Market of IT specialists: "staff shortage" or "diet"?

"Gap between the theory and practice"

It is already a lot of years literally "the ordinary opinion soars in air" that the IT companies desperately lack the personnel; demand for specialists in information technology field considerably is exceeded by the offer and, literally, each "programmer" in great demand. Say about it, write and "all" know. But how strongly described above does not correspond to objective reality, any IT specialist at least once sending the résumé in the large company and (if it was lucky) having an interview perfectly knows.

Though it is not obligatory even to be the IT specialist, it is rather simple to read descriptions of vacancies and requirements to candidates for places in the large companies. The mass of jokes is about it composed and the set of caustic comments on recruiting portals with mentioning of "slaves", "galleys", "salt mines", etc. is left. However ridiculous it is a little here. As a rule, requirements to the domestic IT specialist (level of its preparation and practical skills) are shown quite essential (and not always the enterprises corresponding to real requirements), and here work payment terms adequate to them – the phenomenon infrequent. But the main problem even not in it.

"Pilot" barrier

The main requirement "on a departure" – experience of work, and in required to the employer of area, with required software products and/or the equipment. And, "darling" is the three-year length of service of the candidate acquired in conditions necessary for the employer. (With this requirement it was not without funny things too – from time to time employers want to receive the employee with three-year experience with the product put on the market less than a year ago.) The strict requirement of several years of experience at once deprives of the IT company of reaching two perspective categories of candidates: the young certified specialists who were simply not in time "acquire" a necessary experience (now in the same company "God grant" at least to work year …), and the experienced specialists who do not have length of service in required to the employer of specific area.

As a result there is a vicious circle – to get a job, the experience is necessary and to receive an experience, it is necessary to get a job and that on it to settle, the experience is necessary and that to receive it … This domestic Tricks-22 option, on the one hand, leaves "on the street" annually "keeping up" university graduates who graduated institutes and the universities on "IT specialties", and with another – deprives of horizontal mobility of experienced specialists, without allowing them to try the forces in adjacent areas.

Judging by different responses, the described situation is characteristic practically of all non-productive sector and the sphere of "business integration" is not a big exception here. However, hardly from it it is easier. Besides, very often requirements of the companies integrators to experience of consultants it is formulated not in the form of number of years of an experience, and in the form of the number of successful projects in which the candidate participated. At the same time in the context of assessment of own activity all integrators are unanimous that "it is incorrect to judge only by number of the executed projects" and that "projects are often incomparable with each other". Generally speaking, very many Russian IT companies (including representative offices of the foreign companies) it is possible to reproach with "tunnel thinking" in questions of the HR policy and complete unwillingness to be engaged in development of personnel potential.

"The abroad will help us …"

As all for some reason terribly are afraid "risk reputation" (in a sense virtual), employing specialists without long-term (or "multiproject") experience, and expansion of business requires a personnel increase, a "ingenious" exit was found. Integrators now actively began "deliver" specialists with treasured experience of successful projects and length of service from abroad.

As for top managers, this process goes for a long time, for example:

• in August, 2004 Birger Steen became the CEO of Microsoft in Russia;
• in April, 2006 the CEO of ICT Group is appointed by Marco Burkhardt;
• the head of MBS in Russia instead of Evgeny Voronin is the Area director of Microsoft Business Solutions Central and Eastern Europe Peter Trawnicek now;
• in March, 2007 Microsoft in Russia is appointed by the CEO of group of online-services (MSN and Windows Live) Michal Cupa;
• in March, 2007 Jovan Marjanovic is appointed the new managing director of SAP CIS, the new HR director of SAP CIS appoints Shlomit Gruman-Navot.

But, as a rule, it happens in representative offices of the foreign companies, the Russian companies manage by forces of domestic managers more often. Besides, very successful work of Olga Dergunova on a post of the CEO of Microsoft Rus demonstrates that for talented top managers it is not obligatory to go somewhere far abroad at all. Experience of "the Russian command" of Vladislav Martynov, actually "pulled out from the next world" the Columbus IT Partner company which before was controlled foreign managers is even more indicative in this plan.

However now it is about involvement from abroad of managers of the lower link and ordinary consultants what it was at different times stated by several companies integrators. The personnel of this category many times over exceed on the number of the top managers mentioned above and "turn" of employers towards foreign specialists can seriously affect a labor market segment, belonging to the sphere of business integration. At the same time hiring of foreign specialists is based on the fact that "it costs cheaper, than to work with domestic" – abroad just surplus of unoccupied experienced consultants and they agree to work at the same conditions, as our IT specialists. However, taking into account accommodation costs of foreign employees, on execution of necessary documents, on higher taxes from their income (30%, but not 13%), etc., in "advantage" of involvement of the personnel from abroad it is believed with great difficulty. (And in respect of transformation of Russia into "the information superstate" with such policy we, really, "far will leave" …)

Head Hunting against Talent Management

To independently train specialists, "growing up" own personnel of necessary qualification, the Russian IT companies categorically do not want – "we will teach them at own expense, and they will purchase qualification and will escape to competitors". And this medieval approach to development of labor resources and management of "human capital" perfectly exists against the background of transition of all advanced foreign companies to "strategic" personnel management, the including Talent Management, corporate training, career planning and a talent pool. Moreover, domestic HR managers very actively speak about "cultivation" of the personnel also. However, requirements imposed to candidates for vacant positions in the Russian IT companies force to think that there are two not crossed realities: in one fight for attraction of talented, let also inexperienced, specialists and their development, and in another – are engaged in real hiring, trying to find the candidates who are ideal for the companies, despite of practical unreality of such result at once. At the same time the professional recruiting agencies in respect of "elimination of improper candidates" work much "more effectively" than the criticized IT companies – to the talented IT specialist "break" through their barrier impracticablly.

And again about "a special way"

Except that simple truth that to requirements of the company it will be optimal to conform only her own employee trained by own efforts employers do not consider also the Russian tradition in the higher education. The higher school in Russia, the USSR and, then, again in Russia prepared and continues to prepare (despite active efforts to involve it in Bologna Process and to destroy) specialists station wagons unlike school western which is focused on training of narrow specialists.

Therefore, the Russian specialist quite can know at the same time 3-5 programming languages, have skills of the system administrator and, at the same time, also to be able to implement corporate information systems. Having quite good theoretical base and many-sided education in information technology field, the similar specialist is capable to get quickly into real gear, mastering specifics of the company "on the run", in parallel with execution of functional duties.

It is possible to understand a certain hostility of employers to "computer geniuses". Really, in many cases it is simpler to work with contractors who do not "think" and not "consider that it will be so better". However, it is only specifics which need to be considered during the work with personnel, and at all not the reason to neglect the potential of domestic specialists, hiring employees abroad.

"Roulette game" as a method to avoid risk

Apparently, the reasons of the similar attitude towards domestic IT specialists that cause lack of the innovation projects in our economy, - the Russian companies are not able to do the same and do not want to work in the conditions of risk (and these conditions, generally speaking, are "standard" for the companies in all developed countries). For this reason they prefer to look for specialists with such knowledge and experience as though they acquired a required experience in the company employer. It is no wonder what such cannot almost be found. Thus, trying to avoid risk, the IT company, actually, "play a tape measure", hoping for happy combination of circumstances as a result of which there will be ideally suitable specialist. The efficiency of this strategy, in general, is known …

If gold mining worked by the same principle, then in a year some thousands would be extracted (if not hundreds) native ingots total weight in several centners, and their number constantly decrease. Of course, the price of gold would fly up to heaven and, maybe, the companies would "reach" for nuggets abroad. Only, for some reason, in reality gold is extracted sifting of gold-bearing ore and its collecting on particles. And as a result of such "risky" strategy gold is extracted by tens of tons … Can be that for whom specialists – "worth its weight in gold", it would be worth adopting experience?

It should be noted, of course, that not all Russian IT companies treat work with personnel as the image described above. Certainly, there are exceptions, but in general the situation remains such as it is described in this article. And if employers do not change the approach to work with "human capital", I am afraid, "the personnel diet" will last for a long time …

Sergey Sereda//TAdviser