Possible restructuring poses threats to mid-level employees in Indian IT sector

Automation and newer technologies have brought major changes to the Indian IT industry and it is slowly adapting to these changes. Meanwhile, middle-level employees in the industry are facing an uncertain future, owing to possibilities of restructuring.

There are nearly 1.4 million employees in this section of the Indian IT industry, holding 8 to 12 years of experience and earning anywhere between Rs 1-1.5 lakh per month.

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In India’s IT sector, one’s progress in career is measured not by the new technologies learned but by the number of people an employee managed.

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"The middle management are the weakest link in the chain," Milan Sheth, partner - advisory services & technology sector leader at EY, told ET. "The leaders are meeting clients, so they know about the change in (their) thinking. The bottom most guys adopt easier and learn. It is therefore, this middle management that is most difficult to change," he added.

The changes brought in by automation and digital technologies have already started to overturn the normal way of doing business, stressing both the old structure and people associated with it, since machines are replacing people.

Roles that were typically assigned to employees with over 10 years of experience are now being done by machines, be it assigning people to projects or helping project managers take trade decisions about project manpower and timelines.

Also read: What happens when robots take our jobs?

This has resulted in low pay hikes being projected to mid-level employees.

"People who are passing out as engineers today are all digital natives. They all are massive users of technology. Therefore, both of those put together - digital natives, more closer understanding of our client's business since they are also a consumer - is helping them ramp up very quickly," said Rostow Ravanan, CEO at Mindtree. "We also see that their ability to deliver results is also very high," he said.

The fact that middle level employees are the ones resisting changes the most, it remains to be seen how they cope up with these sudden and powerful changes.

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