The Ugly IT Professional?

Shyam Malhotra "While companies have to learn to manage costs, individuals have to learn to manage without a job while going about the business of living"

Is the Indian IT professional becoming the Ugly Indian IT professional? The

last few months have seen a spate of incidents across the world that raise this

question. The arrest of the Polaris chief in Indonesia and the i-Flex Europe

chief in Britain, the rounding up of IT professionals in Malaysia and the US,

expulsions from Holland, Sun being sued by an employee for favoring Indians,

bills for banning of government jobs being outsourced to India, capping of

visas... and more.

Thus far, the visible reactions have been extreme. From "let us ignore

it" to "India’s pride has been hurt" and "these are the

handiwork of government agencies out to ensure that India does not get its

rightful place under the sun". Whichever way one looks at it, there are a

few reasons why concerted long-term action is required.

n The issues aren’t only about

business for corporates. They are also business issues for human beings scared

of losing jobs. While corporations have to learn how to manage with lower costs,

individuals have to learn to manage without a job while going about the business

of living. Both involve one thing in common–money. And at the moment, there’s

a clash between these two sets of business issues. As long as economic pressures

remain, these issues will too.

n These are not just business issues.

There’re strong undertones of social and cultural issues too, and it’d be

shortsighted to ignore them. Read the comments by individuals and you will see

what I mean. They are there on many websites. There are jokes about Indians–the

kind that can be termed racist.

n These are blips at the moment, but

they will not go away. When India’s business was small and limited to the

computer rooms of a few corporates, there were no issues. The work that we are

doing now is qualitatively different. For instance, in the call center business,

we are interacting with the world in real time. Recently, Indian call centers

were asked to stop marketing calls to the US at the time when the US President

was justifying his Iraq war to the country. For an hour, all marketing calls

were suspended. The scale of business is much higher now. So is the visibility

factor. India occupies centerstage in this business. And those who occupy that

position get bouquets. They also get brickbats.

It would be wise to get some protective gear in place. What can that be?



n Introduce transparency. Companies which get impacted have to share more.

What were the real reasons? What’re they doing to avoid this in the future?

This’ll help raise general levels of awareness. It’ll help build a feeling

that we don’t brush things under the carpet. So far–after the initial outcry–that

is precisely what’s been done. There’s been no further information about how

the issue got resolved and what caused it.

n Do not assume we are OK, while they

are not. It wouldn’t be surprising if some Indian companies somewhere were

found to be violating visa provisions. With so many people traveling and so much

pressure, it would be naïve to believe no corners are cut. Righteous

indignation does not work–especially when you are wrong.

n Plan better and build better

contracts–contracts that protect the rights of employees working in distant

countries. Hire lawyers to protect interests. Protect CEOs who are the first

targets and whose questioning/detention/arrest evokes strong emotions.

n Let’s not ignore the issue, but

let’s not make it an emotional one either. Let it remain a business issue. Do

not bring national pride, class struggle, vested interests, religious

intolerance and the East India Company into it! This is often the handiwork of

media hype and hyper-individuals. It doesn’t help. The best way to handle this

issue is in a balanced business-oriented way. We ourselves have burnt offices of

American companies when we felt our interests were getting harmed. We have also

thrown out companies because there was a fly in their restaurant! Despite that,

American business in India continues, and grows stronger. There’s no reason

why Indian companies cannot do the same.

The author is Editor-in-Chief of

Cyber Media, the publishers of Dataquest. shyamm@cmil.com