A view from the people lens

The blue-eyed boys of the Indian economy have tears in their eyes; the once irrepressible software and finance sector has suddenly gone soft, taking its toll on the much-envied professionals. What started as a tremor in the US has resulted in a full-scale economic earthquake across the globe. How could the Indian Business sector, which owes all of its growth to the US, escape this unprecedented downturn? The result is that not only have fresh recruitments been frozen, but pink slips are showing up by the thousands and salaries are being slashed across the board.

As the heat of the global slowdown spreads, several players in the IT, banking and finance sectors have modified their recruitment policies, keeping them in sync with the changing market conditions. The slowdown has resulted in substantial job cuts for Indian IT professionals (mainly in the US). Companies on their part have no option but to adopt a survival mode, which means looking at expenses through the optimisation microscope.

As per a recent Mercer survey called HR Perspective in Downtimes, although 81% of organisations across geographies and sectors will witness reduced business performance in the coming year, only 33% are considering drastic steps such as salary freezes and significant workforce reductions at this point in time. Most companies have started taking smaller measures such as reduced increments, no replacement hiring, etc.

Research shows that non-performers will either have to shape up or be shipped out of existence. In the long-run, companies will become stronger and leaner from the experience. This will be an opportunity for consolidation and corrections within the industry. The difference between the 'haves' and 'have nots' will shrink, resulting in a more matured and balanced society for the times ahead.

The big question today is, "How should people by and large react to this time of crisis?"

The best answer is to look at the glass as 'half full' instead of 'half empty'. It would be beneficial to look at the prevailing environment from a 'people' lens.

As per a recent Times Life survey, people are worried not about security, but about families, relationships and health. The young generation should keep up its morale and not press the 'panic button'. A time of crisis should be viewed as an opportunity for doing things differently. One should focus on increasing competencies in technologies/skills that may emerge as the industry standards. Competencies should also be strengthened in non-tech areas to improve interpersonal and attitudinal skills.

These are also times for a mid-life career review; evaluate your satisfaction levels in your present path. If you are not passionate in what you are doing, then you cannot be the best at it. The whole traditionally conservative process of taking up the first career that comes one's way needs to be turned on its head with a thorough review of interests and passions.

One should weigh one's entrepreneurial aspirations, but this calls for a dispassionate introspection of one's capabilities, fitment, financial resources and security. These times compel people to explore 'non-conventional' careers, and from an Indian perspective, entrepreneurship is non-conventional. In normal times, we would always play it safe and choose secure, risk-free, painless service routes. The zeal to achieve more with less gives impetus to innovation. Organisations will look at everything with a child's innocent eye, and fresh perspectives lead to fresh ideas. The best part is that all if these ideas will be much more 'optimised'. Read more.