Future of work. Technological evolution to play key role in deciding the future of work, says Sanjay Jalona

L&T Infotech’s CEO & MD Sanjay Jalona believes that the pandemic has resulted in the restructuring of businesses at various levels leading to an open-ended opportunity for the tech sector. In an interaction with BusinessLine, Jalona touches upon issues ranging from a conversation with clients to the workplace of the future.

Excerpts: The pandemic has led to the revival of the earlier fast-paced growth trajectory of Indian IT service providers including the creation of more jobs. Do you think this momentum will sustain in the long run? Ans: If there is one thing the pandemic has taught us: it is the old adage - ‘always and never are the two words you should always remember never to say! No one had anticipated a global pandemic with such an extensive impact, resulting in restructuring across industries, companies, and geographies. That being said, we do believe we are staring at an open-ended opportunity for the tech industry and there is a strong tailwind that should last for at least the next three to five years. The quality of conversations we are having with clients makes me optimistic in the medium to long term.What are LTI’s plan for the medium term and how do you see the digital technologies shaping up in future with most of the companies already registering over 50 per cent business from this?Ans: When we got listed in 2016, only about 20 per cent of LTI’s revenues were from digital services. With rapid digital growth since then, we are getting close to 50 per cent digital now. As a strategic, long-term approach to consistently and comprehensively tap the business potential offered by this segment, we are investing in building capabilities across digital, data, and cloud offerings. We have incubated three new business units to capitalize on this growth potential. These are Cloud, Data products and Intelligent Enterprise.As a mid-size player what are your plans to attract new resources and has the new normal trigged a change in LTI’s value proposition to its employees?Ans: LTI is growing rapidly, and we just witnessed one of our best quarters in terms of employee additions. Our employee base increased by over 2,000 during the last quarter, and our attrition rate at 12.3 per cent remains on the lower end of the range. We have also rewarded the employees with two compensation hikes in the last six months. Recently, we have been certified as a Great Place to Work in the USA and we won the Top Employer award in the UK. These accomplishments reinforce our positioning as the employer of choice among aspiring talent. We continue to hire the best from campuses and are attracting high-potential lateral executives from across the industry.How do you see the workplace of the future?Ans: It is human nature to seek a clear black or white distinction in everything. However, the reality comes in many shades of grey. We believe the workplaces of the future will be hybrid, with a varying combination of work-from-home and work-from-office based on job profile, employee profile, and customer requirements. The concept of satellite offices will gain popularity as they enable employees to be closer to their place of origin. Technological evolution will play a dominant role in deciding the future of work, workplace, and workforce. To meet these evolving requirements, LTI has designed the ‘xFH’ or ‘Everything from Home’ model that not only allows operating from home but also growing from home.What are the key shifts and changes in customer buying trends that you witness under the new normal?Ans: I believe in the last 100 years, generations have seen three mega economic turning points – the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Great Recession of the early 21st century, and what we call the Great Restructuring witnessed during the current pandemic. The Great Restructuring has impacted every industry, every geography and every enterprise. As a result of this, we see four specific trends that are visible across sectors:· First is the need for a ‘direct to customer’ connect in every industry. · Second is the need to develop a new operating model where digital is deeply and natively integrated.· Third is workplace modernization which requires organizations to redefine the way they engage with employees and enable collaboration among them.· And the fourth trend is about ensuring data privacy and security.

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