Of Indian IT Industry - Part 2

Send all MBA's to the shop floor..at least for an years time !

I recently came across a story from one of my friends in a top Indian IT company. These are seemingly not so good times for the Industry and he was of course called up to be shown the exit door. I am not going into the details of why he was singled out, but then he was decided upon to be the scapegoat and was called to meet the HR manager. A father of a six month old , it seems he got into an argument over the issue and asked for time to get across to another job. I wouldn't disagree at the possibility of he having gotten angry with the manager.(Quite natural a reaction I presume) But then what the HR did is something I could never have imagined. It seems he called up the security, asked him to snatch the ID card of the employee and leave him at the door.
Hmmm....I remember the day when he ferociously argued me with on the phone about 6 months back when I asked him to move on when he had got a real nice job offer. His case in point ' I think it would be too difficult for the company to train another resource at this juncture to finish the project within our deadlines' .

Believe it or not, Indian IT today is indeed a hapless victim of commoditisation. There are numerous cases like the one above in point. The techie has been reduced to a mere number on employee rolls. Every firm seems to think that the IT professional is a very easily replaceable resource.And the truth being 'he indeed is !'

But does that mean that a company should start start caring less for it's workhorse. Don't get me wrong here, I am in no way accusing any Indian IT firm of paying shabby salaries to it's employees. In fact I am amongst those who believe that IT firms in India do an excellent job with their payrolls. But the problem definitely lies somewhere else.

All most all companies have a operating model in which technical minds have come to be controlled either directly or in prinicple by an MBA. I have no grudge against the degree in any way, but think of the kind of people who constitute the crowd at a middle rung MBA school in India today who makes it into the HR or a delivery position in an IT company. More than half of them are getting into their first job at the IT company. Another good percentage might be the frustrated IT professional himself who went on to get the degree cos he thought his current job was not getting him anywhere . (which might not be too far from truth btw)

Managing a guy with a good technical bent of mind is not easy. It's definitely not like sitting in a group and discussing why a particular brand of toothpaste didn't work in rural Bihar. How many of us even realise that the average Indian techie might be actually be more happy if he gets free food at the cafeteria than a thousand rupee hike in this paycheck ( Although both might end up costing the company the same) And look what we have for managing or HR'ifying these minds. People who either don't even understand what it is about sitting 10 hours a day coding unclear business requirements and then sit for the next half hour talking to someone thousands of miles away facing his wrath or people who belong to his own clan , but thought the job was too lowly a thing to do in life.

So what do we do ? Well for once, I would definitely love all such MBAs to be at the shopfloor for sometime understanding the business. You won't believe me, I have seen HR managers look around at times with awe at techies@work when they come for some 'unavoidable routines' with employees. Two years of repeated drill downs that an MBA's core dharma is nothing but to create shareholder value has spoilt them enough. They should all do the job that every professional does,( at least sit with them and aid them with the technical partof it ) , talk to clients (or at least listen to), sit with techies at cafeterias understanding their day to day life and issues, (You think they already do ? Think again. Get me to a cafe and show me an MBA sitting with teachies...and I'll get you a banana for free) , and best of it all take the same pay packets home for an year.

IT , at least in India seems to me like a people business. I somehow feel Indians are not too materialistic ppl, and nothing like engaging them on an emotional plane. MBAs should understand that every job has it's own dignity. Nothing , absolutely nothing is below anybody in this world.

Caveat : Forgive me if the post gives an idea to the reader that MBAs in Indian IT industry don't do anything usefult at all (that's taking things a bit too real ain't it :) . The fact is that their job too is pretty tough and asking. Endless targets to meet, client presentations,long hours of calls for those in marketing teams, engaging clients on an altogether different level etc etc..No disputes on that. This one's just to emphasise on the human side of business. Hope you all get it.

As I write this series, I am shocked at a spate of employee suicides coming in from the training center of a top Indian IT firm. This is at least the third such incident from the same place. Here, the one in Jan & here the one this Oct.

I have absolutely no comments to make on these. I just wonder if the same had happened in the USA (whose culture & pracitces Indian IT shamelessly emulates) , how much explanation & compensation would the company have had to make. But then , this is our 'regulation-free' India, we can get away with anything and prefer to stay 'mum'.
The company does seem to have given Rs 5 lakhs as compensation to the family. That would be the amount she earned her company in 17 days if she had been posted at an onsite location. Some way to give back ,eh. Oops, where am I going...? forgot that we are here just to create 'shareholder value'. Take care.