[EV NXT]

Having handled a few acquisitions let me say that the scales are unfortunately tilted against the employees in an acquired company.

In most cases employees would be viewed as disposable as the acquirer would have his own plans - bringing in his own people / asset deals / transfer of IP to parent company etc all of which would not necessarily be in the best interests of employees in the acquired company. Discussions on subjects such as reducing notice periods may therefore not result in the desired result.

The employee situation becomes worse if it is a hostile acquisition. Add to this, as indicated above, the skewed judicial system and the dice are loaded heavily against employees. A change in the appointment terms can technically be challenged in a court of law but is better avoided.

The reason for acquisitions are many and may even include killing the completion (moves to close the acquired company) and not necessarily to grow the acquired company. Given these situations, any conditions that are put forth by the acquirer company may not usually be negotiable for employees.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Samurai

That is what makes it problematic. If the employee wants to challenge it, the company has no legal leg to stand on. But most employees are scared to take on their company.

And you too have the right to agree or disagree at that point, without being under duress.

Also you have to understand, that even with a Legal leg to stand on, the employee stands to lose. In the west, employee lawsuits rarely go to court because most companies are willing to settle for millions outside the court if the employee has a chance of winning the case.
Here, even if you are right, civil cases etc., can take 10-15 years. So Employees do not want to take a risk for fear of retaliation and little actual legal recourse unless its a matter where you can rile up the twit mob

[am1m]

Originally Posted by rajeshks777

So the whole point is, there are many opportunities in Government and Public Sector. They are not finding people to join them. Senior IT guys from Industry who want to have a calm life after 40 is somehow not finding these openings.

This is very interesting. I always assumed that Govt and Public Sector job opening had more applicants then they could handle and required a long process to qualify or get selected, so it was no point applying. Also, I always thought you had to go through the department website and look through a long PDF to check job openings. Probably some of the reasons why people don't think about switching from the private sector.

Is it possible for you to advertise on Linkedin, Naukri, and other job channels that most IT employees from the private sector are usually used to looking for jobs through? That might give better visibility and get more applications.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by rajeshks777

Now when we try to recruit or take people on deputation in other roles, we are not getting anyone.

So the whole point is, there are many opportunities in Government and Public Sector. They are not finding people to join them. Senior IT guys from Industry who want to have a calm life after 40 is somehow not finding these openings.

Disclaimer: Govt/Public sector jobs have its own challenges. Its an entirely different world.

Care to expand more on this? About 3 years ago, I had a few engagement(s) working with govt organisations as clients on behalf of a big consulting firm. Post that a year later I did try for several job notices from the govt sector for similar profiles as mine but things never moved.

I spoke to a few colleagues and they voiced similar experiences in the process, all even before any first round discussion even happened. Seems like a gap from either end.

[sunbaj]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Care to expand more on this? About 3 years ago, I had a few engagement(s) working with govt organisations as clients on behalf of a big consulting firm. Post that a year later I did try for several job notices from the govt sector for similar profiles as mine but things never moved.

I spoke to a few colleagues and they voiced similar experiences in the process, all even before any first round discussion even happened. Seems like a gap from either end.

What I have seen is once you cross certain years it is more of PR that get's you the job rather than your capabilities. I am in IT sector with almost 20+ years of exp. with all exp. in Business Intelligence/DWH/ETL/MDM/Reporting/Data Science etc. Have been looking for a job change for almost 1+ years but no success. First of all the possibility/probability of your CV getting selected is negligible. I was interviewed for 2 companies in the last 1+ year and in both the places the sole reason I was called for an interview was that I had my CV forwarded through some reference. In one of those interviews I was very confident that I would be selected but then no response from the company. Almost every senior role in a company is filled by someone known in the higher up. Till date haven't received any call from the job portal sites be it naukri or linkedin of for that matter any other.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

My employer watered down the gratuity clause one fine day and sent out a PDF to everybody to accept and return.

There will ususally be a trust for Gratuity in the organization, which administers the gratuity fund. It can be a fund independently managed by them, or the money will be paid to LIC for future gratuity payments. Either way, gratuity rules can be prospectively altered by passing a resolution in a periodic trust meeting, and sending a copy to all the members (employees). If a majority of them oppose, it can't be implemented. Else there will be no legal issue in implementing the change. They will be caught on the wrong foot only if they change it retrospectively, but nobody will be foolish enough to do that.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Here, even if you are right, civil cases etc., can take 10-15 years.

It can be done here only if the employees are well organised. I heard of a case where superannuation (pension) benefit was planned to be reduced drastically and the employees were unhappy. The company was cocky that as a civil suit, it will drag on for decades. But the employees' lawyer planned to pray to the court that since the employees had lost confidence on the employer, the court should direct them to deposit the corpus amount in the court, pendig verdict! Which was a fair request. The sum involved was some 40+ crores! Also the plan was to publish it in the papers once the court direction was obtained. Because they knew a meeting with some new investors was coming up for fresh infusion of funds, and this will be very bad in their eyes.

The company got wind of it, and made the change prospective, that the changes will apply only to those who join from the subsequent month onwards.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

I am in IT sector with almost 20+ years of exp. with all exp. in Business Intelligence/DWH/ETL/MDM/Reporting/Data Science etc. Have been looking for a job change for almost 1+ years but no success.

Hey, don't lose hope so quick. I have a similar experience, almost 20 years IT experience, resisted all efforts to switch to a "management track" in the companies I was employed with because I enjoy what I do as an individual contributor, spent more than 10 years with my last org and was desperately looking for a switch. Got calls regularly but it usually never went beyond the first stage as soon as the recruiter confirmed my years of experience (which makes me wonder if they even read resumes before calling candidates!). Couple of times I was verbally told I got the role only to hear nothing after that and I had to call the recruiter to find out they had either frozen requirement or hired someone else (wonder what happened to the basic courtesy of keeping the candidate informed!) Took me more than 2 years but I just made a switch a couple of months ago and am very happy with the new job and work culture. The best thing about looking for a job while you're in an existing job is you don't have to settle for desperate offers. Take your time, keep applying, work your Linkedin and offline network, perhaps refresh your resume, take up some online courses and certifications. New opportunities are coming up all the time and smaller startups are not averse to looking at senior talent for roles these days.

Above all, don't take the gaps in IT recruitment processes as any reflection of your skills or capabilities. Over companies and years I've seen that it's usually the worst people who are in IT industry recruitment at the lower levels because no one wants that job. Or companies have outsourced their recruitment to shady body-shopping firms that don't pay recruiters enough to attract good ones. (Exceptions are always there and a pleasant surprise.) So they are generally incapable of thinking outside some very narrow parameters in most IT firms. But I think things are slowly changing at smaller, more agile (in the true sense of the word, not the sw process!) companies. The best interview/recruitment processes I've experienced have been where an actual senior HR person employed by the company directly has been handling recruitment.

[adisan]

In general, it is easier to get more traction in the placement process when one is referred by someone in the organization, rather than when one has to go through the "job application" route.

Firstly, the hiring manager usually prefers candidates coming through known sources, it inspires more confidence.
Secondly it bypasses the screening processes of the recruitment team, and one directly gets a call for the first round of discussions.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

...In one of those interviews I was very confident that I would be selected but then no response from the company. Almost every senior role in a company is filled by someone known in the higher up. Till date haven't received any call from the job portal sites be it naukri or linkedin of for that matter any other.

This is reality in the firms I know of in my circles, this is not to say an external (un-referred) hiring does not take place. Only that the preference would be to a referred candidate over an unknown one and of course the unwritten age apartheid. By this I do not mean nepotism. And for sure is not a reflection of an individual's talent.

I know a few friends who had to struggle to get placed (they were more managerial ones, no core tech focus), what helped them land jobs, in addition to their skills(entirely non-technical), was their network.
While I was not hunting for a job at that time, but made me acutely aware of the importance of a professional network, something I have not cared for or built consciously.

All the best on your job hunt !

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by sunbaj

I was interviewed for 2 companies in the last 1+ year and in both the places the sole reason I was called for an interview was that I had my CV forwarded through some reference. In one of those interviews I was very confident that I would be selected but then no response from the company. Almost every senior role in a company is filled by someone known in the higher up.

What you have shared is normal across the board. In fact both the above factors are quite default for most companies (private, public firms) as one goes higher-up, references and first-hand experience of working with them trumps everything else. That is why networking becomes extremely vital as one moves up the hierarchy.

What I was asking @rajeshks777 was the completely different experience he's had with the public sector firm. As @am1m also mentioned, it's generally the opposite in the public sector with more applicants than options available.

[rajeshks777]

Originally Posted by am1m

This is very interesting. I always assumed that Govt and Public Sector job opening had more applicants then they could handle and required a long process to qualify or get selected, so it was no point applying. Also, I always thought you had to go through the department website and look through a long PDF to check job openings. Probably some of the reasons why people don't think about switching from the private sector.

Is it possible for you to advertise on Linkedin, Naukri, and other job channels that most IT employees from the private sector are usually used to looking for jobs through? That might give better visibility and get more applications.

Normally PSU recruitment is through Public Service Commission. But PSUs can recruit professionals(IT/CA/CS/MBA etc) directly through special recruitment. In Kerala, I used to see advertisements on newspapers on Wednesdays. It is also published in their websites. Process may be lengthy due to the steps/approvals involved. I dont want to comment on other factors involved.

My whole point is, there exists a lot of opportunities in IT domain in PSU sector, both central and state PSUs. Salaries may not be comparable with private companies initially but you get a lot of benefits(monetary & others ) and its all additional to the salary quoted.

[Samurai]

About 55% of WFH staff don't want to come back. Check the comments section, most of them agree.

One comment says it all:

I work for a company that tried to get people back to the office by saying "WE WORK BETTER TOGETHER." When a survey showed that half of the workforce would opt to find another job if forced to return to the office full time, that slogan promptly turned to, "WE VALUE FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE."

https://youtu.be/4K5nQwF4EJA

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Samurai

...

One comment says it all...

Combine that with the 'great resignation' aspect, and it appears people are willing to follow through with it too. Not only is the number high, it's surprisingly high among critical high-performing employees, not the 'slackers' that a lot of people assumed it would be.

Flexibility in remote-capable roles (that's an important rider) has gone from being a discretionary perk to a must-have, and most companies will soon need to decide if they're willing to risk significant attrition of high-value talent to meet some arbitrary 'better together' narrative. I say arbitrary because the same companies will use the same WFH productivity stats to argue against business travel for 'face to face stakeholder connect' for globally spread out teams.

[poloman]

"We value flexibility and Balance" "90% of our work force will WFH" "We value employee feedback" so on so on.. All word play by companies to put up an employee friendly face and avoid bad publicity. In the back ground, every company in Bangalore I know of has asked employees to mandatorily move back to their home city where offer was given. Even for short term exception they have to take manager permission. Staff meetings are conducted at offices. This is a concerted move with most companies secretly signing up.

If the Covid situation is not deteriorating by Jan, you will see most of staff back in office at least in India. If you make a company switch just because some one is offering 100% WFH as a carrot, very soon you will end up in same situation.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Samurai

About 55% of WFH staff don't want to come back. Check the comments section, most of them agree.

This needs to be taken with a pinch of salt - on both ends (those who want to continue wfh & those who want to go back to office but on better terms). Overall it's going to be good for the employees than employers.

There are also comments like the one below which focuses on the travel time

I work in downtown Chicago and I love not having to wakeup at 4:30 only to sit on a train for an hour. Working from home frees up close to 4 hours of commuting everyday almost 60 days worth of time each year. I get to spend that time with my family and doing hobbies.

Mumbaikars living in Thane/Dahisar/similar suburbs doing daily trains to south Bombay will connect with this extremely.

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It'll be interesting to see the commercial real estate situation going forward. All companies I know are renegotiating their leases. Many (including my current firm) are moving to reduced spaces than what was pre-covid.