The Hindu Business Line : On-site assignments being deferred

Hyderabad, Oct. 22 One of the main lures of a career in information technology (IT), the onsite opportunities to work aboard, have come to an all-time low, thanks to the financial crisis and economic slowdown in the US.

While it is a common practice for every company to send its employees abroad for a specific period of time (mostly three to six months on L1 or H1 visas) to service its clients in the US, in the recent past the practice has also become a tool to increase employee satisfaction and retention levels.

However, with many companies preferring cost-cuts, the previously frequent on-site offers have been put on hold or withdrawn in some cases, according industry sources.

“The on-site offers are directly proportional to the business in the US. This explains the recent decrease in them,” Mr T.V. Mohandas Pai, Global Head (HR), Infosys, told Business Line over phone from Bangalore. “There is a greater impact on the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) segment,” he added.

Natural consequence

According to Mr V. Srinivas, Chief Financial Officer, Satyam Computer Services Ltd, the decrease in on-site opportunities is a natural consequence of a huge dip in utilisations in the industry, especially in on-site contracts.

Mr Ramesh Loganathan, Managing Director, Progress Software (India), Hyderabad, said the fact that many US companies are eagerly waiting for the performance of the December quarter, is also impacting the prospects of on-site visits adversely. “Many companies have put them on hold. Those who are about to leave in June/September (in the industry in general) are being asked to wait till January 2009,” he said.

Little choice

The employees have no option but to silently accept the delay/cancellation of on-site offers. “Earlier, the senior employees used to threaten the management that if a request for on-site offer is not heeded they might go out of the organisation. But now, we have no choice but to accept whatever is meted out to us in view of the slump in the job market, especially for the middle level professionals,” Mr N. Ravi, a team manager in Satyam Computers, said.

For a fresher, however, it may not make a difference as the focus is now more on finding a job than looking for an assignment abroad, he added.

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