Outsourced

Pic from Google

Lately, all big leaders(corporate and otherwise) have been talking about how our country needs to focus on creating more jobs. This they say, could harness the potential of the thousands of youngsters that are graduating each year. Agreed. But my question is, how much of the actual potential of the existing employees are the company's utilizing today?

When NRN started Infosys, it was something unusual. Back then, not many thought India would become one of the worlds biggest back offices. Kudos to him. But fast-forward to 2012, and you see that Infosys is running nothing but a big fat BPO. And so is Cognizant, and TCS and Delloitte and numerous other fancy centers that are set up in the plush outskirts of Hyderabad, Bangalore and Gurgaon. Sure they are the biggest employers in the country, and sure they have been instrumental in growing this country. But one cannot forget that these are companies that place people based on the colleges they go to, and the certificates in hand but not the skills they posses. I am not talking book knowledge, or how much content you've achieved to mug, but I mean communication skills, organisation skills, management skills, creative skills, networking skills - skills that could make you not just a good employee but probably a decent leader.

I have friends who went to the best colleges in the country and I also have friends who went to the not-so-great ones. But, when we sit down together to discuss how much one enjoys their work, or how much does one utilize your head, (including classroom education) in the corporate environment, pat comes the reply. And mind you, the reply is a common one. "I do enjoy the work environment, the feel of being part of a marquee name is cool, the weekly team outings are awesome and of course the pay is great." Uhuh well, only you forgot to mention the work? "Hmm, honestly speaking, a 12th grader can do the work I am doing. Its monotonous and boring, but I guess that's the way these things are supposed to be, right?" Well, really? This isn't just banter. Probably, if it came from just one it could be, but everyone talks of the same things.

Pic from Google

And companies complain of lacking talent in India. They say students aren't skilled enough to take up leadership positions. When a job profile is so rigid and hardly involves flexibility(and I don't meant timing) what can you expect? A BSc is doing the same job as a Bcom grad, an engineer's work is no different than an literature students job. And yea, it takes a zillion years for someone to even reach the lower-middle management. A role that allows the use of quarter the skill they actually posses.

No, I don't have an issue with BPO's and no, I ain't anti-MNC's, but what I am trying to say is before we even think of bringing in more jobs, how about companies harnessing the full potential of the existing ones.Maybe this would help them exhibit their creative side, push them to do better and who knows also bring the leaders out of them. And maybe these leaders will have the courage to run a company's francisee sooner or maybe start her/his own organisation to in turn recruit more people and train them to be leaders. And then maybe people will start coming to work for the work and not the fringes.

India today is exploding with numerous opportunities and sure the SWITCH's(Satyam, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, HCL) and the MNC's have brought it to this level, but what's in the future? Could the same help achieve its next level? Maybe not, not if don't have more leaders, more thinkers and more visionaries. It's not going to happen if people remain to be corporate slaves. And leaderships is not necessarily all about great education, because if it was, then the 1000's of IIM's and IIT's grads would be running power-packed organisations of their own. Its about not settling for anything less. You normally don't settle for an ordinary pay, maybe its time should stop settling for an ordinary job either.

Wishful thinking? Maybe not...