

also set to emerge as a major sector that will use IT with many state

governments launching various e-governance initiatives. Says Balaji, "We

have witnessed a good growth in the number of placements relating to the

financial sector.’’

Marketing IT



Companies have all along been focusing on technology, and the ones that are

beating the slowdown, are doing so with a pro-active marketing team. Technical

expertise alone is not sufficient today. Whether it is products or projects, it

all boils down to marketing. With the slowdown, the emphasis on marketing has

become pervasive. Today many IT companies are on the lookout for business savvy

CEO’s, marketing heads, and business development managers. For instance

TriVium, a CRM major in the country is expanding its sales force across the

country. Meanwhile, Chennai based Ramco Systems is laying stress on business

development. The company is planning to hire marketing professionals all across

the world.

Europe calling?



The tech meltdown in the US has prompted IT professionals to explore new

geographies that were traditional non-destinations a few years back. Europe

today is considered as the potential market that is expected to absorb a sizable

number of professionals. While opportunities exist in countries like Germany,

Italy, Belgium, and Finland, a major deterrent that discourages many to take

assignments outside the traditional UK market is– racial discrimination. For

instance, Germany, which launched the green card scheme a couple of years back

to popularize permanent residence in the country, had a serious setback when

Skinheads (a group against Asians and Africans, also called Neo Nazis) assaulted

the first green card incumbent. Hence, xenophobia is very much a reality in

countries like Germany and Italy. Also, language is considered as a major

barrier. Opportunities in Europe are like a double-edged sword and due to these

factors, the US still remains the most preferred destination for the majority of

IT job seekers.

Freshers in a fix



It is April and educational institutions across the country are churning out

thousands of BEs, BTechs and MCAs. What prospects do they have in a market

choked with experienced IT professionals? The mood in university campuses across

the country is one of hope and despair. Hope–that the market picks up. Despair

–about the reduction in campus recruitment. Analysts attribute the reduction

in campus recruitment to excess availability of experienced IT workers who were

willing to take a salary cut due to the slowdown. This group becomes the ideal

choice for companies. The result - campus recruitment has not taken place in a

big way. Also, many IT companies are still grappling with last year’s campus

recruits, who were not assigned any full time projects. For instance, a

prominent engineering college near Chennai was shocked when the leading company

that had earlier offered appointment letters to more that 150-graduating

students, later reduced the intake to 50 % of the by revoking the appointments

to the majority. For freshers in the IT industry, the road ahead is challenging

indeed.

G Shrikanth in Chennai