Arun Narayanan, COO, UST Global thinks that IT companies need a different social architecture than what they are used to, to shine in this collaborative world
After the phase of economic recession, now we are hearing more about hiring and salary hike rather than firing and pink slips. UST Global's chief operating officer Arun Narayanan talks about what is in store for the techie brains in the near future and what the corporate entities need to shine in this collaborative world.
As the market is slowly recovering from economic recession, how do you look at the IT market in the coming times?
Based on my interaction with clients, their 2010 IT outsourcing budget is, on an average, likely to increase by 7 per cent compared to 2009. This obviously means more revenues for good partners.
CEOs want to spend the money on projects that contribute to business parameters like revenue, margin and customer satisfaction. They want to decrease the cost of supporting and maintaining applications. As a result, CIOs look for partners who have the capability to understand the business and add value. They expect innovation in technology, IT process and business process.
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Quality and subject matter expertise will command a premium. Commodity players who provide just technology talent will get marginalized this year and beyond.
IT partners who can bring solutions together will win. For example, companies that can bring together expertise in the areas of supply chain automation and mathematical modeling to optimize the supply chain will be appreciated for bringing in a competitive advantage. IT companies need a different social architecture than what they are used to, to shine in this collaborative world.
What is the future of Indian IT market in this connection, especially when it comes to new job openings?
In the financial year 2010, the Indian IT and BPO industry employed 2.3 million people and generated $73 billion in revenues (Reference: Nasscom Strategic Review 2010). I expect this to increase by about 10 per cent in FY 2011. This means a whole lot of new opportunities. Prospective employees will prefer companies where people can interact directly with the clients, to conceive and develop ideas. Because of the reasons I mentioned above, companies would prefer people with excellent communication and customer interaction skills.
In the recent past many IT giants like Infosys, Wipro and TCS had announced their plan for bulk recruitment. Will this give a fillip to the technical education sector in India? Is Indian education sector properly geared up to provide quality education to the aspiring techies?
There is a significant gap between the pass criteria of campuses and what the industry is looking for. This is not just technology, but communication skills and social skills. There will be plenty of opportunities for the education sector. But major gaps are there in social skills, and skills around specific packages.
There is a perception that the bulk recruitment is often a cover-up to project the image of the employer. How do you look at this?
I think the need is genuine and not a cover-up. Most of these companies are margin conscious and are quite unlikely to hire people just to project some image.
Interestingly, many IT companies are talking of lateral hiring nowadays. Do you think it will adversely affect campus recruitment?
I don’t think so… On the other hand, I think companies will go to campus with renewed energy, to hire people for 2011.
What are UST's hiring plans for 2010?
We plan to hire about 2500 people in 2010. Of this 50 per cent will be from campuses and 50 per cent from other companies.
Nowadays we hear a lot about the reverse brain drain from the US to India. Also a recent study had forecast that the recovery of Silicon Valley is slower than expected. In the backdrop of this, will the 'home calling' syndrome cast a shadow on the professionals based in India?
I am seeing a trend where people with around 10-15 years of experience in the USA are returning to India to be with good companies. We consider this very positive – these people bring in “Clients First” mentality to the table – ideally suited for a client-centric company like ours.
Could you please give a brief sketch about your referral program, and how does this impact talent attraction in corporate?
LinkUS is a people connect program within UST which facilitates USsociates to bring in people who they feel are best to promote the values and culture of UST as well as to meet UST’s customer expectations.
Advantage to the organization is a committed and connected workforce. The referral program indicates the goodwill, belief and trust level in the organization. It helps in increasing the loyalty and retention.
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