The Hindu Business Line : Confusing signals

Higher, faster, stronger — buzzwords that twirled the IT industry round and round till it had to stop, or at least take a breather. While it's getting its balance right, people who made the industry tick are finding their feet too. But what next? Where are these people headed and how will they fit into other slots in the job market?

According to Mervyn Raphael, Managing Director, Merit Consulting, a Bangalore-based consulting and business process outsourcing firm, "In the IT industry, the focus was on delivery and it was jobs rather than careers.'' The employees were recruited and trained as fast as possible and if they left for greener pastures, they were replaced even before they had crossed the threshold.

On the other hand, in the traditional sector, it's a career-focussed growth. "But the IT guys too are looking at careers rather than jobs. They are also thinking long term, leadership, team effort, etc.'' The skill sets that developers, project heads or business unit heads in the IT industry possess make it imperative that they move within the same space or domain, probably on a different orbit, like contact centres or telecom.

Then there are people in the support functions such as administration, finance or HR who have anyway moved from other industries. Raphael sees no reason why they cannot move back into their mother industries, and there are people who have done it, though it's an insignificant number. "It's obvious the pay levels will not be the same, but in a recession-hit economy, you do not have much choice.''

R Vidyasagar, Vice-President, HR, I-flex Solutions, says IT employees were in a high salary island, which barred them from looking at other industries for job opportunities. Not anymore. "The next wave of growth is in finance and healthcare and if you want to be challenged for the next five years, it's better to switch to these areas.'' He feels, a career-oriented professional always takes two steps backward to catapult five steps ahead and money should not be a barrier while switching.

But how many IT pros are ready to face this reality? According to him, at least half of them are doing this. Salary constraints apart, what are the psychological roadblocks that would make the IT community hesitant about jumping onto a `less glamorous industry?'

Deepak Sinha, Chief Executive Officer, TVA Infotech Pvt. Ltd., an IT executive research firm, says as the glamour and the ego pampering is lacking in the other sectors, they are wary about switching industries. He cites the instance of a CTO who was forced to move into a bank after the IT shakeout happened. The CTO now heads the MIS division of the bank and is naturally on the second rungs as far as decision-making is concerned.'' The salary difference is not much but he's not included in strategic decision making.'' Only a person with immense maturity is able to handle this change in job profile.

One HR analyst says the weather-beaten guys in the industry are able to take this stormy patch in their career much better than the `johnny-come-latelys' who are hanging onto the last straw of hope. "Take the case of boys who have been in this business for three-four years and are now jobless. They are defying movement into any other industry because the glamour was too short-lived and they would like to enjoy it more.'' As a result you have a set of obstinate job seekers who are waiting for the dust to settle down before they are on the roads again.

Again this could be because the seniors moved from other industries and they are not cheerless about getting into the non-IT sector or there's no need for them to change tracks now, because high-end skills are always in demand. It's the middle and the junior level pros that are facing this challenge and they were just entering the Garden of Eden before the doors were shut.

"Travel abroad was another attracting factor that they will miss sorely if they switch industries,'' says the consultant. But not all hope is lost. For these wind-torn tech crew, the Business Process Outsourcing industry has come as a blessing in disguise. For, not only does it offer them equivalent salaries, but also the same environment and they do not have to carry the social stigma of having been thrown out of the sunrise industry.

According to Pandia Rajan, Managing Director, Ma Foi, a Chennai-based management consultancy and placement firm, there are three sets of people who are moving out of the IT industry to IT-enabled services. They are systems analysts, systems administrators and data entry operators. Last year, the contact centres companies generated about 26,000 jobs and this year, it's expected to move up to 40,000. "Bio informatics is another area that could accommodate these people,'' he feels.

Merrin Raphael, CEO, Merrin & Associates, a Bangalore-based recruitment firm says, "I don't see any of the IT employees moving in a reverse direction. If they move out, it'll be to start their own ventures. There are marketing, sales, finance and HR guys who have come from other industries and fitted themselves very well here, but no, they have not shown any inclination to move out this sector," she adds.

So, what are the lessons for these techies who are at the crossroads? Vidyasagar, a seasoned IT professional feels whether it's knowledge or any other industry, employability is important. '"The marketing folks in IT should be able to go and sell in any related industry.'' He quotes the instance of IBM, when during a bad phase for the company, the R&D personnel in the US, were asked to go and sell the company's products. This was a much better option than losing their jobs.

Even at I-flex, people are constantly moved from development to implementation to marketing and support functions. "This is to make them robust and ready to face change.'' In his opinion, a professional should always keep open his options of alternative jobs and even alternative careers. "In these turbulent times, career renewal and career resilience are more important than money, designation or industry.'' He suggests teaching as an alternative career that IT professionals can think of.

Vidyasagar sums up the issue with, "In any industry, the strategists will always find their feet, the doers will get dropped. In other words, talent will always find a job. But the reverse may not always be true.''

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