Firms getting tech(ed) up

In the information age, it is indeed the talent that powers the business and serves as the fuel for innovation and growth. Having said that, the ability to harness and maximise the innovations and contributions from talent is what differentiates the winners from the ‘also ran’. In such a business scenario, the importance of techies/specialists possessing high domain knowledge is critical for organisational success, a fact that has dawned upon most Indian firms.

This in-turn has changed the traditional outlook towards techies and from being slotted in water tight compartments; they are now being recognised as those who can think outside their realm of work and contribute to the company’s bottom-line in more ways than one.

Asserting this point, Shiv Sundar, country manager HR, NXP Semiconductors India, notes, “I have worked with brilliant technologists who have exhibited great lateral thinking capabilities in and outside their realm of work.” Adding on the same, Sundar says, “In hi-tech industry like ours, techies are highly valued and their contributions help us find our footing in the global technology industry.”

Talking of the original perception about technocrats, Sunil, VP delivery, Aspire Systems, a Chennai based IT firm reasons, “The whole paradigm in which work came to Indian was low value, run of the mill type of work. However, post 2000, product companies set up centres here and moved high-end technological work here. Plus, Indian IT firms consciously moved higher up the value chain in terms of work content. This has led to a greater acknowledgement of Indian technocrats.”

With the country moving towards a more technology literate generation, its future is linked not only to development of technology but also to exploiting it to the optimum. In recent years, technology has evolved into a more robust and stable platform to deliver superior levels of outputs and Indian economy is cashing in on the opportunity well. As companies compete for scarce talent and seek to maximise return on investment in talent, they cannot afford to remain in such self imposed shackles. The perception of the separate community of Techies has thus, completely dissolved today.

Speaking of this new perception, Subash Rao, HR director, Cisco Systems India reasons, “If anything the trend seems to be for those with technical education moving directly into business roles. That is why we have consulting companies and some FMCGs recruiting engineering graduates from campuses directly into non-technical roles.”

While others who hire these techies in specialist roles also provide ample opportunities for job diversification and change of role apart from giving career progression path in their own technical tracks. “To avoid stagnation, all the opportunities are open to our employees. If their interests and skill sets match, they are given preference for the job. This way, they acquire other skills and they do not get stagnated,” says Manish Jain, head - corporate communications, Perot Systems.

It is very important to nurture the specialists’ talent pool in any organisation. Stressing on the importance of clear-cut progression paths, Arun Rao, HR head – Applabs notes, “Over the last ten years, Indian social fabric has changed from pluralistic to individualistic which is reflected in the Indian workforce as well. Employees have become self-oriented. Thus, to retain them, firms need to have individual development plans and alternate progression paths for employees.”

Organisations have been designing strategies and policies to promote specialists. Many companies have defined separate career paths for specialists. This is of mutual benefit as specialists benefit since they have the opportunity to pursue their area of interest/specialisation, while organisations retain their IPs and critical technical talent. “Employees who specialise and grow into roles of technical architects, principal engineers and distinguished engineers are highly valued and recognised in the entire Industry,” Rao asserts.

Every organisation needs a mix of people with different skills and knowledge - both specialised and diversified. This is a fact that has indeed seeped into the minds of most employers who are now valuing domain specialists.

 (Please send in your comments/queries to ruchi.challu@timesgroup.com)