IT’s changing lives
Sunil Sharma, 58, had put his life’s savings into booking his dream home. But his son Yogesh is spoilt for choice. At the age of 26, this techie has not only deposited the earnest money for a plush apartment in the suburbs but is also planning his next holiday overseas.
The mushrooming of call centres, captive back-office units and software development facilities has done more than just add a cool $50 billion to India’s export basket.
t has given a massive facelift to consumerism, and changed the way young India dreams. There is this new breed of young professionals, who despite being straight out of college, flaunt high disposable incomes and exhibit westernised spending habits. These youngsters — used to a fast lifestyle, multiple credit cards, designer watchers, the latest gadgets, and branded clothes — have become a marketer’s delight.
“The entire social fabric has undergone a change. About 20 years ago, when I started off, people would join the industry as a stop gap because they could not find another job. Today, carving out a career in the BPO industry is quite acceptable. That is a fundamental change,” says Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director, Quatrro. Roy should know. Widely regarded as the pioneer and guru of the Indian BPO industry, he is credited with setting up India’s first offshore service centre for American Express.
Today the IT sector employs nearly 2.5 million professionals, having added 90,000 jobs even during the slowdown phase in FY10. An overwhelming majority of workers are in the age group of 26-35 years. Nasscom estimates that IT and BPO companies on a cumulative basis will hire another 1,50,000 professionals in FY 11.
People practices
The industry has spawned new career opportunities for Indian youth, providing global exposure and offering in-depth training. More importantly, confronted by high attrition rates, it has ushered in strategic people practices — a ‘must have’ as working professionals tend to spend a better part of their day at work. Besides, the industry also ignited the spirit of entrepreneurship among the young employees with the rapidly changing technologies creating a new set of entrepreneurs.
From handing out stock options, performance bonuses, night shift allowances and gift vouchers for birthdays and anniversaries to providing entry-level training, scholarships and sabbaticals for educational pursuits — the new age employers have re-hauled the work culture. Best-in-class recreational facilities, well equipped gyms (with in-house fitness instructors) and 24-hour cafeterias at workplace are now the norm, rather than the exception. True, a lot has been written about odd working hours, graveyard shifts and emotional issues associated with this 24X7 industry, but one cannot ignore the positive spin-offs that have obviously come to benefit a whole new generation. After all, the strong and growing India IT workforce is a powerful testimony.
