(IT professionals are not mercenaries says
Achyut Menon)


t isn't surprising that a large majority of software professionals indicate their preference for a job that gives them higher pay rather than any other parameter. They are justified in expecting higher returns simply because they are taking higher risks.

No other industry has seen sustained intellectual dynamism, energy and innovation as that witnessed by the IT industry in the last ten years. No other generation of professionals has also seen such high levels of churning, a byproduct of constant experimentation characterising the IT industry. The extraordinary dotcom boom and the unprecedented dotcom implosion, whose impact littered the landscape with detritus of failed companies, followed by 9/11 an event that struck at the heart of the new age global economy has been nerve-wracking. Countless workers have lost their jobs, and the economy has not bottomed out yet.

Tech titans such as Lucent, Applied Materials and Nokia are still pruning their workforce. In India companies were forced to change their onsite models that ensured 100 per cent profits to an offshore model. In the ensuing transformation, companies weeded out employees under the pretext of non-performance. In an industry where change has been the only constant, financial security is paramount.

More so in an environment where the rapid pace of innovation has made the sickening fear of skills 

Not surprising, recruiters are still flooded with calls from IT professionals making discrete queries on the US job market or should one say greenbucks. On a daily basis, recruiters encounter techies whose swan song is Money, Money, Money. How else does one interpret statements such as: "I cannot join the company, Rs 24 lakh is my break even". This when the candidate has a Rs 23 lakh offer, 20 per cent higher than the previous job. Or the refusal to join a best of breed company offering excellent work because

and professionals becoming obsolescent a tangible reality. What one knows today will be outdated tomorrow. No other professional working in any other sector encounters such immense pressures to learn, to perform, to compete and survive. The demands on today's professionals are unrelenting and stringent. The software professional has to:

• Learn new technologies in the shortest possible interval
• Master the nuances of technology
• Apply IT across a plethora of applications and in different emerging domains (Banking, Manufacture, Telecom, Insurance)
• And most important in globally competitive business critical solutions

In an environment where the IT professional is intellectually stretched and job security, at best, an oxymoron, it is unsurprising that money is an overriding consideration for an IT professional. They are rightly demanding the best possible payment for their skills.

IT professionals have been unfortunately branded Mammon worshippers for their willingness to market skills to highest bidders by those unwilling to  analyse recent history. Let's be honest: Companies no longer take care of their employees from cradle to grave, evident from the global acceptance of  GE performance model wherein an employee is sacked for not delivering for two subsequent quarters. Corporate ethics and employee interests are dead amply evident in the recent exposes of corporate rapacity and greed. The Gods of the new economy Andersen Consulting, Enron and Worldcom proved they had feet of clay. Amidst such turbulence and incertitude, money is the only guarantee.

Gloibalisation has unleashed a battle for survival of the best. Its not an arena for the weak-hearted, laid-back, passive employees desiring lifetime employment, seeking security; working 9-5 based on historically acquired skills and competencies looking for gratuity and post retirement benefits. Hence the instant gratification mindset of employees is understandable among a generation battling with different technology terrain every two years.

(Mr. Achyut Menon is CEO Options, a Hyderabad-based leading executive recruitment firm)

the salary offered is a mere 5 per cent higher or a mere 5 per cent lower. Experienced recruiters and HR managers can vouch they have met candidates who have rebuffed offers from stable companies and joined rather questionable companies with dubious work environments for Rs 10,000 more a year.

The intrinsic nature of the rapidly-changing constantly innovative technology landscape will continue to fuel paucity of technology skills and a bull run for high-quality talent. Knowledge workers are aware that in a fast-paced technology environment, human capital is the only bleeding edge competitive tool for companies. Hence, it is but right for talented employees to expect acknowledgement, and recognition for skills and compensation practices that precisely evaluate and reflect their contribution to the company. The high valuation of human capital and IPO (independent professional offering) awareness has, has however, fostered a feeling of indispensability and invincibility blurring the distinction between the refined art of negotiation and the discredited art of blackmail. Every recruiter or hiring manager can recount shenanigans of IT professionals who have accepted the offer letter from a company, committed joining dates and then used the offer  letter to bargain for a higher salary with the existing employer or another employer.

The recession and the talent glut has not tempered expectations of IT employees who continue to believe they are chosen inheritors of the earth. The Assure poll corroborates that most IT professionals firmly believe they are underpaid. This despite a 10 per cent growth in annual salaries in India, exponential for a sector grappling with severe recessionary climate. An Hewitt Associates survey pegged salary increments in India's tech sector at 15.5 per cent in 2001and 12.1 per cent in 2002. Tech salaries are still 20-30 per cent higher compared to other sectors with average salaries ranging between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh for every year of experience. According to a recent Nasscom study, the average employee cost in the software and services industry is approximately 30 per cent as against 15 per cent in other sectors. Employee rewards constitute a large percentage of this cost. Yet attrition rates continue to hover at 15 per cent. Most HR professionals believe the number will register a steep rise on first signs of economic uptick.

(B Kartika is a freelance writer)