The Degrees Stack Up Experiece Really Counts
	The HR strength of the industry grew 10%, with headcount at 581,235
	As recruitment picked up, attrition rose again—from 4% to 8%
	On an average, companies hired over 200 professionals in 2002-03
	Management training went up by 5% across IT companies

The boom of 1999, the bust of 2000, the recovery of 2001, and then a slow but definite climb—fiscal 2002-03 was the year of hiring for information technology companies, though the note remained cautious.

With fresh graduates out in the cold and pros left with few options, the humbling of the once pampered Indian IT professional was more or less completed in the past two years. Things picked up last year, though, as businesses recovered and companies started building up manpower again. But the sky-high salaries, fabulous perks and frenetic pace of inter-company poaching that the boom had witnessed, were all things of the past. The experience and learnings of the bad times have clearly made the IT pro a more careful job-seeker, and career decisions were made after much study and deliberation, diametrically opposite to the previous trend—when companies were changed for fatter salaries and overseas assignments.

Welcome aboard...
The pink slips had defaced the heady image of "always-in-demand" IT professionals. While the recklessness of the 1999-2000 boom gave way to a far more responsible and mature workforce in 2001-02, fiscal 2002-03 signaled that there were jobs to be had again. While there was a sense of caution in the early part of 2002, recruitment plans turned aggressive in the second half and continue to be so. Top software companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro Technologies, Infosys and Satyam Computer recruited nearly 4,000 professionals each in 2002-03. However, the hiring was focused on essential skills—with an eye to improve the utilization and productivity of existing human resources. Campus recruiters clearly kept in mind the future skill needs for training and deployment before dishing out offer letters.

In the year under way, recruitment will continue to be strong, despite the watchful attitude of most companies. While the financial outlook of some may be cautious because of reduced billing rates, volume growth continues to be strong. The number of jobs created—and recruitment plans—are a direct consequence of volume growth, not billings growth.

Greenhorns go a-grazing
The upswing in recruitment comes with a caveat, though, as a major part of the demand has been for professionals with experience. Along with the pink slips had come the jolt for the young turks of Indian IT. Batches of fresh graduates—including the toppers—were exposed to the vagaries of the market even before they became part of the industry. Much to their shock, promised placements were cancelled.

Even as things look up in the industry, little has changed for the freshers. In fact, the bias for hiring people with experience intensified during the last year. The demand for freshers vanished completely in 2001... Sure, it resurfaced in 2002, but relatively speaking, finding freshers is not the "pain" point of IT recruiters anymore. Companies are looking for professionals with proven skills in specialized areas—or those with project management skills. And the trend should continue.

Grown-up techies
While hiring trends were conservative, the fundamental difference was that firms were looking to hire people with high-quality consulting experience, rather than focus on skill-based recruitment. IT consulting is the space that is likely to emerge as the frontrunner in the near future. Consultants need an understanding of the customer’s pain points and have to address the IT needs of the customer, rather than simply writing codes in a technology or language that’s in demand.

So where were the hot IT jobs last year and where will they be in the future? Domain areas like ERP, CRM, chip design and data security continued to be in demand. Telecom software bounced back, with a lot of projects flowing in. Specialized skills like package implementation, .net, data warehousing and CRM also gained ground in Year 2002-03. Specialized skills (DW/PI/CRM/.net) were hot last year—with the trend likely to prevail in the coming year.

The one segment that continued to witness phenomenal hiring was business process outsourcing. While even toppers from engineering streams were left scouting for IT jobs, fresh graduates with the "right attitude and diction" were rapidly picked up by the burgeoning BPO sector. With their regional accents neutralized, Jayas became Janes and Shekhars became Steves, servicing global customers 24x7. With salaries in the range of Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000 per month, BPO is the real HR success story of 2002-03.

However, most professionals view BPO jobs as a stopgap arrangement between pursuing higher studies, moving on to the services industry or getting married—and in a clear fallout, attrition rates remain high. For the future, the BPO labor market is expected to continue to boom despite rumors about legislations, which will restrict outsourcing, in various countries.

Meanwhile, with little money to spare, IT companies have found innovative modes to keep the morale up. Stock options, which used to be an important criterion, no longer have any value attached. Companies are, therefore, shifting more towards cash bonuses, linked to performance, as a means to reward and motivate good performers. And even when money is in short supply, projected growth paths, training and other means to hold on to employees are adopted. But retention is certainly not as difficult as it used to be.

U-turn to India
The fizz has gone out of overseas assignments and the backlash is on people’s minds. Besides, most jobs are now for "offshore" projects. A few years ago, most IT pros used to get the opportunity to work abroad as the percentage of "onsite" jobs used to be significantly higher. Now, only the best performers get the opportunity to work onsite. Most IT professionals would be hesitant to take up a full-time permanent job in the US today because of the uncertainties involved. The last two years have seen IT pros preferring job security over fatter salaries and perks. Therefore, the preference is on getting a job with an India-based Indian company that can offer the employee opportunities to go abroad for a few months to work on specific projects. The "body-shopping model" is no longer relevant. In the year to come, consulting and domain expertise will take precedence over the professional services model and hiring will continue.

Manjiri Kalghatgi