The Hindu Business Line : Return of the natives

Looking to fill that middle management position in your Indian organisation? Look West. The very folks who, in their youth, turned up their noses at an "Indian job" are today eager to get home and be part of the "India growth" story.

Indian IT businesses are attracting Indians who left home for better opportunities in the 1990s. This re-migration is primarily attributed to world-class opportunities in India.

"Information Technology (IT) professionals are returning to India because Indian salaries for special skills are on a par with the West and there is also scope to engage in challenging R&D work," says Aruna A. Padmanabhan, Human Resources Director-India, Freescale Semiconductor India.

Sudheesh Venkatesh, Head, Human Resources, Tesco Hindustan Service Centre (Tesco HSC), says the demand for talent in the retail IT domain is also a reason for re-migration. Tesco HSC is the IT provider arm of global retailer Tesco.

What FRIs bring

IT companies are upbeat on the return of the natives. Foreign returned Indians (FRIs) not only bring discipline and structure to Indian workplaces but also soft skills and domain expertise.

"As FRIs have directly interfaced with end customer organisations, they have an edge in areas such as Client Management, Business Analysis and understanding the business impact of technology solutions," says Puneet Jetli, Vice President & Head — People Function, MindTree Consulting.

Vishal Mehra, Vice-President-Human Resources (Asia-Pacific), OfficeTiger, says the industry is hungry for domain experts. "FRIs are hired for their sound technical knowledge and subject matter expertise," he says.

Others, such as Prameela Kalive, Global Human Resources Head, Zensar Technologies, feel FRIs, having worked as part of large teams or leading large teams, can tackle people-related issues better at their Indian workplace.

Zensar has seen the number of FRIs go up from seven to about 80 over the last 3-4 years.

The Nasscom Vice-President, Sunil Mehta, says about 30,000 employees have returned to India between 2001 and March 2006.

"My wife and I did not want our son to remember his grandparents only as staggered images in a small window on our home PC. We also wanted him to feel secure and part of a bigger community where everyone looks, thinks and speaks like him," says Yoganand Raghavendra, Project Manager (IT Services), Tesco HSC.

Attracting the ambitious

While most people return for personal reasons, India's IT growth is also attracting the ambitious, throwing up work challenges on a par with the West.

"Though the quality of life in India was better, I was doubtful of career opportunities. I was working with AT&T and when they split I felt it was the right time to head to India," says Mohan Sekhar, Member of the Board and Chief Delivery Officer, iGATE Global Solutions. Vishal Abrol (now Director TFO, Cadence) was approached by Cadence Design Systems India when it was growing rapidly and its customers started working on cutting-edge design. "I wanted to be part of the exciting growth and share what I learnt in the US and deploy the best practices here," he says.

Like Abrol, many others have been able to apply what they have learnt abroad. Parminder Gill, who was heading Business Development (IT Services) for Trigent Software in the US, now heads the marketing division of GCI Solutions. His work experience in American and European geographies is helping him in his current position. Sandeep Mehra, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, WebEx Communications, says his technology exposure in the US helped him bring audio conferencing technology to his Indian organisation.

Room for improvement

FRIs feel Indian technology is comparable with the US but areas such as soft skills and business efficiency need to be improved. "There is mismatch between the domain knowledge and the actual value that is brought into the job itself," says Mehra. Sudhir Kumar Reddy, Program Director, MindTree Consulting, says the industry lacks the ability to attract and retain good talent. "The importance of planning is not as deep rooted here as it is abroad," he says. Others feel that though young people go up the corporate ladder fast, they lack the maturity that comes with experience. "Soft skills training is a good concept but there may not be short cuts to years of experience," feels Abrol.

Having "been there and done that" FRIs feel the grass is greener on this side of the globe now. Despite shortcomings in the IT industry, professionals are trying to bridge gaps and bring new values to their organisations. And why shouldn't they? It is not often that one's head and heart point in the same direction — home.

archana@thehindu.co.in

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