It was one of those intense discussions during the post lunch walk. We recently received emails on internal job openings for the position of Architects at a client site overseas and the discussion was about how not one person we know fits the bill! As expected, it flowed well over the boundaries of this one topic deeper into how not a single Indian IT major has managed to build any significant revenue stream out of these so called high-end jobs. And of course why? Here is my take on it. This isn't HBR so please expect it to be very informal.
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Lets break this down into two parts for the ease of reading (and my thinking/writing).
1. At a lower level, why did we feel that we didn't have the right people to fill these openings?
2. A notch higher, why have Indian IT majors struggled to get into this space?
It is going to be an exercise in asking a lot of “Why”’s.
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So why can't our folks fill these (and such other) openings that require 8-10yrs of solid technical experience?
1. They do not have the know how - Technical or Functional?You need to know the clients business (say telecom billing, banking, insurance) or you need to know different frameworks, technologies etc. In an industry, where basic technical certifications are not mandatory, awareness of frameworks & a multitude of technologies is like asking for PhD!
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a) Why? Cause they have never been formally trained on any of the skills/technology required for such jobs.
There is no capability in-house to conduct such high-end trainings and external trainings are extremely expensive. Since such jobs are far-and-few, companies do not invest into such trainings.
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b) Why? Cause they have always worked on pretty low level work all through barring a few exceptions. So never really felt the need to up skill.
Most of the B&B (bread & butter) work does not even require new pieces of code! Forget building fresh systems ground-up. So they just do not have the motivation to up skill or even keep abreast of new developments in their own technical domain by constantly reading.
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c) Cause they have average or below average technical skills even on the B&B kind of work.Plain laziness or no opportunities (which after a few years breeds laziness anyways).
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2. Why? Most of them are moved into "Project Management" roles after about 6yrs since there is nothing on offer beyond coding/pseudo-coding jobs. So there are no resources left with required experience/expertise that would have come with age.Why cause no company will pay a resource with 6+ yrs of experience for something as menial as coding. We do no rocket science most of the times and a fresher or less experienced resource can code with acceptable quality. Also, there is nothing else to offer when the resource gets bored of the same work. When they start hearing things like “I do not expect you to code, just review and ensure proper testing. Anyone can code.” from the boss, they feel that it is time to move on and step into his shoes. Guess the blame partly lies with the Boss too, on how he gets it across, but the message that they need to understand the business now, is somehow completely lost!
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3. Why? Cause most would not volunteer for such a job.a) Cause all of them want to move to "Management", what ever that is. So would refuse such a job.For them, Management is much easier, and is more authoritative than an Architects job which, per them, has no real power in the pecking order. Ask one to define what his idea of Management is and it would not be anything beyond wielding control over teams and “Client Interaction”! Another answer I frequently hear is “Getting more business” with no clue about how it is really done! They do not want Project Management, they want Management!
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b) Cause most of them are in it for quick money and long term prospects such as becoming a Subject Matter Expert (SME) are a complete waste of time (& money).
Cause that requires you to stick around for 4-5yrs and really really work.
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c) They do not consider it as a natural progression of their careers, hence never "see" it coming.And when it does, they are just not ready for it. It isn’t as easy as being in school. All laid out for you, grade 1,2,3 ....There is no concept of a "Career" and hence planning for it.
For most, it is just a job. A career simply means taking home more money year after year, that IT companies, fighting intense competition, have been willing to give freely so far to attract & retain heads. Not necessarily better/productive heads. Cause there has been ample work so far for every one but there aren't enough "Paper Engineers" around.
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d) Easy Money, why would you really want to do it when you can take at least a 10% hike year on year without moving a finger. Why did we get here?
* Lower (and now NO) standards of entry
This again ties to the phenomenal growth that the Indian IT industry has witnessed in the last decade. Millions of $'s worth of work was available but there just weren't enough skilled people. When i joined IT, I flunked the Infosys aptitude test cause they had administered puzzles from a Shakuntala Devi book!! And now, you barely face an interview. Its all over phone, there is a complete industry out there, training you to get IT jobs, getting you fake certificates, degrees and experience letters, cause it was that easy to land a job! There were more jobs and not enough heads.
* No real means of assessing Individual , it is easy not to perform and still get away
Firstly, most resources work in a team. They have honed their camouflage skills to such an extent that they can spend years together without doing anything more meaningful than speaking "posh" English and pushing emails. In almost all teams, there are at least a couple of responsible individuals who do all the work and fetch the "Team Award" for everyone. They never really have the time to complain about anyone else’s non-contribution. And since they are the only ones working, the managers leave them alone and never take their feedback on others. Also, individuals with brilliant camouflage skills and no real grey matter, get pushed up the ladder by the virtue of being around. So they choose to ignore such cases under them, lest someone ends up noticing them! Sounds far fetched? But is true.
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Part 2 to follow. Why I think Indian IT companies have failed to make their presence felt in higher-margin (if not high-end) work even after most of them have tried to build these capabilities? Just noting it down in case I forget where I left it when I feel like writing again.
Yes, I said 1 step ahead "of" the job. I actually meant to say that it makes perfect sense to be 1 step ahead of what you have to do today. Imagine that you are qualified to do the job of a PM. You have the potential, but you actually choose to remain a Team Lead for a little longer. You are ahead of your job so hopefully there are chances that 80% of the time, you finish your work in 8hrs and head home. Also, you do the job bloody well to earn lot of appreciation and more. You get more time to do the so called "value add" activities for the company and earn even more accolades. You then spend some time learning the PM's job and move into the PM role when you already have done a lot of standard activities involved. So there again, you are better than what you are to do.
Given that most of us have 35yrs or more of a career to survive, why not spend enough time at every step learning & doing things. Nothing beats experience. Not even great talent. Sometimes you just have to be there long enough to know things. So why rush from a Programmer to Module Lead to Project Lead to Project Manager in 8years and then stagnate for the next 10? All the while losing sleep and the prime years in life??
